Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to weigh in on the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action by enforcing the text of the 14th Amendment and making racial preferences completely illegal for any organization that takes money from the federal government.
He did so in a relatively short and to the point Truth post in which he noted that the ruling is good news for those with “extraordinary ability” and the other personal qualities necessary for success, as now they won’t be limited in their quests to get into the upper echelons of higher education in America. Instead, he said, now the US is going back “to all merit-based” decisions, which will improve the chances of those who truly deserve a certain spot or position.
He added that, beyond just helping those people succeed by cutting off the albatross of racial preferences from around their neck and breaking way the fetters of their not being the preferred race, it will help keep America competitive on the world stage. Presumably, that’s because now our top slots for medicine, research, engineering, and other important professions for great power competition will be filled by those who deserve them rather than those of the preferred skin color or gender.
In that post, Trump said: “This is a great day for America. People with extraordinary ability and everything else necessary for success, including future greatness for our Country, are finally being rewarded. This is the ruling everyone was waiting and hoping for and the result was amazing. It will also keep us competitive with the rest of the world. Our greatest minds must be cherished and that’s what this wonderful day has brought. We’re going back to all merit-based—and that’s the way it should be!”
Trump’s comments stand in stark contrast to what President Joe Biden said on Twitter. He, in a tweet released shortly after the decision, said, “For decades, the Supreme Court recognized a college’s freedom to decide how to build a diverse student body and provide opportunity. Today, the Court walked away from precedent, effectively ending affirmative action in higher education. I strongly disagree with this decision.”
In another tweet, Biden said, “Today, I want to offer some guidance to our nation’s colleges as they review their admissions systems after today’s Supreme Court decision: They should not abandon their commitment to ensure student bodies of diverse backgrounds and experience that reflect all of America.”
Today, I want to offer some guidance to our nation’s colleges as they review their admissions systems after today’s Supreme Court decision:
They should not abandon their commitment to ensure student bodies of diverse backgrounds and experience that reflect all of America. pic.twitter.com/zrsCl8s1Jd
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 29, 2023
And, in yet another, he said, “While the Court can render a decision, it cannot change what America stands for. America is an idea of opportunity and of leaving no one behind. We have never fully lived up to it. But we have never walked away from it. And we will not walk away from it now.”
So, of the two likely 2024 contenders, one is for merit and against racial preferences, while the other has come out firmly on the side of making important decisions that could determine the fate of the nation and its competitiveness on the basis of ethnicity and skin color.
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