Trump must have found Pelosi’s remarks deeply distasteful. On November 5, Pelosi wrote: “When I first entered Congress in 1987, there were only twelve Democratic women in the House. We made a firm commitment to change that. Today, we celebrate over 100 Democratic women elected to Congress—a source of profound joy and pride. When women succeed, America succeeds.”
The Democratic victory itself was already a blow to Trump; Pelosi’s emphasis on the growing number of Democratic women in Congress, culminating in the statement “When women succeed, America succeeds,” likely intensified his frustration. Women’s participation in politics is not inherently contentious—both parties include women in their ranks. But asserting that national success is directly tied to the increasing representation of women introduces a political framing that shifts focus from merit and competence to identity. The core issue remains clear: qualifications and integrity should be the primary criteria for public service, not demographic characteristics.
Trump’s opposition is not to women in politics per se, but to the identity-based mobilization central to Democratic strategy. Today’s appeal to gender identity may be followed by appeals based on race, sexual orientation, or immigration status. In response, Trump has taken several measures aimed at countering this approach. First, on his first day in office, he signed an executive order terminating all federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Second, he introduced new military policies excluding gender diversity from recruitment standards, eliminating numerous training programs related to racial and gender awareness within the armed forces, and removing several senior officers. Among the most prominent figures affected were former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti, and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force James Slife.
Third, he targeted higher education by pressuring universities through threats to cut federal research funding, scrutinizing policies that provide racial or gender-based advantages. Yet, with the midterm election losses, the momentum behind these efforts appears to be reversing. Pelosi’s celebration, therefore, carries a deeper implication—an implicit challenge to the direction Trump sought to impose.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1880976960307204/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.