Libs Can't Explain How 'Racist' Trump's State Dept. Is More Diverse Than Obama's
After accusations of the State Department being a “pale male club,” statistics show the current State Department under President Donald Trump is among the most diverse in history.
While liberals have been falsely calling Trump a racist since he decided to run for office, recent accusations have been specifically pointed at the Trump administration’s State Department and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
In September, Politico published an article with the headline: “Trump Is Making American Diplomacy White Again.”
The author, Uzreya Zeya, implied that the State Department has excluded minorities and it’s because Trump won’t “champion those who don’t resemble him,” essentially calling him a racist.
“No one should harbor illusions, however, that a president who relies on ‘central casting’ to make hiring decisions and routinely disparages African-Americans, Muslims, women and immigrants would champion those who don’t resemble him,” wrote Zeya, a woman who served the State Department as charge d’affaires and deputy chief of mission and is now a fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.
However, statistics show that diverse State Department hires have been increasing under Trump.
For example, nearly 22 percent of all Foreign Service Officer hires were African-American in 2017, according to hiring information reported by The Washington Free Beacon. That’s an increase of 9.6 percent from the previous fiscal year — which ended on Sept. 30, 2016, the last full year of former President Barack Obama’s tenure.
In addition, 11.4 percent of FSO hires were Hispanic, an increase of 8.8 percent from the previous year.
Female hires also increased to 47.7 percent up from 43.9 percent.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert explained the department’s hiring practices in a series of tweets when the accusations popped up last month.
“The assertion that (the State Department) is ‘racist’ is disgusting and false—a brazen attempt to create division for domestic political gain. State is among the most diverse of government agencies, employing a workforce from every part of America and every region of the globe,” Nauert said.
The assertion that @StateDept is “racist” is disgusting and false—a brazen attempt to create division for domestic political gain. State is among the most diverse of government agencies, employing a workforce from every part of America and every region of the globe.
— Heather Nauert (@statedeptspox) September 16, 2018
Nauert also added that the State Department “hires and empowers those who represent diversity of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation and opinion to advance US Foreign Policy.”
.@StateDept hires and empowers those who represent diversity of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation and opinion to advance US Foreign Policy.
— Heather Nauert (@statedeptspox) September 16, 2018
Hiring information shows that she was right. The State Department has had more diverse hires under Trump than it did under Obama.
But numbers can’t tell the whole story, according to Kiron Skinner, a senior policy adviser to Pompeo and director of policy planning.
“Numbers do matter. But no matter what the political climate is like and the divisions in Washington and the rhetoric and noise, people of all stripes are selected into the diplomatic corps in the United States and the State Department is the place to be,” Skinner told The Free Beacon.
While the media has tried to paint Trump as racist, the State Department hires show that nothing of the kind is true.
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