Melik Abdul, a GOP strategist and member of the Black Americans for Trump Coalition, said that he’s been “fielding a lot of calls” after President Donald Trump (without evidence) blamed DEI policies for the fatal collision between a commercial jet and an Army helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., which left 67 people dead.
On CNN, Abdul said: “I know a number of people who voted for Donald Trump for the first time, they were so disgusted in what they felt has happened in the Biden administration.”
He added, “This week, instead of talking about the economy, I was fielding questions on whether or not the Trump administration wanted to stop commemorating Black History month. Women’s History Month. Hispanic Heritage Month.”
While Trump says he recognizes February 2025 as National Black History Month on the White House website and cites Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as an “American hero,” many federal agencies including the Department of Defense led by Pete Hegseth have announced that they have put a stop to race-based and gender-based commemorations.
Abdul added: “So when people said that they voted for Donald Trump because they were concerned about things like the price of eggs…because of Donald Trump’s own doing, we’re having to have this conversation about DEI.”
Abdul: I know a number of people who voted for Trump for the first time… I talked to many of them this week. Instead of talking about the economy, I was fielding questions on whether or not the Trump administration wanted to stop commemorating Black History Month, Women's… pic.twitter.com/DJuW8WpP1f
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 1, 2025
Abdul added: “DEI for many people — and I call them the ‘woke right’ — it has become a stand-in for being Black and unqualified. And what I would like the Trump administration to do — Susie Wiles, I love her, never met her, want to meet her one day — I want them to ask the team ‘What was our message coming out of this week?’ And if they say that they felt it was successful, then we’re going to have a very long four years.”
Note: During Hegseth’s Senate confirmation hearing, where Democrats said Hegseth was unqualified for the job (and unable to answer questions), a clip of Phil Washington’s 2022 Senate confirmation resurfaced on X.
Washington, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Association (FAA), was unable to answer a number of questions and withdrew his name after the hearing. Note: Washington is Black.
Maybe he wasn't a good fit for this position.
— Melik Abdul (@MelikAbdul_) January 31, 2025
But the Woke Right will ignore the fact Phil Wilson served 24 years in the military, 9yrs as the assistant gen. mgr of Denver's Regional Trans. District, and 6yrs as CEO of LA Transportation Authority.
Yet, Pete Hegseth=merit https://t.co/flvw20MnpK
Abdul commented on the Washington comparison: “Maybe he wasn’t a good fit for this position. But the Woke Right will ignore the fact Phil Wilson [sic] served 24 years in the military, 9yrs as the assistant gen. mgr of Denver’s Regional Trans. District, and 6yrs as CEO of LA Transportation Authority. Yet, Pete Hegseth=merit.”
MAGA supporter Rev. Damien Thaddeus Jones, author of Black Voters, Red Wave, replied to Abdul’s take on Washington: “Melik, I honor and laud his transportation experience but do you agree he should have some basic working knowledge of aviation, whereas he can confidently answer industry based questions? He seemed to not have much knowledge in the hearing.”
Abdul replied to Jones: “Sure! He should’ve. But why didn’t that threshold exist for Pete Hegseth? He has less practical and executive experience than Phil Washington.”
Note: Another difference between the Senate confirmations: Washington admitted that he couldn’t answer the questions and withdrew his nomination; Hegseth provided wrong answers when Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) asked him to name three of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and was confirmed.
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