JD Vance says Trump ended DEI: ‘You don’t have to apologize for being white anymore!’

PHOENIX, ARIZONA: Vice President JD Vance sparked controversy at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025 after saying President Donald Trump had ended diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, arguing that the programs undermined meritocracy and unfairly targeted white and Asian Americans.

JD Vance says Donald Trump ended DEI programs

Speaking to a conservative audience on Sunday, December 21, Vance claimed that dismantling DEI had been one of Trump’s most significant achievements since returning to office. He described the initiatives as incompatible with American values and said they promoted unequal treatment based on race and gender.

“We don’t treat anybody different because of their race or their sex,” Vance told the crowd. “So we have relegated DEI to the dustbin of history, which is exactly where it belongs.” His remarks were met with loud applause inside the venue.

He added that Asian Americans applying to colleges would no longer need to “talk around” their skin color, insisting that admissions and hiring decisions should be based on individual merit rather than ethnicity or background.

JD Vance calls DEI anti-meritocracy

The vice president framed DEI as a system that punished people for characteristics they could not control. “We don’t persecute you for being male, for being straight, for being gay, for being anything,” Vance said. “The only thing that we demand is that you be a great American patriot.”

According to Vance, the Trump administration’s approach emphasized equal treatment under the law and rejected identity-based policies. His comments echoed recent conservative critiques of workplace and academic diversity programs, including a viral Compact article that claimed several industries had offered preferential treatment to non-white applicants.

JD Vance says United States is a Christian nation

Vance also drew attention for comments describing the United States as a Christian nation. He told the crowd that Christianity had historically served as the country’s moral foundation and should continue to guide its values.

“The only thing that has truly served as an anchor of the United States of America is that we have been, and by the grace of God we always will be, a Christian nation,” Vance said, prompting enthusiastic applause.

He later clarified that he was not arguing citizenship required religious belief. “I’m not saying you have to be a Christian to be an American,” he said. “I’m saying something simpler and truer: Christianity is America’s creed.”

JD Vance praises Trump record and attacks Democrats

During the speech, Vance highlighted what he described as early achievements of Trump’s second term, including the closure of the southern border. He urged attendees to continue supporting the “America First” movement, echoing comments from Donald Trump Jr., who earlier suggested the Republican Party no longer existed in its traditional form.

Vance also criticized several Democratic leaders, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris. He additionally made a remark about Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, joking about her support for a fellow Somali candidate to lead Minneapolis, which drew laughter from the audience but criticism online.

The speech reinforced Vance’s role as a prominent defender of Trump’s agenda and a leading voice against DEI policies, Democrats, and cultural institutions he argues have moved away from traditional American principles.