The Trump administration did not plan an investigation into discrimination against whites
At the beginning of August, a news story on affirmative action in college admissions published by a major new organization raised many eyebrows. The first paragraph of the story goes:
“The Trump administration is preparing to redirect resources of the Justice Department’s civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants.”
The purveyor of the story is none other than The New York Times.
For a moment, I almost believed it. The New York Times, albeit leaning hard left, is a relatively reputable organization. The newspaper is known for spinning facts to the left’s advantage, but often there is a kernel of truth in its reporting. Sure, there was Jayson Blair. But fabrication (and plagiarism) does not happen only at the Times. No major news outlets are immune to the plague.
The Times said in the story it obtained a document from the Department of Justice (DOJ). If the document exists and is authentic, I have no reason to believe the Times would intentionally quote it incorrectly.
Additionally, race is a sensitive issue in America. I imagine every major news organization would have procedures in place to ensure the truthfulness and accuracy of race-related reports. If DOJ’s investigation solely focuses on “white applicants,” it could have severe consequences: violent protests, riots, property damaged, and people could die.
The outcome would be so grave, I thought, that no sane person would want to fabricate stuff like this, especially serious news organizations like The New York Times.
Finally, there were a couple of high-profile lawsuits on race preferences in higher education in the past two decades, for example, Fisher v. University of Texas and Grutter v. Bollinger. In those two cases, the plaintiffs were white students. If DOJ were to reopen the investigations, The New York Times was not entirely wrong to refer the plaintiffs as “white applicants.”
But I still had my doubts. It is true President Trump is a highly unconventional politician. On domestic policy, however, his priority was clear: roll back Barack Obama’s regulations, undo the administrative state, and bring jobs and prosperity back to America. I did not see how antagonizing minorities is helping with the agenda.
Additionally, President Trump has always been accused of being a divisive figure by the mainstream media. DOJ’s investigation of discrimination against the white applicants, if true, could only provide more ammunition for his detractors.
Finally, a U.S. president should be for all Americans. He cannot show partiality, especially towards white Americans. I just didn’t see Trump, a former businessman known for his pragmatism, doing something that can only result in loss with nothing to gain.
My suspicion turned out to be well founded. The story from The New York Times crumbled in less than 24 hours. It was completely a lie.
The DOJ document the Times claimed to have was an internal staff posting, according to the Daily Caller. It sought volunteer lawyers to work on “investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.” It did not mention any specific race or group. Later we learned the group DOJ considered at risk of discrimination was Asian-Americans, not “white applicants” at all.
It appeared the reporter who wrote the story at The New York Times made up “white applicants” out of thin air. Apparently, the editorial scrutiny was non-existent, or dysfunctional at the Times, or worse yet, someone intentionally let garbage like this go through.
On the basis of the Times report, The Washington Post, Time, USA Today, and People ran their versions of the false story.
What is The New York Times trying to accomplish by publishing such a demonstrably false piece? Does the newspaper know its reputation is at stake? If the Times takes a huge risk, it must be seeking at least an equally big reward. What can be worth more than the Times’ brand?
I can only think of one thing: The New York Times is trying to hurt Trump and inflict maximum damage to his administration. The left always attempts to paint Trump as a white supremacist. Any sane person who sees the DOJ’s internal job posting will not have a slightest idea which group(s) DOJ is talking about.
But to the reporter at The New York Times, it has to be “white applicants” for two reasons. The reporter and The New York Times firmly believe Trump is a racist (they probably believe Jeff Sessions is a racist as well). Therefore, the race or group Trump’s DOJ is defending must be white Americans.
The second reason is, if the Times reports the group DOJ is trying to help is Asian-American, the left would shrug; if the group is “white applicants,” the left would be indignant and motivated. They will intensify their “resistance” against Trump, which has the potential of paralyzing the Trump administration and making him a President who gets nothing done.
Unpopularity could make Trump a one-term President, or end his first term presidency prematurely. This is perhaps the reward The New York Times is looking for and is willing to take a risk for.
This is not the first time the American mainstream media has spread lies to smear Trump. Nor will it be the last. Americans are not stupid. If The New York Times (or any media outlet) believes lying is a winning strategy, I hope it is in business long enough to see the Trumps move out of the White House after two presidential terms in 2024.
From The Epoch Times
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NTD.com
