The editorial board of the New York Post is sharply criticizing President Biden for his recent executive order pledging the federal government will change its “whole approach to the issue of racial equity.”
“Yes, we need criminal justice reform, but that isn’t nearly enough. We need to open the promise of America to every American. And that means we need to make the issue of racial equity not just an issue for any one department of government; it has to be the business of the whole of government,” Biden said in remarks before signing the order. “It focuses on the full range of communities who have been long underserved and overlooked: people of color; Americans with disabilities; LGBTQ Americans; religious minorities; rural, urban, suburban communities facing persistent poverty.”
The Post, in an editorial published on Saturday, derided the approach, writing it is a prime example of Biden caving to what it called a “woke” orthodoxy.
“The ‘equity’ approach assumes that any outcome that doesn’t meet inane racial quotas is the result of bias. It is, in fact, systematically racist,” the Post wrote. “Notice that repeated word, ‘equity.’ Liberals used to call (rightly) for equality of opportunity — to have every American treated the same way before the law. ‘Equity’ demands equal outcomes. If some group of Americans is doing better than another, no matter the reason, government must fix it.”
As part of the slew of executive orders relating to race, Biden directed federal agencies to combat a “resurgence of xenophobia, particularly against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, that we’ve seen skyrocket during this pandemic.”
“Look, in the weeks ahead, I’ll be reaffirming the federal government’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and accessibility, building on the work we started in the Obama-Biden administration,” he said. “Unity and healing must begin with understanding and truth, not ignorance and lies.”
The Post acknowledged the widely reported harsher toll the pandemic is taking on minority communities in America but argued Biden is simply trying to score political points.
“In short, Biden’s not fighting against racial injustice,” the newspaper wrote. “He’s just giving Democratic interest groups and ideologues what they demand.”