Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs are only a "salve" to avoid tackling "the vestiges" of systemic racism, comedian Jon Stewart claimed on Sunday.
Stewart appeared on CNN’s "Fareed Zakaria GPS" to discuss the ongoing culture wars between the Democratic and Republican Parties. Part of the conversation focused on Republican efforts to ban or weaken DEI and critical race theory initiatives in businesses and schools.
The comedian criticized efforts to demean CRT and DEI but added that those programs themselves are inefficient to tackle real cultural issues.
"But, Fareed, that's -- the guy who came up with that, that's purposeful. His plan is make everything CRT. And by the way all this diversity initiatives and CRT and all those other things are only there because we refuse to actually fix the real problem," Stewart said.
COLLEGES CASHING IN ON LUCRATIVE DEI PROGRAMS, FORMER TEACHER WARNS: ‘THESE ARE RACE HUSTLERS’
He continued, "The diversity and equity initiatives are a salve. They are to pacify and mollify because we won't actually do the real thing. We won't actually dismantle the vestiges of all the systemic racism and all this systemic classism and all the systemic gender issues. We won't actually dismantle that. But what we will do is you can have an office in the building. And every few months we're going to have to sit and listen to you talk for like an hour. And so we're good, right?"
Despite his criticism of DEI programs, Steward repeatedly attacked Republicans such as Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for pushing legislature against them.
"I don't even think half of the Republicans who do it even mean it," Stewart said.
"What would you do if you were out of governing ideas? If you didn't know how to govern a country of this magnitude, and a country of this diversity, and you basically are running on government is broken, and then when you get in office, you have to be terrible to prove the original premise, like it must be great to be able to do that," he continued. "This government doesn't work and by me not funding it and breaking it, see? See, what I told you? Keep me in power. If you don't have ideas on governing, what do you do? Well, you do the purposeful distortion field that they create."
Several major corporations such as Disney and Lockheed Martin have promoted DEI initiatives in their companies.
However, many companies have more recently begun gutting DEI positions with reports finding these positions experienced layoffs at a higher rate than non-DEI positions.
Elsewhere during the segment, Stewart joked that the Senate is currently looking like an "assisted living facility."
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"Our country is held together by hundreds of really talented legislative aides," Stewart said. "Their bosses, many times, are wind up dolls… if you go down there, especially the Senate, is like an assisted living facility."
