This past Saturday, presidential candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. One rally-goer died in the shooting, and two people were critically injured. The suspected shooter is also dead. What was a tragedy and a likely security lapse has also morphed into a debate over DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, a corporate catchphrase that’s become nearly as divisive as politics itself.
In the shooting’s fallout, the Secret Service, the law enforcement agency assigned to protect political leaders, was blamed as a whole for not adequately securing the area. But some right-wing pundits have also latched onto a niche cause: attacking the hiring practices of the Secret Service and specifically its director, former Pepsi executive Kimberly A. Cheatle, who has championed adding more women to the agency’s ranks. Conservative commentators on social media have singled out female members of Trump’s detail, criticizing them as less adept than their male counterparts for alleged blunders that were caught on camera.
