Trump: ‘Great Day for America’ As SCOTUS Rejects Affirmative Action in Colleges

Former President Donald J. Trump speaks during the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority conference at Hilton in Washington on June 24, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Former president Donald Trump and other Republican presidential candidates–including two who are ethnic minorities–lauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision declaring that colleges cannot use race when considering which students to admit.

Because of the ruling nixing this type of affirmative action policy, Trump called June 29 “a great day for America.”

“People with extraordinary ability and everything else necessary for success, including future greatness for our country, are finally being rewarded,” he said in a news release from his campaign. “This is the ruling everyone was waiting and hoping for, and the result was amazing.”

The court’s justices voted on two separate cases, 6-2 and 6-3, to outlaw discriminatory admissions practices at U.S. colleges. The cases involved policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. An appeal has already been filed. The decision forces institutions of higher learning “to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies,” The Associated Press said.

Trump, whose statement was also posted on his Truth Social account, said the ruling has global implications. “It will also keep us competitive with the rest of the world,” he said.

Agreement From DeSantis, Too

The former president’s closest GOP rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, agreed the decision was correct.

“College admissions should be based on merit, and applicants should not be judged on their race or ethnicity. The Supreme Court has correctly upheld the Constitution and ended discrimination by colleges and universities,” DeSantis wrote on Twitter.

The decision marks a return to the American ideal that people will succeed based on their strengths, without consideration for racial classifications, the former president said.

“Our greatest minds must be cherished, and that’s what this wonderful day has brought,” he wrote. “We’re going back to all merit-based—and that’s the way it should be!”

‘Fundamentally Wrong’ To Use Race

Fellow GOP presidential hopefuls Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, both children of immigrants from India, joined Trump in praising the decision.

“The world admires America because we value freedom [and] opportunity. SCOTUS reaffirmed those values today,” Haley said in a tweet. “Picking winners & losers based on race is fundamentally wrong. This decision will help every student—no matter their background—have a better opportunity to achieve the American dream.”

Ramaswamy’s reaction, also posted on Twitter, was short and to the point: “Affirmative action is a badly failed experiment: time to put a nail in the coffin & restore colorblind meritocracy.”

He later followed up with a longer statement, denouncing affirmative action as “the single greatest form of institutional racism in America today.” Ramaswamy also pledged that, if he is elected president, he would “end it in every sphere of American life” and would “instruct the Department of Justice to end these illegal practices.” Further, he would repeal President Lyndon Johnson’s “disastrous” Executive Order 11246, which mandated that federal contractors “adopt race-based hiring preferences.” He concluded, “Time to restore colorblind meritocracy once and for all.”

However, a pair of other prominent minorities, former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, both reacted with disappointment.

“Affirmative action was never a complete answer in the drive towards a more just society,” former President Obama wrote on Twitter. “But for generations of students who had been systematically excluded from most of America’s key institutions—it gave us the chance to show we more than deserved a seat at the table.”

“In the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, it’s time to redouble our efforts,” he said.

Michelle Obama issued a lengthy statement that concluded, “Today, my heart breaks for any young person out there who’s wondering what their future holds–and what kinds of chances will be open to them.”

The Associated Press, Emel Akan, Andrew Moran, and Jackson Richman contributed to this report.