'Dark times': In Trump's culture war, even tragedy is fair game

Donald Trump didn't need to wait for the black box flight recorder. He knew what caused the mid-air collision of a passenger plane and army helicopter that killed 67 people. Or he thought he did.

- By David Smith

"They actually came out with a directive - 'too white'," the US president told reporters last Thursday, seeking to blame former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden for including Black and Latino people in the federal workforce. "We want the people that are competent." That it took Trump less than a day to exploit a tragic plane crash for his crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes should come as no surprise. The 78-year-old president is on a mission to win the "culture wars", acting with speed and ferocity to bring his rightwing agenda into every corner of American life. It is a form of shock therapy that aims to rewire society itself.

Little more than two weeks back in office, an emboldened, unapologetic Trump has launched a series of executive orders and policy changes that broadly target DEI, education curricula and political protests. The actions aim to reverse so-called "woke" policies and restore "merit-based" systems.