💬 The Rubin Recap: The Sunday return to normalcy ...

The long overdue downfall of DEI

Welcome back to the Sunday “Return to Normalcy” edition of The Rubin Recap.

One of the ways in which America and, really, the West as a whole is beginning to heal is the ongoing rollback of DEI that was snapped into action by one of the first executive orders Donald Trump signed after being sworn back in as president on January 20, 2025.

Trump signed an executive order “ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs” on his first day back in office. The order went into effect immediately within the federal government as the divisive policy and its associated initiatives began quickly being rooted out.

A year later, we’re seeing evidence that DEI is being rejected throughout the private sector, too, now. Even six months ago, when the CEO of Cracker Barrel introduced the restaurant chain’s bland-looking new logo and the end of its kitschy country decor, the backlash from the public was immediate and fierce. Never underestimate the American public’s unmatched knack for sniffing out DEI dreck.

Months after Cracker Barrel quickly reversed course and reinstated the logo everyone loved, the CEO managed to keep her job, but the DEI specialist who made it onto the company’s board in 2020, the height of the DEI madness, got the boot. Of course, he got the boot after pressure was applied by activist investors, but nevertheless, the right outcome came to pass.

I want you to watch this clip from an interview Bret Baier did this week with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. BlackRock, under Fink’s direction and using its vast financial influence (it controls $10 trillion worth of investment assets), forced DEI and ESG and other woke policies on American corporations.

In some sense it’s good to hear him admit that he went too far, but as Will Hild pointed out, it was Fink who was one of the main forces who’s guilty of pushing the “pendulum” as far as it ended up going.

Besides, who could’ve see it coming that people would wake up one day and say the pendulum swung too far? Literally everyone who isn't living in a Davos echo chamber, that’s who.

I would add: Fink’s net worth is an estimated $1.3 billion.

Think of the cowardice. A billionaire who runs one of the world’s most powerful financial institutions couldn’t show any courage in the throes of the post-George Floyd madness. Couldn’t stand up to the bullies pushing the DEI nonsense. And instead took a heavy hand in forcing these corrosive policies on Americans. He only is able to make these comments now — after someone like Trump came along and swatted the DEI nonsense away.

Imagine the regular people working for $100K a year, or less, who lost a job — or never got a job — because of the hiring quotas companies were forced to adopt. What about investors who lost money when DEI policies took a bite out of revenue, and resulted in declining stock prices? A spineless, soulless guy like Larry Fink doesn’t care about that. Fink is a real-life Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. Interestingly, they even have the same estimated net worth, according to Forbes estimates.

But that’s not even the greatest irony in all of this. That would be the fact that the very people most targeted by DEI were white men — and it was a white man worth $1.3 billion, totally insulated from the evils of DEI, who put them in its crosshairs in the name of phony words like “equity.”

The Trump administration is continuing to set the example. Just a couple weeks ago, the CIA withdrew 17 intelligence reports the agency issued during the autopen administration over DEI bias in the reports. Those materials will no longer be accessible to U.S. policy makers.

Bravo to Trump and his administration for continuing to blaze this trail, a path that will lead us back to a state of normalcy.

Grammy-nominated country singer John Rich

I was “All Jacked Up” to talk to a bona fide country music legend, the incomparable John Rich — and we had a very candid conversation. Rich talked about what prompted him to pursue his sidequest — founding Old Glory Bank after decades of writing hit songs. Rich has emerged in recent years as a powerful voice for free speech in the U.S., and he explained why he’s taken such a risk being an advocate for free speech and American values, and what the response from people has been. Surprisingly, Rich told me, “Honestly, I don't think they do care what I have to say.” Rich also discussed his humble beginnings, and we had a chance to talk about music, with Rich addressing the cultural revival of traditional country music, and the difference between A.I. and human creativity.