The past several years have seen substantial growth and progress in reversing the stigma against people with disabilities and neurodiversity, especially in employment. Major companies like Google, Microsoft, SAP, and Hewlett-Packard have implemented programs specifically to recruit professionals who are neurodivergent and provide them with equal opportunities to succeed. This is due both to hard-fought advocacy from people with disabilities and allies of the neurodiverse community, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), which seeks to educate hiring managers, co-workers, and employers about the strengths and talents of employees with disabilities.
Unfortunately, the current presidential administration seems determined to undo and undermine that progress, as shown by the remarks of President Donald Trump following a deadly plane crash last month near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which claimed 7 lives and left at least 24 people injured. In his Jan. 30 press conference following the disaster, Trump wasted no time not only pinning the blame on DEI, but in making people with disabilities the focus of that indictment.
“I put safety first,” Trump declared in the press briefing. “Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first. The FAA’s website states they include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability, and dwarfism.” Contrary to Trump’s assertion, the Federal Aviation Administration does not say that people with those disabilities are qualified for controller positions, as CBS News pointed out.
More to the point, the President of the United States wields substantial influence over corporate and public opinion, as Trump is undoubtedly well aware. By scapegoating and vilifying millions of Americans with disabilities, Trump’s remarks strengthen the harmful myths and misconceptions that supporters of the neurodiverse community have fought so hard against, for so long.
With all of that being said, Trump’s comments are not particularly surprising, given his history of contempt and ridicule of people with disabilities. During his presidential campaign this past October, for example, Trump disparaged his opponent, former VP Kamala Harris, as “retarded” in a dinner with donors (CNN). During his first presidential campaign in 2015, he openly ridiculed Serge Kovaleski, a journalist with a physical handicap, in a move that provoked significant backlash at the time (BBC).
Trump’s comments following the recent Flight 5342 disaster drew condemnation from numerous disability rights organizations. In a joint statement, the National Disability Rights Network, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the American Council of the Blind, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, the Disability Rights, Education and Defense Fund, the United Spinal Association, and the National Federation of the Blind all denounced Trump’s comments as “irresponsible, disparaging, and wrong.”
“It is extremely inappropriate for the President to use this tragedy as an opportunity to advance his anti-diversity hiring agenda,” the organizations’ stated. “The focus of the federal government and the entire nation should be on the emergency response, a thorough investigation, and most of all, supporting the families and communities who lost their loved ones in this tragedy.”
Today, Creative Spirit joins those groups in speaking out. Trump’s demeaning comments serve no purpose other than to diminish the role of people with disabilities in employment. We are a nonprofit created not only to enable and support fair-wage employment for the neurodiverse community, but to inspire an appreciation and recognition of that community’s diverse strengths, talents, and capabilities. As such, we are duty-bound to advocate for and unequivocally defend the neurodiverse community, especially when attacks are being leveled against it from the highest echelons of power. No war against DEI will deter us from our mission to serve the neurodiverse community. On the contrary, it only strengthens our commitment to speak truth to power, and to advocate even more strongly for a demographic that has been marginalized and excluded for far too long.
“Brilliant people have to be in those [FAA] positions,” Trump asserted in his press briefing after the Flight 5342 disaster. We are here to assert that people with disabilities and neurodiversity are brilliant. They are hard-working, talented, and deserving of equal opportunities to succeed. President Trump may not recognize that, but we are going to work our hardest to ensure that all employers and companies do.