CBS host Gayle King argued people didn’t understand what DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion, really means during a Wednesday morning segment.
“CBS Mornings” co-host Vladimir Duthiers introduced a recent report from the Washington Post that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) had removed several pages on minority servicemen, including one on Ira Hayes, a Native American Marine who helped raise the U.S. flag in the famous Iwo Jima photo taken during World War II.
Duthiers described the move as part of President Donald Trump’s “anti-DEI mandate,” which offended King.
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“It’s insulting to include that in DEI,” King said. “DEI to me means ‘definitely earned it.’ You know, people don’t understand exactly, I think, what DEI is. It’s really heartbreaking to see what’s happening here.”
Duthiers pointed out that some of the pages that were removed have since been restored.
Another notable figure briefly removed from the DOD website included famous baseball player Jackie Robinson, who served as a second lieutenant during World War II. After some backlash to the move, the story was later restored on Wednesday.
In a comment to Fox News Digital, Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot said that the department is pleased with efforts removing DEI content from its platforms and praised the service of people like Robinson and Hayes for characteristics outside of race.
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“In the rare cases that content is removed – either deliberately or by mistake – that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content so it recognizes our heroes for their dedicated service alongside their fellow Americans, period,” the statement read.
The Pentagon did not respond to questions about what other pages have been restored or whether deleting these pages was done on purpose or by mistake.
King made a similar comment in 2023, decrying how the term “wokeism” became a pejorative for radical left-wing ideas.
“I know, it’s so sad to me now that the word ‘wokeism’ has now almost become weaponized,” King said. “It’s really missing the point about what’s being taught here. You know, I don’t look at it as ‘wokeism’ so much as ‘truthism.’”
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