America's elite institutions are facing an existential crisis as the diversity, equity, and inclusion framework they've championed for over a decade crumbles under the weight of its own failures, according to leading conservative voices.
BlazeTV hosts Christopher Rufo and Jonathan "Lomez" Keeperman delivered a scathing assessment of the DEI era's impact on American institutions, questioning whether any of them actually improved during what Keeperman calls "the BLM era."
"That 10-year period... the BLM era, let's call it. Did any of these institutions get better? Did the journalism at the Times and the Post and the Atlantic improve? Were there sparkling, important, seismic essays that emerged?"
The answer, according to these commentators, is a resounding no.
A Reckoning Years in the Making
Under President Trump's leadership, the federal government has moved swiftly to dismantle DEI programs across agencies, fulfilling campaign promises to end what conservatives have long viewed as discriminatory practices disguised as progress.
The collapse extends far beyond government. Major corporations are quietly abandoning their DEI initiatives, universities are facing enrollment challenges and credibility crises, and legacy media outlets continue hemorrhaging subscribers and viewers.
Rufo, who has been at the forefront of exposing critical race theory and DEI ideology in American institutions, argues that these establishments tied their fate to a divisive ideology — and are now paying the price.
Not Necessarily a Bad Thing
Perhaps most striking is the suggestion that the potential death of these institutions isn't something to mourn. After embracing ideologies that many Americans view as fundamentally anti-American and divisive, these establishments may have forfeited their right to public trust.
The journalism industry, once considered a pillar of democracy, instead became a vehicle for ideological activism. Universities, meant to be bastions of free thought and rigorous debate, transformed into echo chambers that punished dissent.
"The institutions didn't get better — they got worse," the analysis suggests, pointing to declining quality, increasing political bias, and a fundamental abandonment of their core missions.
What Comes Next
As the Trump administration continues rolling back DEI mandates and Americans increasingly reject woke ideology, the question becomes: what rises from the ashes?
Conservative commentators see an opportunity for new institutions built on merit, free speech, and genuine intellectual diversity to emerge. The old guard, they argue, had their chance — and they chose ideology over excellence.
The American people, it seems, have rendered their verdict.