Sen. Raphael Warnock Reminds Trump That He Lives In ‘A White House Built By Black Hands’

The reverend rebukes Trumps attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) used his time in the pulpit as a guest preacher at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. to rebuke the attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) by President Donald Trump, The Hill reported.

During the annual HBCU Welcome Sunday on Feb. 16, Warnock, a Baptist preacher, labeled Trump’s orders as a “wholesale unabashed assault” on DEI, reminding him that if it wasn’t for the initiatives, the White House wouldn’t be a thing.

“Don’t tell me you reject DEI when you live in a White House built by Black hands,” Warnock said.

“The White House is a DEI house built by slaves who worked without the benefit of compensation.”

Federal DEI programs were eliminated just days after the 47th President was sworn in, as a result of an executive order to end “illegal preferences and discrimination” in government and find ways to “encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI.” With threats to abolish the Department of Education, schools, including HBCUs, have been warned to either get rid of all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives by the end of February 2025 or lose funding, including outlawing scholarships designed for Black students’ benefit. “Diversity is sometimes offensive. It makes you uncomfortable because when you are accustomed to privilege, diversity might feel like oppression,” the Democratic lawmaker said.

Throughout the service, including songs sung by the North Carolina Central University choir, the Morehouse College grad placed a spiritual context on DEI. Warnock alluded to the fact that he isn’t married to the term, but in Latin, DEI stands for “God,” so it should be uplifting, not destroyed. “In God’s vision for the world there is diversity,” Warnock said, according to The Washington Informer.

Within his sermon, he took time to downplay Trump’s claims of DEI being the reasoning behind the devastating American Airlines crash that took the lives of dozens of people just miles away from the cathedral. Warnock also stepped up to defend the Cathedral’s Bishop Mariann Budde, who made headlines for calling Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance out to their faces over their acts against immigration.

After Trump blasted her and demanded an apology, Warnock said she doesn’t need to do a thing but continue to “stand in the best of our tradition and speak the truth.”

“When the prophet speaks the prophet doesn’t apologize. Those who hear are called to repent,” he said with a response of applause.