President Trump Kills 'Woke' Broadband Program Because It Has the Word 'Equity'

President Donald Trump turned his sights to the little-known Digital Equity Act, calling the program “racist” and “unconstitutional” in a post on his social media site Truth Social, vowing to end the program “immediately.” “Immediate” turned out to be the very next day, when states and nonprofits began receiving notices that said their grants had been terminated. “As the President determined and as Secretary Lutnick agreed,” the Act uses “impermissible and unconstitutional racial preferences.” President Trump referred to the Digital Equity Act as “woke handouts based on race,” but the act hardly mentions race at all. Eight “covered populations” are included in the Act, including older Americans, veterans, people with disabilities, anyone living in rural areas and “members of a racial or ethnic minority group.” “80% of the country fits one of those groups,” said Drew Garner, director of policy at the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society. “In most states, the rural population is the largest.” The map for populations covered by the Digital Equity Act hardly looks like a “woke” stronghold. West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama are all in the top 10 for highest percentages of populations eligible for money, and all of them have already had their applications for funding approved. “That's the great irony. It's rural residents. It's older Americans. It's veterans. It's a bunch of folks that voted for Donald Trump,” said Gigi Sohn, a senior fellow at the Benton Institute.