By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
President Donald Trump has once again elevated a known white nationalist to a key government position, appointing Darren Beattie as the acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Beattie, who has a long record of racist, misogynistic, and extremist rhetoric, will now be responsible for shaping U.S. messaging abroad, including on issues of counterterrorism and violent extremism. For African Americans and other marginalized communities, Beattie’s appointment is yet another clear signal that this administration prioritizes individuals who openly promote white supremacy and hostility toward diversity. This pattern has been a hallmark of Trump’s administration, where figures with histories of racism, bigotry, and extremism have been strategically placed in powerful positions. Beattie, a former speechwriter for Trump, was dismissed from the White House in 2018 after reports surfaced of his ties to white nationalist groups. Since then, he has built a platform to amplify extremist ideology, founding the right-wing media outlet Revolver News, which has spread disinformation, particularly regarding the January 6 attack. Beattie has repeatedly promoted baseless conspiracies, including the false claim that federal agencies orchestrated the insurrection, calling it a “Fedsurrection.”
Beattie’s record of explicit racism and misogyny is well-documented. In one tweet last year, he declared, “Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work. Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities and demoralizing competent white men.” He praised Dr. James Watson; the disgraced scientist who claimed Black people were genetically inferior to white people. Beattie has also taken direct aim at Black lawmakers and policy leaders, demanding that they “learn their place” and “take a knee to MAGA.” In a series of deleted tweets following the January 6 attack, he called for Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to kneel before MAGA supporters, while also targeting Black figures such as Senator Tim Scott, historian Ibram X. Kendi, and Kay Cole James of the Heritage Foundation with the same racist command.
His attacks extend to gender. In 2020, he criticized pop star Taylor Swift for opposing a Tennessee Capitol monument honoring Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest. He compared Swift’s advocacy to performing sexual favors for music producers, writing, “That celebrities are required to debase themselves with such statements is, in some ways, even more humiliating than the physical favors they are required to perform for their producers.” His statements on foreign policy have also raised concerns. In July 2024, Beattie dismissed concerns over a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, writing that it “might mean fewer drag queen parades in Taiwan, but otherwise not the end of the world,” while suggesting the U.S. should negotiate “massive concessions from China on Africa and Antarctica.” In September 2024, he implied that the U.S. intelligence community was more likely to be behind assassination attempts on Trump’s life than Iran. His disdain for U.S. diplomatic institutions was evident in his 2021 remark, “Imagine having respect for the State Department.”
Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett railed against Trump, Beattie, and the administration’s opposition to diversity. “The only people that are crying are the mediocre white boys that have been beaten out by people that historically have had to work so much harder,” Crockett said. She addressed Beattie’s complaints about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, saying, “If you are competent, you are not concerned.” Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy also blasted Beattie’s appointment. “It seems to be standard that the qualification to serve in the Trump administration is affection for racist and misogynist philosophy,” Murphy asserted. Timothy Welbeck, director of Temple University’s Center for Anti-Racism, stated, “The United States cannot say that it’s fully been a meritocracy when we have 249 years of slavery, 90 years of racialized segregation, and barred women from entering into the workforce in meaningful ways for much of our nation’s history.” Murphy added, “There seems to be people like him being peppered throughout Trump’s government.”
