‘Bizarre’: Trump Administration Confuses Swedish Officials by Demanding City Cut DEI Policies

Photo by Cheriss May/Sipa via AP Images

The Trump administration sparked confusion in Stockholm by demanding that Sweden’s capital city gut policies regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Specifically, U.S. embassy officials in Stockholm gave the city’s planning office 10 days to sign an agreement stating that Swedish officials would comply with U.S. anti-discrimination laws and eschew DEI policies that run afoul of them. The agreement would apply to contractors that do work for the U.S. embassy.

Stockholm Vice Mayor for City Planning Jan Valeskog told Newsweek the city will not agree to it.

“I expect the embassy to withdraw its bizarre demand directed at the City of Stockholm’s City Planning Department,” he said. “People in Stockholm and Sweden are surprised and upset that President Trump, through the U.S. Embassy, is trying to oppose diversity, equality and inclusion in Sweden. On the contrary, these are values that we strive for and stand up for in Stockholm.”

Officials in other European countries have reported receiving similar demands from the Trump administration. In March, France received one such letter, to which one French official replied, “It is out of the question.”

President Donald Trump has made opposing DEI a centerpiece of his agenda. He has targeted several American universities over their DEI policies and has even threatened to withhold government funding. One of the schools targeted is  Harvard University, which rejected the president’s demands.

“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,”universityHarvard President Alan Garber said last month.