Trump’s Culture War – The Real Agenda Behind “Anti-Woke” Legislation

In the second term of Donald Trump, “anti-woke” hysteria has moved from cable news to the core of federal and state policy. With right-wing governors echoing Trump’s agenda like foot soldiers and MAGA lawmakers introducing wave after wave of so-called “education reform,” the United States is facing nothing less than a full-blown cultural purge disguised as patriotism.

Let’s call it what it is: state-sponsored censorship.

🎯 What Is “Anti-Woke” Really Targeting?

The term “woke” has been intentionally turned into a bogeyman—a vague, all-encompassing slur hurled at anything that challenges systemic inequality. Under this umbrella, the right has declared war on:

• Racial justice education

• Gender and LGBTQ+ inclusion

• Books by BIPOC and queer authors

• Discussions of American history that mention slavery, colonization, or white supremacy

• Mental health and diversity resources for students

The Trump administration, hand in hand with far-right think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and groups like Moms for Liberty, is pushing a national effort to sanitize classrooms, intimidate teachers, and weaponize parental fear for political gain.

This isn’t about protecting children. It’s about manufacturing a crisis and consolidating power through fear.

📚 The Book Bans Keep Spreading

In over 30 states, schools and libraries are facing escalating book bans—many of them initiated by single individuals or organized far-right campaigns. Books like The Bluest Eye, Gender Queer, Stamped, and even Maus are being ripped from shelves for being “divisive,” “pornographic,” or “anti-American.”

According to PEN America, more than 5,000 book bans have taken place since 2022, and the numbers are growing in 2025 as state legislatures expand their definitions of “obscene” material.

But ask yourself: Who decides what’s obscene? The same people banning drag queens but not gun shows in schools? The same lawmakers who protect Confederate monuments but erase Black history?

This isn’t moral panic. It’s strategic whitewashing.

🧠 Teaching Fear, Not Freedom

Trump’s re-election has emboldened the forces of reaction. His new Secretary of Education—an evangelical crusader with no public education experience—has made clear their goal: destroy the Department of Education “as we know it” and replace it with “patriotic curriculum,” Christian nationalism, and school privatization.

The result?

• Teachers leaving in droves due to fear, burnout, and harassment

• Students feeling silenced—especially queer, trans, and BIPOC youth

• Parents manipulated by disinformation into supporting policies that harm their own children’s futures

✊ What We Can Do

We fight back. We push truth. We support educators, librarians, and students who are standing up every day.

Here’s how:

• Donate to or join anti-censorship orgs like PEN America, the ACLU, and local librarian defense funds.

• Read and share banned books—organize banned book clubs or events.

• Run for school boards, attend meetings, and speak up—don’t let the far right dominate local education policy unopposed.

• Support teachers’ unions who are fighting both curriculum censorship and corporate-driven charter expansion.

The culture war is not a distraction. It is a deliberate assault on truth, identity, and democracy—and it starts in the classroom.

Resisting it is not “radical.” It’s essential.