For the latest example of CBS not being the MAGA-coded network so many liberals think it is, CBS Saturday Morning co-host Adriana Diaz welcomed venture capitalist and author Arian Simone to try to argue that DEI “actually makes good business sense.”
Simone was on to promote her book, which deals in part with her 2024 decision to settle a lawsuit by agreeing to dismantle her Fearless Strivers Grant that handed out $20,000 to small businesses that were owned by at least one woman of color on the grounds it was illegally discriminatory. While that specific grant program has gone away, her mission of investing in minority and women-run businesses remains.
"MAGA-coded" CBS had Adriana Diaz ask Fearless Freedom's Arian Simone, "There's obviously been lot of talk about DEI and backlash against DEI. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. Why do you argue that they are not just good for everyone, that it doesn't just lift all… pic.twitter.com/ljvw9Z2HNf
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) October 24, 2026
At one point in the interview, Diaz asked, “There's obviously been lot of talk about DEI and backlash against DEI. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. Why do you argue that they are not just good for everyone, that it doesn't just lift all boats but actually makes good business sense?”
Simone used the common rhetorical trick that sees DEI advocates switch back-and-forth on the meaning of the word “diversity.” Responding to Diaz, Simone used “diversity” in the non-exclusionary sense of the word, “Diversity is good business. Every McKinsey report, every consulting company has proven time over time that diverse teams outperform non-diverse teams. So the business case is what it is.”
Diaz then wondered, “What work do you think can be done now?”
Simone didn’t really answer. Instead, she just hyped the book, “So much work can be done, and that's actually even in the book. So, the book has policy suggestions. There's a playbook for corporations in the book. There's a playbook for venture capitalists in the book. There's a playbook for government in the book of how do we move forward to a more equitable society? Because it's very possible.”
Diaz then offered Simone the opportunity to offer up a preemptive rebuttal to her critics, “What do you say to people who think of diversity as someone else getting a leg up over their own potential opportunity as unfair?”
Switching to the other, more politically charged definition of “diversity” that means actively picking winners based on race, Simone claimed, “Well, it's not. It's more so about evening the playing field so everyone has the same opportunity versus giving somebody a leg up.”
Even that answer doesn’t fully get to the backlash against DEI that Diaz referred to. Investing your own money in a business is not the same thing as having a workplace training program allegedly claiming “White people are cannibals” and “White people are like the devil." If CBS wants to have a discussion about “backlash against DEI,” it should focus on what people are actually revolting against.
Here is a transcript for the October 24 show:
CBS Saturday Morning
10/24/2026
8:41 AM ET
ADRIANA DIAZ: There's obviously been lot of talk about DEI and backlash against DEI. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. Why do you argue that they are not just good for everyone, that it doesn't just lift all boats but actually makes good business sense?
ARIAN SIMONE: Diversity is good business. Every McKinsey report, every consulting company has proven time over time that diverse teams outperform non-diverse teams. So the business case is what it is.
DIAZ: What work do you think can be done now?
SIMONE: So much work can be done, and that's actually even in the book. So, the book has policy suggestions. There's a playbook for corporations in the book. There's a playbook for venture capitalists in the book. There's a playbook for government in the book of how do we move forward to a more equitable society? Because it's very possible.
DIAZ: What do you say to people who think of diversity as someone else getting a leg up over their own potential opportunity as unfair?
SIMONE: Well, it's not. It's more so about evening the playing field so everyone has the same opportunity versus giving somebody a leg up.
