Last week I read this:

Sweden tells Trump to fuck off: "An official in Sweden has condemned a U.S. demand that his city apply the Trump administration's rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies for contractors dealing with the American embassy."www.newsweek.com/european-cit…

— Michael Broussard (@michaelbroussard.bsky.social) 2025-05-07T20:42:56.444Z

It seems so unhinged that it was almost fantastical. This had to be some administration flunky overstepping their role, right? Nope, it’s real:

 The USA’s ambassador demands that the Stockholm City Planning Office does not work for, among other things, diversity and equality, reports Dagens Nyheter.

The demand was made in a letter, where a contract that the City Planning Office was expected to sign was also sent. According to the embassy, a new policy requires the contract to be signed by all who purchase services and goods from the USA.

The contract is expected to be sent back within ten working days – something that will not happen, according to City Planning Councillor Jan Valeskog (S).

It’s contrary to everything we stand for. They should withdraw these peculiarities, he says to DN and describes the whole thing as “completely absurd”.

If the USA terminates its acquaintance with the City Planning Office, the embassy will have a hard time getting building permits if they, for example, want to rebuild. It’s their headache, not ours.

WTF? So I started searching to see if this was just a one-time thing. Well, it’s not.

Belgian companies received the letter too:

Deputy Prime Minister Jan Jambon (N-VA) denounced on Sunday the American pressure on European companies – including Belgians – to abandon their anti-discrimination programmes.

‘In Europe, we have a culture of non-discrimination and we must continue to do so,’ commented Mr. Ham on the RTL-TVi set on Sunday night. “It is not America’s boss who should give us lessons.”

As did French companies:

On Saturday, the Trump administration told some French companies to confirm their compliance with DEI bans in a questionnaire.

“We inform you that Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-based Opportunities, signed by President Trump, applies to all suppliers and service providers of the U.S. Government, regardless of their nationality and the country in which they operate,” reads the letter, according to a copy that French newspaper Le Figaro.

“We would be grateful if you could complete and sign the document in English within five days and return it to us by email. If you do not agree to sign this document, we would appreciate if you could provide detailed reasons, which we will forward to our legal services,” the letter added.

I have to point out how stupid the President Grievance administration is:  “sign the document in English”. It is endless cringe with these people.

The Danes were also targeted:

Denmark has called for a group EU response to the Trump administration’s warnings that European companies must not use diversity programs.

French and Danish companies doing or looking to do business in the U.S. have received letters from U.S. embassies that included a questionnaire them to clarify they do not promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI programs.

But Denmark’s Industry Minister Morten Bodskov told AFP that Danish and European companies place great importance in diversity and that EU legislation has promoted diversity in corporate leadership and enhanced companies’ responsibility to society.

He said that there would be a united front within the EU against the policy which he described as “yet another attempt at an American trade barrier,” adding, “a response must naturally be discussed with our European colleagues.”

And it wasn’t just businesses. According to Eos, international researchers were also questioned by the administration:

Various U.S. federal agencies sent a 36-point survey to researchers abroad who receive U.S. funding, asking questions related to the Trump administration’s priorities. The questions cover topics such as “eradicating anti-Christian bias” and defending against “gender ideology,” and asked researchers to disclose ties to “entities associated with communist, socialist or totalitarian parties.”

The Conversation and The Guardian both published the communication in full. Specific questions include:

• Can you confirm this is not a climate or “environmental justice” project or include such elements?
• Does this project support U.S. energy independence or reduce global reliance on hostile countries for energy resources?
• Can you confirm that your organization has not received ANY funding from the PRC (including Confucius Institutes and/or partnered with Chinese state or non-state actors), Russia, Cuba, or Iran?
• Can you confirm that this is no DEI project or DEI elements of the project?
• Does this project take appropriate measures to protect women and to defend against gender ideology as defined in the below Executive Order?

Versions of the questionnaire were sent out to researchers in Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

All of this bullshit leaves me with one question:  WTF?

I’ll leave you with this: