Former MSNBC host Joy Reid blamed a lack of diversity for the fall of the Roman Empire and claimed the United States could go the same way if they don’t embrace DEI.

The former “ReidOut” host, along with left-wing political commentator Wajahat Ali, criticized corporations like Walmart and Target on Thursday for scaling back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) during the Trump administration.

Reid claimed that business and countries need diversity to not only thrive but survive as a nation, comparing it to the Roman Empire and Europe.

Joy Reid blamed Romans for rejecting diversity for the fall of the Roman Empire. (Screenshot/Substack | Photo by Andrea Ronchini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“If you take that away and try to distill us just down to White folks, we’ll be like Europe, an aging, slowly dying former empire,” Reid said during a live Substack video. “The Roman Empire didn’t survive because it didn’t have enough strength in its diversity. It suppressed its diversity, and it died. If the U.S. wants to be the Roman Empire, keep voting the way you voting, y’all.”

Earlier in the podcast, Reid argued corporations appealing to White populations would essentially be targeting customers aged 60 and up, calling them a “finite quantity” that are “going to die.”

“If you’re under the age of 20 right now, your generational group, the Gen Alpha group, are already majority non-White,” Reid said. “So it’s fait accompli. In 2045, the United States will be a country that no longer has a White majority.”

MSNBC host Joy Reid speaks during MSNBC’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention. (MSNBC/Screenshot)

She continued, “We are essentially a Latin American country, and we’re going to look more like Latin American countries, which we kind of are, right? We’re going to look more like our region where most people will be brown, and the majority will not be White. Texas is already there. California is already there. The whole country is going in that direction.”

Prior to being let go from MSNBC, Reid frequently attacked White people as a voting bloc on her show and on the network, blaming White women for then-Vice President Kamala Harris losing the election in 2024.