Trent Staggs is running in the crowded Utah GOP Senate primary as a MAGA hardliner opposed to Biden’s ‘woke agenda.’
Utah senate candidate Trent Staggs (R), the mayor of Riverton, touted the city’s “equitable” police department in the wake of George Floyd’s death and advocated the renaming of a local-government committee to support diversity and inclusion.
Staggs is running in the crowded Utah GOP Senate primary as an anti-establishment MAGA hardliner opposed to the “woke agenda” pushed by President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. His campaign website notes his opposition to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies and ideological school curricula.
In his 2021 state of Riverton address, he struck a different tone when discussing the town’s police department following the death of George Floyd and the months of riots and demonstrations by Black Lives Matter activists.
“In June, following national events and circumstances regarding police use of force and racism, Chief Hutson and I received numerous requests about our own police department policies,” Staggs said.
“We were able to tell all of these inquirers that we had already instituted, from the outset of our organization, policies and initiatives in regard to use of force, body cameras, anti-bias policy and training, hiring practices, and even complaints, the complaint process, which truly demonstrates the level of equitable policing in our community.”
Staggs discusses the “anti-bias” police training he referenced in a June 2020 letter he wrote to Riverton residents when the 2020 racial reckoning was in full bloom.
“Our officers are trained to recognize and address issues related to bias-based policing. Supervisors periodically review body camera recordings and other available resources used to document contact between officers and the public to ensure compliance with this policy,” the letter reads.
While police departments across the country have in recent years instituted trainings designed to address officers’ alleged “implicit bias,” a February 2023 study suggests the trainings “are unlikely to change police behavior.”
Later in 2021, Staggs dedicated part of his July Fourth address to criticizing America for its history of discrimination against various groups of people.
“Assuredly, one can look at our history and point to instances where we have struggled to ensure the equal protection of these unalienable rights,” Staggs stated.
“Slavery, restricting the right to vote, and other discriminatory practices tied to one’s gender, race, faith, or orientation that would infringe on these God-given rights has no place in American life or law.”
Earlier in his career, Staggs supported an effort to change the name and scope of Riverton’s “Public Events Committee” to the “Public Events and Inclusion Committee” in an effort to make town events more inclusive to underrepresented groups.
A spokesperson for Staggs told National Review he is opposed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and fully supports law enforcement.
“I find it ironic that within 24 hours of a video resurfacing that shows Brad Wilson proudly promoting DEI in the legislature, the Washington establishment is now pushing fake news stories and attacking Trent Staggs for working with our brave law-enforcement officers to keep our communities safe,” campaign spokesman Jared Whitley said.
“Trent has always opposed disastrous DEI policies and done everything within his power to fully fund and support law enforcement which is why the Utah Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed his campaign.”
He referenced an article from Breitbart on former Utah house speaker Brad Wilson (R.) changing his tune on DEI during his senate campaign. Wilson, Representative John Curtis, and Brent Orrin Hatch, the son of former Utah senator Orrin Hatch (R), are running against Staggs in the primary to replace outgoing GOP senator Mitt Romney.
Romney decided not to run for a second term after breaking with former president Donald Trump and becoming a moderate swing vote in the chamber. Before Romney announced his decision not to run, Staggs was positioning himself as the pro-Trump, anti-establishment alternative to Romney.
“The only thing I’ve seen [Romney] fight for are the establishment, wokeness, open borders, impeaching President Trump, and putting us even deeper into debt,” Staggs said in one advertisement. A headline covering Romney’s participation in a Black Lives Matter protest can be seen in the background. The strength of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 greatly influenced police departments to adopt reforms such as the “anti-bias” initiatives Staggs once supported, the center-left Brookings Institution noted in a retrospective.
Endorsements from Arizona senate candidate Kari Lake (R), conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and former Trump officials Kash Patel and Richard Grennell reflect Staggs’s support among the MAGA movement. The Utah Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Staggs last year, an endorsement Staggs said he sought out. Representative Matt Gaetz, a MAGA darling, is scheduled to join Staggs on the campaign trail Thursday and give Staggs his endorsement.