Bye Bye Calibri! Font War Grips White House, Trump's Admin Bats For Times New Roman Here's Why

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The United States government has changed its typeface again-yes, literally its typeface-and in doing so has reignited a cultural skirmish few outside graphic-design world could have predicted. With a directive that has the energy of a university registrar demanding essays in double-spaced Times New Roman, the Trump administration has officially abandoned Calibri, restoring the serif stalwart as the State Department's mandatory voice to the world.

But as with most things in Washington, the choice of font is not just a choice of font.

A Return to Times New Roman, Because Apparently the Future Was Too Modern

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered State Department officials to return to Times New Roman in 14-point type, effective immediately. A spokesperson told CNN that this shift aligns with President Trump's“One Voice for America's Foreign Relations directive,” adding that the serif typeface is“more formal and professional.”

In case the symbolism was unclear, an internal cable-reported by Reuters-spelled it out: the change seeks to“restore decorum and professionalism to the Department's written work products and abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program.”

Few bureaucratic resets arrive with such literary flourish.

Font Politics 101: How Calibri Obtained a 'Woke' Reputation

The Biden administration had introduced Calibri across State Department documents in 2023. Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved the shift on the advice of internal diversity and disability groups.

Calibri, as a sans-serif typeface, is known for clean forms and simple strokes-qualities that improve legibility for many readers, especially on screens.

Calibri's creator, Dutch type designer Lucas de Groot, told CNN he was bewildered by its sudden politicisation.

“I was a little bit shocked by the news. I think it's hilarious and also a bit of a sad decision. I mean, Calibri was designed to be very well readable on screen in small sizes,” he said.

Lucas de Groot added, laughing:“I have no idea. I don't know what the woke thing in it is.” For de Groot, clarity and accessibility-not ideology-guided the design.

“Designing a typeface in general is for me always a task to make it as well readable as possible and also to give it a sympathetic voice, a friendly voice,” he said.“I think Times is a step back into the past.”

What Fonts Do for People With Disabilities: More Than a Style Choice

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Beyond aesthetics, typefaces materially affect how millions of Americans interact with government information.

Beyond aesthetics, typefaces materially affect how millions of Americans interact with government information.

Calibri: The Accessibility Champion That Never Asked to Be Political

Sans-serif typefaces like Calibri omit decorative line endings, which reduces visual clutter. Dyslexia specialists often recommend such fonts because the simplified letterforms minimise shape confusion.

Vision experts similarly note that sans-serif fonts, when displayed digitally, offer higher readability, especially for low-vision users navigating text at small sizes.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) acknowledges this body of research, recommending sans-serif fonts for improved accessibility. Many assistive technologies-from screen magnifiers to e-readers-also interpret sans-serif text more cleanly.

Calibri, in particular, was engineered for the Microsoft ClearType system, optimising legibility for digital environments-a context in which much government communication now unfolds.

Times New Roman: Tradition, Gravitas and the Romance of the Printed Page

Times New Roman, introduced in 1932 for The Times of London, is a serif font with elegant strokes and pronounced letterform contrast. These attributes give printed pages a sense of formality and permanence-qualities prized in legal systems and bureaucracies.

A State Department spokesperson highlighted this aesthetic lineage:

“Serif typefaces remain the standard in courts, legislatures, and across federal agencies where the permanence and authority of the written record are paramount.”

But serif fonts also present challenges. Readers with dyslexia often struggle with the additional flourishes, and for low-vision users, serif edges can distort on screens or at small sizes. Modern web accessibility guidelines generally advise defaulting to sans-serif options unless a specific serif font is optimised for digital clarity.

In short: Times New Roman excels in tradition; Calibri excels in inclusion. The fight between them is not merely stylistic-it reflects competing visions of what official communication should represent.

DEI by Typography: How We Arrived at a Culture War Over Letters

The reversal dovetails with Trump's broader dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion programmes. The president's January executive order ended what he called“radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.”

Federal workers in DEI roles have been placed on leave, and officials have leaned on companies to eliminate such programmes-though courts have blocked several efforts, particularly those targeting schools.

Within this climate, fonts have become proxy battlegrounds. Calibri, once the quiet, unobtrusive workhorse of the Microsoft Office suite, now stands accused of embodying DEI values because disability advocates recommended it.

Times New Roman, conversely, has been positioned as a return to seriousness, order and a more traditional bureaucratic identity.

The irony? Both fonts were created to improve readability for the public. Both are widely used. Neither was designed with political allegory in mind.

A Serious Debate With Ridiculous Undertones

While it is tempting to mock the government for litigating typefaces-the internet has certainly obliged-the episode exposes an important tension: whether American institutions should prioritise accessibility or preserve long-standing formal conventions.

Calibri's defenders argue that accessibility is not“wasteful” but fundamental to democratic participation. Times New Roman loyalists counter that official communication should project authority, continuity and professionalism.

In practice, the shift will affect countless diplomatic cables, briefings, speeches, memos and communiqués. It also sends a symbolic message about which constituencies the government chooses to foreground-or sideline.

The font war, absurd as it appears, is in fact a debate about the soul of communication in modern governance. And for now, the serif has won.

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