Rubio stages font coup: Times New Roman ousts Calibri

Political theater and “Idiocracy” vibes

• Many see the font switch as emblematic of a petty, culture-war administration, comparing it to satirical works and “Idiocracy.”
• Commenters argue this is a distraction from serious issues (wars, corruption, economy), and evidence that US politics is now about “vibes” rather than governance.
• Several note that both the prior switch to Calibri and the return to Times New Roman are trivial in themselves, but the framing—calling Calibri a DEI/diversity move—is what makes the reversal notable and divisive.
• Some frame it as deliberate outrage bait: keep the public talking about “woke fonts” instead of policy or misconduct.

Accessibility, DEI, and competing claims

• The 2023 move to Calibri is described (via State Department materials) as an accessibility measure: sans serif fonts allegedly work better for OCR, screen readers, and readers with some disabilities or learning differences.
• Others question this, saying evidence that serifs are harmful is weak or mixed, and that font choice has limited real-world accessibility impact.
• Some research is cited where Times New Roman performs worst among tested fonts for OCR, but commenters point out this doesn’t prove a large practical benefit.
• Rubio’s order is criticized for explicitly tying the reversal to “wasteful” DEI efforts; opponents see that as an attack on disabled people by proxy. Defenders argue the memo mostly talks about coordination/cost and only briefly hits DEI.

Fonts, readability, and alternatives

• Strong dislike is expressed for both Calibri (default, “milquetoast,” homoglyph l/I) and Times New Roman (dated, bland, poor on screens).
• Serif vs sans debates:
  • Some insist serifs aid long-form reading and character distinction (1/I/l), especially in print.
  • Others counter that on screens, sans-serif is consistently more legible, especially for people with dyslexia or low vision.
• Alternatives proposed: Century (used by courts), Garamond, Cambria, Aptos (new Office default), Public Sans (US government OSS font), Roboto Condensed, Montserrat, and even Comic Sans for ironic effect.

Meta: news value and technocratic competence

• Several call the entire story non-news, but others reply that the real story is senior officials spending time and rhetorical firepower on font choices.
• Some lament that politicians are directly making technical/typographic decisions instead of delegating to experts, seeing it as another symptom of institutional decay.