My arguments is not what you're making it up to be, at all. It's:

1. DEI is made into a major talking point by right wing propagandists.

2. DEI suddenly becomes a core issues for right wing voters.

Conservative politicians didn't adjust their messaging to address what matters to the voters, they made up an issue to galvanize hate against minorities and turn it into political goodwill. It's like the Jews under nazi Germany (but far, far less extreme). DEI/Jews aren't actually making that much of a difference in society, they're just a convenient scapegoat to point to and command hate from the masses.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&ge...

As for your note: yes, the democrats are severly lacking in the populism area. But don't mistake Trump's populism for any actual interest in voters' issues. After all, only a fool would think MAGA stands for equality and against discrimination.