Yes, he is serious. The fact that your initial response to it is the pooh-poohing of racial equity (how is *that* a bad thing?) tells me that you know he's right.
Right now it's your MAGA leaders making promises that they can't and won't keep. They are actively destroying our society at the behest of an orange sociopathic asshole narcissist convicted felon con man pathological liar with the temperament of a spoiled 4 year old. His "leadership" has only one goal: for himself to make as much money as possible without regard to the damage being done. The current GOP controlled Congress has the power to stop him, and they are doing absolutely nothing.
If you want to get out of this free fall you need to kick the GOP to the curb, since they are at best allowing this nonsense to continue, and at worst actively supporting it. Thanks to our FPTP voting that means Democrats.