# Can somebody explain the Calibri issue to me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 14, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690 "2025-12-14T20:05:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/61 "2025-12-15T17:46:14Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > If the State Department had been ordered to change with no reason given nobody currently would care This administration doesn’t do anything for no reason. It seems to me they search out the most ridiculous / offensive / masculine reason that can conceivably be applied and go with it. The SoS could have just directed the change because serif fonts are more “formal” and be done with it, but that’s a reason that’s based in human opinion. It doesn’t portray the SoS as a vigorous defender of decency, crusader against DEI, and masculine he-man who does what’s right regardless of what the libs think. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/62 "2025-12-15T18:37:15Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > If the State Department had been ordered to change with no reason given nobody currently would care I agree. There was no reason for this to be presented as a political issue. This makes me wonder if Rubio chose to make it a political issue because of Trump. Trump has an obsession with Biden and Rubio might have been doing some ass kissing by making a trivial issue into a supposed attack on a Biden appointee. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/63 "2025-12-15T18:40:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > This makes me wonder if Rubio chose to make it a political issue because of Trump. Trump has an obsession with Biden and Rubio might have been doing some ass kissing by making a trivial issue into a supposed attack on a Biden appointee. Quite possibly. There’s also the aspect of Trump and his administration pushing the “we need to destroy DEI” narrative, and it’s clear that they feel that accessibility is DEI bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/64 "2025-12-15T18:49:43Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Quite possibly. There’s also the aspect of Trump and his administration pushing the “we need to destroy DEI” narrative, and it’s clear that they feel that accessibility is DEI bullshit. If this was something Hegseth was doing, I’d agree that he’s crazy enough to actually believe the nonsense he’s saying. But I feel Rubio is sane just completely amoral. I feel Rubio is fully aware that Trump is stupid, incompetent, and a criminal - but Rubio is willing to play along with all that because it’s benefitting him personally. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/65 "2025-12-15T20:08:55Z")
If they were being honest, they’d put all the administration’s work in Comic Sans. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/66 "2025-12-15T20:11:20Z")
Or Cyrillic. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/67 "2025-12-15T21:30:54Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I agree. There was no reason for this to be presented as a political issue. This makes me wonder if Rubio chose to make it a political issue because of Trump. It really makes the administration look foolish, even compared to some of the other stuff they’ve done. And for their supporters… I guarantee there are some of them that are asking why they should care about a font. It was a huge misstep. Which makes me agree with you, that this was just something Trump came up with at some point, looking at a couple of documents and complaining that one didn’t look as fancy as the other, and demanding that Rubio do something about it. I can easily believe his deteriorating brain might think this was something worth a priority. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/68 "2025-12-16T01:35:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Or Cyrillic Except for the stuff in the original German. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/69 "2025-12-16T21:03:16Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Or Cyrillic. All Arabic numbers must go! ---
**Author:** ![Meatwater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meatwater/32/20074_2.png) [@Meatwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatwater)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/70 "2025-12-16T22:23:54Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > All Arabic numbers must go! Zohran Mamdani works fast! /s ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2025, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/71 "2025-12-17T16:19:00Z")
I have the impression that TNR was removed and Calibri was adopted because the two fonts were less/more readable for everyone, not specifically because they were less/more readable for the visually disabled. I think that’s the dumb-ass interpretation of “more readable on digital devices” that some knucklehead in the current administration arrived at, but I don’t think it’s the actual intent of the change. Now the actual intent of the change back is definitely to give a tiny middle finger to the “Woke” crowd by reverting back to what they consider the non-woke status quo ante. Which is all the more stupid if you read the original font change as being more readable for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/72 "2025-12-24T16:07:53Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I find Calibri and Arial proper to be essentially identical, and really wouldn’t grok why someone would have a strong preference for one over the other. Nope, Arial is bigger/wider. Type a sentence in Calibri 11 point, on the next line type one in Arial 10 point; they will be the same length. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > If they were being honest, they’d put all the administration’s work in Comic Sans. I think proclamations from Cheeto should be written in [Dear Teacher](https://font.download/images/thumb/9725/dear-teacher-full-3ddddee25f.jpg) as proof of his fitness since it shows he’s on track with citizens of similar mental age. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/73 "2025-12-24T16:36:54Z")
Obviously, there have been studies, but has any (meta)study ever shown unequivocally that there is a significant difference between serif and sans-serif typefaces “for everyone”, even on computer screens, especially compared to fundamental layout considerations? I can buy that the “digital devices” line refers to some specific study, but, as you say, perhaps that was not the point. I mean, has the Secretary of State even tried to justify, via bullshit or otherwise, which font might look “better”, versus making it not what the other guy used? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/74 "2025-12-24T19:25:30Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > even on computer screens, What confuses me is that on most (all?) digital devices, it is a simple matter to magnify the font. Which most folk w/ vision issues already do. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/75 "2025-12-24T19:34:41Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > What confuses me is that on most (all?) digital devices, it is a simple matter to magnify the font. Which most folk w/ vision issues already do. My understanding is that, for at least some vision problems, magnification alone doesn’t really help. Some vision problems cause blurriness, regardless of size, and apparently some fonts are more legible to people with that sort of issue. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690/76 "2025-12-24T22:33:18Z")
It’s not the font. Lil’ Marco had to do something. Noem and Kegsbreath are actively killing brown people. Killing a Biden font is the best he can do to curry favor during the phoney staff meetings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-the-calibri-issue-to-me/1025690.md?page=3)