In this episode of “The No-Longer-Hallowed Halls of Academia”…
In a surprise move, Harvard University President Alan M. Garber reportedly told faculty members in a closed session that they need to rethink their messaging after President-elect Donald Trump won a decisive victory in the 2024 general election, which also included there were several downward movements. The Republican Party wins, resulting in them regaining control of the Senate and retaining the House of Representatives.
Translation: Garber reads the writing on the wall.
Garber reportedly described his perspective on the post-election mood in Washington, D.C., which he said represents the greatest threat to the university in recent memory Harvard Crimson reported (emphasis mine).
At the FAS [Faculty of Arts and Sciences] At his Dec. 3 meeting, Garber said he had met with about 40 members of Congress on six trips to Washington since taking office [Harvard] President. Garber said he emerged from the discussions believing that was the case He expressed bipartisan frustration with Harvard and acknowledged that he thought the criticism contained elements of truth.
Garber’s comments – one of his first since President-elect Donald Trump won a second term in the White House – suggest that Harvard leaders are doing so Reassessing their public messages amid an increasingly hostile climate in Washington.
During his remarks, Garber said this The university’s communications strategy didn’t work as well as its leaders thought.
Details of the meeting were shared with The Crimson by three faculty participants who were granted anonymity to describe Garber’s private comments to the FAS.
The Crimson reported that Garber viewed last month’s election results as an “anti-elite rejection of the American electorate” and said Harvard “must listen to public criticism with ’empathy and humility.’
So let’s analyze the bold parts of the block quote above.
It’s no surprise that Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance are joined by Republican members of Congress more than frustrated with the no longer hallowed halls of academia, including Harvard, but it is somewhat of a surprise that Garber suggested that Democratic members were also frustrated at Harvard and, more broadly, at other universities and colleges.
TThis could be for several reasons, including that many “moderate” Democrats have been held hostage by their party’s radical faction, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley.
Or perhaps more than a few “moderate” Democrats in Congress agree with most of the bile being spewed by radical, far-left professors, I would like to see elite academics turn down the volume a bit given the Democratic Party’s rejection in the election.
It’s vital to note that while Garber admitted that Harvard’s communications strategy didn’t work as well as those in charge originally thought did not provide details about how Harvard would change its messaging in the future.
Nevertheless, the Harvard Crimson wrote:
Garber’s conciliatory tone suggests he wants to take a diplomatic rather than defiant approach to dealing with a novel presidential administration that has Harvard in its sights.
“Conciliatory tone.” Interesting. And it is not uncommon for the left to follow what some call a “mandate” for Trump.
As I reported on Thursday, Facebook co-founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms (DBA: Meta, formerly Facebook, Inc.) flew to Florida for a private meeting with Trump and donated a measly million dollars to the novel president’s inauguration Fund. This was Zuckerberg’s latest attempt to make amends with Trump after he admitted to Congress that Facebook censored users at the Biden administration’s request.
READ MORE: Oh please: Zuckerberg makes a $1 million peace offering for Trump’s inauguration fund
Likewise Amazon founder Jeff Bezoslong an enemy of the president-elect, congratulated Trump on X after the election for “an extraordinary political comeback and a decisive victory” and said this month that he was “actually very optimistic this time.”
He spoke at a New York Times conference said: “What I’ve seen so far is that he’s calmer than the first time and more confident, more relaxed.”
The conclusion
The list of people like Harvard President Alan Garber, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is long, but the reason they’re lining up to make the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to kiss Trump’s ring, is tiny:
Smart leftists, who have more to lose than gain, are aware that they do not have a forceful hand against a man who overcame incredible hurdles to become the 47th President of the United States. They also know that if they fall foul of Donald J. Trump, they will lose.
