Let Fascist Republicans Speak at Harvard

We should invite MAGA Republicans to speak at Harvard — even though they’re fascists. Let me explain.

Each year, the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at the Harvard Kennedy School hosts speaker events with some of the world’s most powerful leaders. Since August 2023, the Forum has invited 11 Republican politicians to speak.

That number isn’t small, and I applaud the Forum’s efforts to introduce intellectual diversity by platforming conservative opinions that are underrepresented on campus. As a matter of fact, if you attended those events, you might actually get a positive sense of the Republican Party — a sense that it supports democracy, patriotism, and moderation.

That’s because the Forum’s Republican speakers have one thing in common: They’ve all condemned the Jan. 6 insurrection (or in Jeffrey J. Denham’s case, stayed silent on it).

Forum speakers Roy D. Blunt, Rodney L. Davis, and Rep. Mike J. Gallagher (R-WI) voted to certify the 2020 election in Congress. Elaine L. Chao and Mick Mulvaney resigned from the Trump administration after the Capitol attack. Former Representative William B. Hurd called the attacks “a coup,” Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox described the insurrection as “evil,” and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon declared it an “affront to the very Constitution that has made our country what it is.” Then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen said he prevented former President Donald J. Trump from using the Justice Department to overturn the election. And former Speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan said he was “absolutely horrified” by the Jan. 6 riot and sobbed as he watched the attack occur.

We’d be living in a different world if these Republican defenders of democracy ran the country — but the reality is, they don’t. By cherry picking these moderate Republicans, the Forum gives the Harvard community a warped sense of the current Republican Party.

The majority of congressional Republicans voted against certifying U.S. President Joseph R. Biden’s lawful 2020 election victory, threatening to undermine 250 years of American democratic tradition. As of the end of last year, less than one third of Americans who identified as Republican believed that the 2020 election results were legitimate. Many Republican leaders who originally condemned the Jan. 6 attack are now supporting Donald J. Trump’s 2024 election bid — despite his promise to be a dictator on “day one” of his second term.

Numerous historians have argued that these politicians and their willingness to destroy American democracy amounts to fascism. For example, Columbia University professor and fascism expert Robert Paxton wrote after Jan. 6: “I have been reluctant to use the F word for Trumpism, but yesterday’s use of violence against democratic institutions crosses the red line.”

I’m terrified by the fascist takeover of the GOP and its implications for the future of our country. But that’s exactly why we must allow these fascists to speak at Harvard. If Harvard aims to train the next generation of leaders, students must learn how to engage with and respond to attacks on our democracy.

Keeping Republican fascists from speaking at Harvard doesn’t actually limit their influence. These figures are well-known politicians — they have huge platforms already, receiving enormous amounts of media attention and spreading their antidemocratic ideas to thousands (or in some cases millions) of followers on social media. They don’t need to speak at Harvard to get their message out.

It’s also wrong to think that hosting speakers necessarily legitimizes their ideas. When we host these speakers, we should be hyper-critical. The Forum and other student organizations should have incisive moderators challenge the speakers and should open up the floor for students to ask hard questions. This would give Harvard students a valuable opportunity to learn how to respond to fascist ideas. And in the age of social media, one of these interactions could go viral — and expose the danger of Republican authoritarianism to millions of Americans. When the fascists come, they should be ready to face opposition and disagreement.

“Deplatforming” these speakers doesn’t really work and actually just insulates Harvard students from views held by tens of millions of Americans.

In a time when fascism has taken over the Republican Party, so many of us at Harvard are terrified about the future of American democracy. But this fear can’t prevent us from engaging with these horrific, antidemocratic ideas: We can’t look away as our democracy crumbles.

Maya A. Bodnick is a Government concentrator in Mather House. Her column, “Forging Harvard’s Future,” appears bi-weekly on Tuesdays.