Transcript
Narrator/Announcer (0:04)
Every week, Hillsdale College president Larry Arne joins Hugh Hewitt to discuss great books, great men and great ideas. This is Hillsdale Dialogues, part of the Hillsdale College Podcast Network. More episodes at Podcast Hillsdale. Edu or wherever you find your audio.
Hugh Hewitt (0:33)
Morning Glory and Evening Grace America. I'm Hugh Hewlett. That music means it's time for the Hillsdale Dialogue. On this Good Friday, I'm pleased to welcome Dr. Larry Arn, President of Hillsdale College. Back with me, Dr. Arn, in advance, a happy Easter to you. I assume you're gonna have a glorious celebration on the campus chapel.
Dr. Larry Arnn (0:51)
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's Easter's fun in a college. Lots of music when you get past Lent. Yeah, we had a. We had a Passion Tide concert here the other night, and it was simply world class. We have a sacred music choir, and it's. It's conducted by a man named Tim McDonnell, who's maybe one of the best in the world. And the thing was just transformative. It was just lovely to watch.
Hugh Hewitt (1:17)
I envy you that chapel, that setting and that music. Dr. Arnold, we got a lot to cover today. We're not going to touch on the Florida State shooting. It takes at least 96 hours for people to have facts straight. But I want to begin by asking. We're coming up on the 100 days mark. We won't talk again until after it's passed, except about Churchill. Next week we'll be back into his early life. I'm curious what you think about the exercise of the 100 days.
Dr. Larry Arnn (1:43)
Well, I never saw so much energy and purpose. It comes very fast. Critics of it. There are two bunches that I noticed. One. One bunch just hates what he's doing and hates him. Another bunch thinks it's all too reckless and chaotic and he's doing too much. And I don't know. I think that there's a plan and I am excited to watch it. I don't know if it'll be successful or not. Nobody can. But the plan is he wants to get the government under control and he wants to get the expense out of it. So much expense, at least. He wants to settle some wars and he wants to adjust the terms of trade all over the world, and those are the main things he's working on. And he's been saying that since what? Well, it actually goes back before his political career, but at least in a political career since 2015.
Hugh Hewitt (2:42)
I want to begin by talking about the one big thing he opened up on this week, which was Harvard and before that, Columbia. But then he came back at Harvard hard yesterday or two days ago on Wednesday and said, well, maybe you should lose your tax exemption. And when he said that, Lawrence Tribe, Lawrence Summer, former President of Harvard, former Secretary of the treasury, posted, any self respecting treasury secretary would resign rather than have a department be complicit in the weaponization of the IRS against a political adversary of the President. Harvard will endure and it is far, far from perfect. But if this directive is not withdrawn, the administration will have taken another substantial step away from the rule of law and democracy. For the benefit of our viewers, Dr. Arn, Harvard has been found guilty of discrimination on the basis of race in admissions in 2023 by the Supreme Court. And we have all seen with our eyes systemic antisemitism throughout the campus, which to my mind has not been remedied, much less even confronted, as the people who engaged in at least one of those acts got their degrees and have been somewhat honored around campus. So I think Harvard's in big trouble. And when the Department of Education, a couple other agencies send you six pages of suggestions on how you might get right and you say off with you, a high handed dismissal, what'd you make of that exchange and what do you think's gonna happen?
