The College Fix

A parade of professors who co-hosted a recent standing-room-only teach-in at the University of Michigan argued that President Donald Trump and tech mogul Elon Musk are engaging in lawlessness and anti-democratic extremism to the detriment of the country.

The two-and-a-half-hour teach-in drew several hundred students to an Angell Hall auditorium and even prompted the need to create an overflow room. An email advertising the Feb. 12 event stated that the “U.S. president and the richest man in the world are challenging constitutional precedents and about to collide with the courts.”

“Why is this happening? What is at stake? And what can be done about it?”

Ten professors representing fields including public policy, law, political science, business and communications spoke at the event for roughly five to 10 minutes apiece. There were also some questions from the audience.

Business Professor Jerry Davis targeted the role of Big Tech and Silicon Valley’s influence in current political trends, saying they used to actively support left-wing causes — but no more. Davis called out Musk in particular, saying “he and his friends don’t believe in democracy.”

“They think it’s been a mistake,” Davis said. “They think there should be deference to those who are genetically or in whatever ways superior, like the founder class.”

Referencing a term called the “Nerd Reich,” Davis added: “They are clearly enthralled by an anti-Democratic ideology.” He said the Big Tech founder class sees themselves as the “makers,” and others as the “takers.”

Speaking on the topic of whether the president owns the government, law Professor Julian Davis Mortenson, a legal historian and constitutional litigator, said he has always been someone who sees both sides of an issue, but he is now concerned President Trump is overstepping his constitutional powers.

He called it an “assertion of regal imperviousness to the obligations of the law that not even — literally — King George at the revolution asserted.”

“It’s scary stuff,” Mortenson said. He said he tries to be an optimist and shuns alarmism, however, under the current state of affairs “right now my hair is on fire and I am unsettled and maybe even scared about the republic in a way I haven’t been perhaps since after September 11.”

A parade of professors who co-hosted a recent standing-room-only teach-in at UMichigan argued that President Trump and Elon Musk are engaging in lawlessness and anti-democratic extremism to the detriment of the country.

One scholar argued ‘Musk…and his friends don’t believe… pic.twitter.com/Np8jI4rhYx

— The College Fix (@CollegeFix) March 4, 2025

Vincent Hutchings, a political science professor whose faculty bio also states he specializes in “diversity and social transformation” as well as Afroamerican and African Studies, spoke on the subject of what motivates the electorate.

He said for decades a majority of white Americans have voted for the Republican presidential candidate and that “the racial divide is the biggest divide in American politics.”

“The black-white divide is bigger than the gender gap, it’s bigger than the class-education gap,” he said, adding it is “the foundation of the current party system in our country.”

Speaking on political parties and threats to American democracy, Professor Robert Mickey spoke on the influence of rich “megadonors” to the Republican Party and its candidates.

“This wealth defensive really transformed the Republican Party,” he said. “The megadonors are demanding radical cuts to the regulation of business, the decimation of highly popular government programs, and the nomination of extremist judges committed to interpreting the constitution in ways that would result in major cuts to the regulation of business.”

He also argued there’s a panic among white Americans about the ownership of the country, that they’re united by concerns over immigration — and GOP lawmakers understand they need to get the “white guys” angry to “stay in business.”

The end result among some of these trends is that “the Republican Party is no longer committed to Democracy,” Mickey said. “Right now it’s an uneasy combination of white nationalism and libertarianism.” He added he’s surprised the GOP has connected with the blue-collar class with a “unpopular” policy agenda.

Kenneth Lowande, a professor of political science and public policy, spoke on the current flurry of executive orders coming out of the Trump White House, saying many of the administration’s “actions are designed to be illegal.”

He said that is Trump’s strategy, for example, it’s how he is tackling birthright citizenship.

“He is surrounded by people who will sign off on actions, even when they suspect that their actions might later be determined to be unlawful,” Lowande said.

One student who attended the event said he was disappointed by its one-sided nature. The student spoke to The College Fix on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. He said he felt many of the professors’ assertions were either hyperbolic or flat out incorrect.

“It’s unfortunate that Michigan tax dollars are funding these kinds of blatantly partisan faculty activism. The ultimate irony is that it was promoted across campus as a totally ‘neutral’ forum for discussion,” the student said.

The teach-in has been posted online at YouTube.

MORE: UMich to open ‘civil discourse’ center to encourage ideological debate

IMAGE: University of Michigan teach-in / For The College Fix

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