Lafayette College invited two prominent political figures to campus on Monday: Michael Steele, the former chair of the Republican National Committee and MSNBC political analyst, and Harold Ford, the former Tennessee 9th district representative and co-host of “The Five” on Fox News.
College President Nicole Hurd moderated a 90-minute Q&A session with the pair. The event in Colton Chapel drew over 100 guests, including students, faculty, staff and community members.
Steele, a Republican, and Ford, a Democrat, concentrated on bipartisan issues. Among the topics discussed were higher education, party division and the various outcomes for the country come Inauguration Day.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat nominee, are neck-and-neck in recent Wednesday polls, according to The New York Times.
“Are there any issues that you believe both parties can actually find common ground?” Hurd asked Steele and Ford after a student initially posed the question.
Ford predicted that under a Trump presidency, the government could agree on affairs with China and work on limited tax cuts and trade. Under Harris, Ford thought the administration could promote bipartisan solutions to gun control.
Ford added that either candidate “is going to get something done with the border.”
All three supported higher education for the challenging experiences it brings and for the opportunities to find a middle ground on significant issues. Meanwhile, Steele also warned the audience of the issues prevalent in K-12 education systems.
“We don’t even teach civics anymore,” he said. “Most people don’t know how we elect our public officials.”
Other questions posed by Hurd focused on division in the country, which began with a critique of the lack of multiple presidential debates in 2024. Steele, Ford and Hurd also criticized “sound bites” from both Trump’s and Harris’ campaigns that often make up political arguments, some of which turn personal and fail to focus on policy.
“Our democracy is dependent on educated citizens, but we’re not talking about education, and how educated are citizens if we’re talking in sound bites?” Hurd said.
When asked by Hurd to say what they most looked forward to, Ford praised record early voting efforts in Georgia and North Carolina, foreshadowing higher voter turnouts.
“We have more tools at our disposal to fix things,” Ford said.
Chris Byrnes ’26, the president of Lafayette Votes, and members of the organization set up tables for students to register to vote before the event. Byrnes spoke to Steele and Ford after the event.
“I think this was a great event to bring in some big-name actors in the political arena to discuss really important topics,” he said.
“They weren’t your typical Republicans and Democrats that you would see, they both had interesting perspectives on the upcoming election,” Eszter Hiscott ’26 said.
In his closing remarks, Steele turned to the students.
“You’re the generation that is going to fix the stuff that my generation has screwed up, because we have in a lot of ways,” Steele said. “That’s part of the experience.”
Larry Berglund • Oct 28, 2024 at 10:06 am
I am embarrassed for the College that they thought that Michael Steele was a good option to have as part of this discussion. He may have been head of the RNC at one time, but he has not been a part of the Republican Party for a good many years and yet he gets trotted out as a Republican on MSNBC just to try and fool folks into thin king that there is some semblance of balance on that channel. Whoever suggested Mr. Steele as part of this conversation was either misled or deliberately tried to mislead.