He recently appointed Scott Bessent, a member of the Yale Class of 1984, as his Treasury Secretary. This shift in leadership raised alarms among his former classmates due to his connections with the Trump administration. Catherine Teegarden, a Yale graduate from the Class of 1984, helped to coordinate an open letter online. In it, 140 Americans called on Bessent to change course, arguing that his choices undermine the foundations of American democracy and promote a troubling movement towards fascism.
The letter was posted to the Yale Class of 1984 Facebook group, as an open letter that any Yale alumni could sign. It is just a growing restiveness from some members of the Yale community over the Trump administration’s style of governance and attack. The letter goes on to very strongly criticize the administration’s actions as “illegal, destructive and un-American.” It further alleges that Bessent personally orchestrated these illegal acts. In addition, in early March, Teegarden sent a similar letter to Bessent by U.S. Mail. Teegarden didn’t hear back at all.
In her appeal to Bessent, Teegarden implored him to “please take a moment to step back, look down the road a piece, and think hard about whether you want to be responsible for enabling the descent of America into fascism.” She made a strong case for the power of personal agency and urged her classmates to always be courageous in their convictions.
David Kallick, one of the signers, shared his deep concerns about President Trump’s direction. He thinks that they [the appointees] trample on due process and other important constitutional protections. He stated, “I’m really concerned about due process and…other protections in our Constitution that are being set aside by the president’s actions.”
It turned out that thousands of alumni were behind that letter and eager to sign. For many, they were reluctant because they were afraid of retaliation or retribution in their personal lives or professional careers. Hank Copeland, another signer, remarked on the duality of their situation: “On the one hand, we’re whistling in a hurricane, and some classmates cite futility as their reason for not signing. After all, oppositely, a lot of very consequential actions in real life are completely symbolic. He underscored the value of symbolic gestures, stating, “We do these symbolic things to remind ourselves and others what we care about.”
In response to the letter, Scott Bessent remarked that it is “odd and sad” for individuals from his past to feel they have a stake in his choices. He further criticized their approach, asserting, “How very brave of these people to wage their campaign from behind a keyboard rather than to engage in the real-life political process.” He urged those who feel strongly about political issues to take action themselves, saying, “They should look inward, exercise some agency, and come out from behind their desks—like I did—to get involved in the 2028 electoral cycle.”
Bessent referenced a quote from President Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts… the credit belongs to the man in the arena.” His remarks insinuate an assumption that participation in political procedures is key to impact transformative change.
This is precisely why we, the undersigned organizations, strongly object to Bessent’s planned elevation into the Trump administration. Plus, they view it as part of a larger trend that constitutes an existential threat to democratic institutions. Teegarden’s feelings are typical of this view as she implored Bessent to think deeply about what he was doing, albeit too late. “Be brave. Stand up for what you know to be right and be a voice of reason in the midst of this insanity,” she urged.
The tension between personal convictions and public responsibilities is a live wire debate among Bessent’s contemporaries. Old schoolmates confront him for where he’s sitting. This creates an interesting and persistent discussion of accountability and ethics in political systems.
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