Hundreds of business profs denounce Trump, support Biden as ‘act of conscience’

More than 600 business school professors from leading American universities condemned President Donald Trump’s bid for reelection, calling a vote for Democratic nominee Joe Biden an “act of conscience.”

Deepak Malhotra, the letter’s author and a professor at Harvard Business School, cited groups of military leaders, scientists, politicians, and journalists who have “come out against a President who denigrates science, peddles in lies, incites violence, attempts to delegitimize the press, politicizes everything from the justice department to the CDC to the postal service, and seeks to undermine the integrity of American elections.”

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“It is unacceptable and immoral to remain silent at this time  As the growing list of open letters and editorial statements from other groups makes clear, publicly supporting the Democratic candidate in this election is not a political act. It is an act of conscience,” the letter reads.

The letter likewise claimed that issues like “ensuring that the Republic survives,” “demanding a peaceful transfer of power,” and “safeguarding our laws, institutions, and norms” should be bipartisan objectives. In conclusion, the author quoted John Stuart Mill: “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”

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Professors from leading American universities signed the letter. At the time of this article’s publication, these included more than four dozen professors from Harvard Business School, more than a dozen from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, and nearly one dozen from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

More than three dozen professors from Trump’s alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, signed the letter, including renowned business commentator Adam Grant.

University of California-Berkeley business professor Don Moore told Campus Reform that he signed the letter because “Donald Trump is manifestly unfit to hold the office of President” and “a grave threat to American democracy and prosperity.” He said that there are “intelligent business people who see this reality but have been reluctant to speak out,” but hopes that “we can encourage them to do so.”

Moore also explained that his business school does not see Trump as good for the economy. 

“Most of his policies, from initiating trade wars and abandoning multilateral agreements to tax policy and castrating regulators is bad for the prosperity and stability of our markets in the long term,” Moore said.

With all of this in mind, however, Moore believes that “students should exercise their right to vote for whom they choose.”

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft