White House whistleblower makes case for political dissent at Winston Center virtual event
Miles Taylor, former Homeland Security chief of staff, spoke at Winston Center virtual event on Feb. 18.
Americans are 鈥渢oo afraid to be wrong,鈥� and ours is 鈥渢he culture that breeds tyranny.鈥� So warned Miles Taylor, the former Trump administration official behind a controversial 2018 New York Times op-ed criticizing the then-President from within, at a virtual live event hosted by the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics at the Carroll School of Management on February 18.听
In his talk, titled 鈥淲hy Dissent Matters鈥擫essons on Leadership Culture from a White House Whistleblower,鈥� the former Homeland Security official echoed many of the moral and ethical concerns he raised as the anonymous author of , titled 鈥淚 Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration,鈥� as well as A Warning, the 2019 bestselling expos茅 that followed. This time, of course, Taylor put a name and face to the claims.听
Addressing an audience of 215 attendees over Zoom from Naples, Florida, against a backdrop of patio furniture and a setting sun, Taylor described Trump as a President who bred chaos. He likened the Oval Office to 鈥渁 New York bagel shop, with Trump barking orders and patrons going in and out.鈥� And he depicted the Department of Homeland Security, where Taylor served for more than half of Trump鈥檚 term in office, as a place where career officials scrambled day and night to thwart an onslaught of destructive policies coming from the White House.听
Some such demands鈥攖o 鈥� at the southern border,鈥� or to tear-gas as well as "electrify, or shoot migrants鈥� as they crossed from Mexico鈥攖hey were able to stamp out, Taylor said. Others, however鈥攕uch as 鈥攚ere carried out anyway. (The latter he called 鈥渆gregious and disgusting,鈥� and said he regrets not resigning as soon as it began.)
Needless to say, officials and supporters of the former administration have often returned the fire. For example, former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has dismissed Taylor as a 鈥渓ow-level, disgruntled former staffer鈥� as well as a 鈥渃oward who chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading.鈥� The Trump administration also denied some of the specific allegations leveled by Taylor and other dissenting officials.
Taylor鈥檚 talk at the Winston event was more than just a tell-all, though. Citing former Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower, Taylor made a more academic case for why public dissent is a necessary and healthy part of a functioning democracy. While Trump often attacked dissenters to dangerous ends, 鈥渨e are in charge of democracy,鈥� Taylor argued, referring to the American people. He pointed to the nation鈥檚 divided public discourse鈥攐ur unwillingness to engage with opposing ideas in a genuine search for the truth鈥攁s the real risk to our democratic institutions. 鈥淲ashington is not broken,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are broken.鈥�
Taylor anonymously authored "A Warning" about his experiences in the Trump Administration.
A lifelong Republican, Taylor did eventually resign from his role as chief of staff at DHS in the summer of 2019, shortly after Kirstjen Nielsen, Trump鈥檚 third secretary of that department, was ousted. Since then, Taylor has been an active voice for reform within the Republican Party. Beyond his book and frequent media appearances, Taylor is of the Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform (REPAIR), a group of current and former Republican officials who opposed Trump鈥檚 reelection and are working to amend the damage they believe he鈥檚 done to their party. In a brief question-and-answer session following his talk, Taylor hinted at 鈥渂ig announcements鈥� from his group in the coming weeks regarding the future direction of the G.O.P.听
The Winston Center runs several different speaker series throughout the year, all of which feature prominent voices on the subject of ethical leadership. These events have carried on virtually over the last year. They are central to advancing the center鈥檚 mission of engaging students, faculty, and staff at Boston College in continued dialogue about ethical issues at the intersection of business and society.
Another Winston Center program that has shifted to a virtual format is the Jenks Leadership Program, a three-semester leadership training curriculum for Boston College students of all majors. The program has two concurrent cohorts enrolled this spring; one recently launched with a successful virtual retreat, and the second is working toward completion of their final service projects, all of which focus on this year鈥檚 theme of 鈥淟ove and Inclusion at 香蕉秀.鈥澨�
The Feb. 18 event was presented in collaboration with the Political Science Department at Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. It was hosted by the Winston Center鈥檚 director, Monetta Edwards, and moderated by Marc Landy, professor of Political Science and faculty chair of the Boston College Irish Institute.听
鈥� Leslie Ganson, Carroll School News
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