Harvard President Claudine Gay’s Resignation Is a Win for Right-Wing Chaos Agents

Claudine Gay, the first and only Black president of Harvard University in nearly four centuries of its existence, resigned her position on Tuesday.

It’s the unfortunate end to a weeks-long, cynical campaign led by a roster of right-wing chaos agents—conservative propagandist Christopher Rufo and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), in particular. They and their allies successfully weaponized multiple issues (academic integrity, freedom of speech, antisemitism) that they couldn’t genuinely care less about.

And they did it in service of their long game—which is bringing about the abolition of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; suppressing progressive campus free speech through government sanctions and intimidation; and destroying higher education writ large.