So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast Ep. 243: Heather Mac Donald on Trump and free speech
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May 22, 2025 
Heather Mac Donald, a Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of "When Race Trumps Merit," shares her insights on free speech issues during the Trump administration. She discusses her own experiences of being silenced and highlights the plight of canceled professors like Amy Wax and Carole Hooven. Mac Donald critiques Trump’s controversial interactions with the media and his executive orders impacting law firms. She raises concerns about campus censorship while advocating for open dialogue and the protection of dissenting viewpoints.
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Campus Shoutdown Experience
- Heather Mac Donald was shouted down by 300 protesters at Claremont McKenna while discussing her book on policing.
- The event ended early and she was escorted out in an unmarked police van due to volatility.
Campus Intellectual Monoculture
- Intellectual monoculture on campuses enforces orthodoxies through informal censorship and career risks.
- Professors challenging systemic racism or diversity orthodoxy face silencing or firing.
Concern Over Government Overreach
- Trump administration’s methods of enforcing free speech can undermine neutral, content-free governance.
- Using government power to coerce universities risks setting a dangerous precedent regardless of political goals.
