William Kristol Tells Exonians to “Expect the Unexpected” in Rare Assembly about Politics

By WILLIAM INOUE, SHAY KASHIF, JAYDEN OH, and LILY RAMPE

Courtesy of Amy Lin

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, William Kristol spoke to Exeter about the lessons he learned throughout his life, specifically through his experience in politics.

Kristol began his career by working as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. He, however, knew he wanted a change and decided to try working in Washington, D.C. Kristol served one year under President Ronald Reagan’s administration and many years under George H. W. Bush’s administration. Switching his career again, Kristol founded The Weekly Standard, which is a conservative journal that discusses American domestic and foreign affairs. Currently, Kristol is the founding director of Defending Democracy Together. Through this organization, he and others are working to protect America’s democratic practices. 

Kristol told The Exonian about the purpose of his assembly.“I was encouraged last night by a couple of your faculty and principal to talk more personally about years in politics and education and what lessons might be there for you,” Krisol said. 

Growing up, Kristol attended The Collegiate School in New York City. Despite the liberal majority that existed in that environment during the sixties, Kristol kept his own opinions and was not afraid to argue. “The one thing I want to say to any of you that feel like you are in the minority here, it was good for me not to be in the majority. You learn a lot from having to defend an unpopular opinion.” 

One of the many important lessons that Kristol shared was about change. After describing the wide range of major events that occurred throughout the sixties and seventies such as the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal, Kristol said, “It is a very good lesson that I always took to heart: Things can change very quickly in politics, in society, in culture, and in life.”

Kristol focused on highlighting some of the careers of previous presidents such as Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. “I really think it is important to realize how contingent history is. This is especially true in politics…Politics in particular is constantly changing.” 

Kristol concluded by sharing how his opinions have changed over time. “I have changed my mind about certain things…as you get older you just change your mind,” he said. “It would be crazy if from five decades of life and as an adult you never changed your mind about anything. Is the way to live your life to not learn anything over the decades? Do keep an open mind.” 

At a catered lunch in the Elting Room following the assembly, Kristol had a more direct discussion with students and faculty, answering their questions about his experience, American politics today, and key areas that the nation needs to focus on. 

Kristol emphasized the importance of foreign policy and the continued guarantee of support to our allies across the world, notably Ukraine, and expressed concern that the incumbent Trump administration may significantly reduce American support for Ukraine. He expressed his steadfastness in the “post-WWII attitude” of the United States “defending liberal democracy and fighting dictators,” communicating that abandoning Ukraine may send a message to autocracies across the world that there will be no repercussions for their invasions of sovereign states. 

Kristol also debunked several misconceptions surrounding polls in America, particularly in regard to Democratic nominee Kamala Harris leading by a few points prior to Election Day. “The problem with polling in America,” Kristol said, “is that there is no guarantee that everyone being polled will actually go vote.” He drew comparisons with countries that have mandatory voting, such as Australia, where polling more accurately reflects the results of elections. However, due to the fact that many may not be motivated enough to go vote, as well as stigma surrounding who one is voting for, polling averages in America tend to be more inaccurate than in other countries. 

The lunch in the Elting Room ended with a discussion surrounding the future of liberal democracy — students had a conversation with Kristol about the transition across Western countries towards more populist leaders, and Kristol opined that the Republican Party had been significantly changed by “Trumpism.” As a result, he believes that the Democratic Party may also run candidates similar to Trump, reflecting a transition of American politics from “safer”, moderate candidates to ones who may be more inflammatory but can also be perceived as showing more resolve and decisiveness.

Kristol’s assembly raised various student opinions, with some in agreement and other disagreement. During the assembly, when senior and cohead CJ Smith mentioned the Republican Club in a question, there was a veil of silence over the students. It seemed as though the assembly hall seemed quite opinionated about the current political system. There was also concern that this assembly speaker would be very opinionated when speaking, However, most felt that the assembly proved more informative than opinionated. 

Lower Charlotte Godfrey shared, “I found the assembly helpful in teaching me more about politics in a subject that I don’t really enjoy learning myself. Mr. Kristol was very knowledgeable in his own field and seemed like he really enjoyed politics.” 

Upper Dylan Richardson added, “I appreciated the assembly. Regardless of whether or not you agree or disagree with Mr. Kristol, I personally found it nice to have a political assembly presented by someone able to share their own stances, and by someone with so much experience in Washington, who has really done work in the world of politics before. Mr. Kristol really demonstrated his experience well with his stories of his time working in our nation’s capital.”

Overall, students generally appreciated Kristol’s matter-of-fact approach to politics, and found the assembly informative and relevant. Particularly, in a time when the country seems to be very politically active, his message of “expecting the unexpected” resonated very heavily with students. Kristol linked this message to the current times that Exonians are growing up in and the era of his own upbringing with the advice that “It is important to try and keep perspective when you are in the middle of the fray and not think that everything is falling apart.”