Auburn University student political organizations host Great Debate

On Thursday, April 10 at 6 p.m. in the Haley Center, student representatives from Auburn College Republicans, College Democrats at Auburn University and the Mises Society participated in the annual Great Debate. The discussion centered around current hot topics like the emergence of the Department of Government Efficiency, the United States' role in global affairs and immigration policies. 

Representing the Auburn University College Democrats was Jackson Ethridge. Representing The Mises Society was Keller Williams. Representing the Auburn University College Republicans was Luke Troutman.

Dr. Ariel Liberman, Auburn University assistant professor of law and legal studies, was the moderator for the event. 

The debate began with opening statements from each representative.

Ethridge spoke on the Democratic Party's belief in upholding democracy and democratic institutions. He listed previous Democratic presidents and their responses to economic emergencies.

Ethridge also made comments addressing the Republican representatives potential arguments for the evening. Quickly addressing topics ranging from DOGE to Americans' involvement in global affairs, Ethridge gave the audience a preview of what was to come within the debate. 

Troutman began by addressing the number of votes President Donald Trump received in the 2024 election, comparing it to what he referred to as Joe Biden's 2020 “alleged” victory. He spoke of the victories the Republican party as a whole saw within this past election, as well as what Troutman believed was a change in the Republican party. 

“'In 2025, we're no longer the party of old rich guys," Troutman said. "We’re a young party with a bright future. The gap is finally being bridged by leaders like our 50th Vice President, J.D. Vance.” 

Williams began by clarifying that the Mises Society is not a political party. Williams explained that the organization, based on the teachings of Ludwig Von Mises, focuses on financial soundness and Austrian economics, blaming the Federal Reserve and Federal government intervention in general for the majority of America's problems. 

Educated by the teachings of the Mises Institute, Williams believed that America has become a “high-time preference” society, favoring immediate satisfaction rather than future benefits. He briefly tied the topics of the day back to the federal reserve, while saving more in-depth analysis for the question portion.

After introductions, the representatives were asked three questions, which were prepared in advance. Each representative was given five minutes to answer each question, with the opportunity for two of the party representatives to offer three-minute rebuttals. 

The first question asked the representatives to describe their party’s stance on DOGE and its impact on America. 

Ethridge said the creation of DOGE is harmful, pointing towards cuts in congressional funding for social safety nets like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Social Security. 

According to Ethridge, a 2024 audit allegedly found that improper payments by federal agencies accounted for less than 1% of the total budget and that only 3% of that 1% were fraud. 

Noting the pre-existing anti-fraud structures that already exist within agencies, Ethridge said, “If the Trump administration was legitimately interested in dealing with fraud, they would be putting more money into these bodies. They would be going after fraud itself, rather than shuttering entire agencies that disproportionately harms people like you.” 

On the other hand, Troutman said there was bipartisan support to eliminate federal waste like the $3 million appropriated towards influencer diplomacy, specifically referencing checks allegedly sent to TikTokers in return for their online support for former Vice President Kamala Harris. 

In response to the rising sentiment that Americans did not elect Elon Musk, Troutman argued that 77 million Americans voted on Trump’s platform for increasing accountability and eliminating corruption in the government. 

To Williams, DOGE is not enough to cut the "crap" in federal spending because it does not cut funding for Israel or welfare taxes like SNAP. His concern lay less with how to spend federal agencies and their research and more with how to establish affordable food and housing prices for common Americans. 

While the Democrats allege that DOGE is unconstitutional, Williams claimed that the United States federal government has been operating unconstitutionally as far back as the establishment of an income tax. 

During rebuttal, Ethridge emphasized that cuts to federal spending target key social programs, instead of agencies like the Department of Defense, which has failed seven audits. He touched on the irony of the Trump administration’s wide “overreach,” while they platform on reducing the control of the federal government. 

Troutman focused on the need for transparency and accountability within the bureaucracy, pointing to the collection of deceased individual's social security checks as an example of untraceable funding. 

The second question asked the representatives to discuss the United State’s role on the international stage as a global leader and their party’s stance on the United States’ level of involvement in conflicts. 

Troutman argued for the U.S. to decrease its role in international affairs and to adopt a more intentional foreign policy, lowering the U.S.' share of N.A.T.O. spending from 15% and eliminating foreign nations’ dependency on the U.S. 

“I don’t want to see the U.S. withdraw from NATO. I think it is something that is essential to the security of other nations and our own, but we cannot be the sole provider for them,” Troutman said. 

According to Troutman, Trump has increased the United States' diplomacy with foreign nations and cited the ongoing global trade war as evidence. He explained that tariffs will eventually be lifted, allowing for free trade and better cooperation from other countries. 

Historically, the U.S. has served as a world leader of democracy since World War II, and Ethridge believed the US should maintain this role and criticized the Trump administration for fracturing relations with the European Union. 

Ethridge thought it was important to distinguish between the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza. 

"Ukraine, to make it very clear, is a democratic ally who has been invaded," Ethridge said. "Israel is an U.S. ally presently carrying out genocide, and they should not receive federal defense funding until they do what they agreed to and continue with the ceasefire."

Williams was critical of the U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts like the past few decades spent attempting to democratize countries in the Middle East and agreed with Ethridge’s labeling of the war in Gaza as a genocide. 

“War is mass murder,” Williams said, quoting a student of Mises. “This question should be more framed as: should the U.S. participate in mass murder in the name of democracy?”

Troutman said in rebuttal that Israel is targeting Hamas terrorists, not Palestinians, and he believed that the Israeli government has the right to defend itself from these terrorists.  

Williams challenged the idea that the Israeli government is targeting Hamas by citing the civilian deaths of young women and children under the age of one and the destruction of schools and churches. 

As someone with Middle Eastern heritage, Williams said he is passionate about the war in Gaza because he cares about his fellow Christians and “cousins” suffering in the Middle East. 

The third question dealt with more domestic issues. The representatives were asked their positions on policies surrounding illegal immigration, deportation as well as the efforts by the current administration.

Ethridge began by explaining his position on the indication of the Alien Enemies Act, viewing it as unprecedented outside of wartime. He delved into recent deportations that have taken place, explaining his belief that this act is being used to suspend civil liberties. 

Trump's refusal to return flights deporting migrants to El Salvador after being ordered to by a federal judge was used as an example of this. Ethridge also used this situation to explain why the Democratic party believes President Trump is attempting to expand the scope of the executive branch, and is willing to violate the constitution in the process.

Ethridge called the migrant crime issue “unsubstantiated” and also went on to explain how migrant workers have been used throughout American history, giving statistics to explain how the lack of this workforce could harm the economy.

“Numerous critical, key industries will be left largely devoid of labor,” Ethridge said. “Undocumented migrants make up roughly 20% of the U.S. agriculture workforce, very significant. While roughly 13% of the construction workforce is undocumented migrants, and that is just two industries.”

Troutman started his answer by explaining that the Republican stance on this issue was “pretty cut and dry.” He explained that if immigrants wish to not be deported, they should not be in the country illegally. He explained that immigration and the gang-associated, criminal activity that may transpire from it are not only “in the big city” but in their neighborhoods as well. 

According to Troutman, Republicans' stance on immigration has not wavered under Trump, while Democrats' messaging has been to allow immigrants recklessly into the country. He concluded his answer by telling the audience to remember that legal immigration is a difficult process and restating his point that illegal immigration takes away from those who do the process the lawful way.

Williams spoke for the Mises Society by stating his belief that private borders would resolve the immigration issue. His belief is that states should each be able to decide on what to do with their borders. Williams' issue with immigration is the disruption of culture and economy within these states. He holds that the federal government does not care and mainly uses the issue of immigration as a political pawn. 

Williams reiterated Ethridge's point that migrants are used to fill a labor gap, but he sees this as a failure on society's part rather than a positive implementation. He tied this issue back to the Federal Reserve, explaining that cost of living increases have decreased our population and because of that we are facing a worker shortage. 

Ethridge was given the chance to rebuttal on behalf of the Democrats. He started by reiterating his initial points, as well as pointing out which ones the Republican representative did not respond to, such as “due process violations.” 

He also brought up new arguments about President Joe Biden's proposed legislation, which Ethridge believes would have increased funding and support for the process of legal immigration. Ethridge ended by stating that if Republicans were concerned about immigrants, they would have supported this legislation and proposed similar.

Williams was also given the opportunity to rebuttal and used this time to reiterate his points and strengthen the connection between this issue and the Federal Reserve. He did state his belief that illegal immigrants should return to their home countries, explaining that the answer couldn’t get “simpler” than that.

Liberman then opened up the floor to questions from the audience. Students asked the representatives about the place of Christian values in policy, Trump’s tariff reversals, ending the “forever war” in Gaza and the impact of Trump’s order to open national forests for logging. 

The debate ended after closing statements, where the representatives restated their main points, their hopes for the future and their gratitude to those in attendance.