Former President Donald Trump has launched a new front in his campaign against Harvard University. He is now impotently threatening to withhold all federal research grants if the institution doesn’t radically change course. This latest bad-faith move evinces a deeper, more troubling effort to stomp the will of the people and install control over one of the nation’s top public universities.
In a post on Truth Social dated April 15, Trump asserted that “Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” His comments do expose a growing concern among his administration that he feels the university is not living up to its mission of serving the public good. This new rhetoric should be seen in light of Trump’s long history of complaints about Harvard’s enrollment of international students and its overall tax-exempt status.
Recently, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal grants designated for Harvard, increasing the pressure on the university. Trump’s extravagant nerd rage led him to openly propose revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status in toto. This move would have immense budgetary consequences for the university.
The former president’s threats go well beyond funding. Trump’s Homeland Security secretary recently suggested that the administration might revoke Harvard’s ability to enroll international students, further tightening the noose around the university’s financial and operational autonomy. These moves have been met with intense backlash from Harvard, who called the Trump administration’s tactics “unprecedented and inappropriate.”
We stand with Harvard University, which is confronting the federal government’s bullying and intimidation. According to them, they have filed a lawsuit to challenge the abrupt removal of billions in funding. The university’s recent actions further the claim that these measures, beyond being damaging to the university’s day-to-day operations, lack merit and the proper legal basis under federal law.
Trump’s campaign against Harvard is, at least in part, based on these allegations. He argues that the university fosters an environment of antisemitism, racism, and other prejudices at its university. His supporters have glommed onto this narrative. To them, it’s all part of an underside-of-the-radar culture war chic battle against the elite institutions that they look to as perpetually out-of-touch with real American values.
As this story develops, it’s not yet clear what exactly the Trump administration is seeking to change at Harvard. He intends to match the university’s activity to his concept of advancing the public interest. Yet, his administration has made recent threats to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status. This pilot has raised serious doubts about the future of any federal money going to our top research universities.
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