An opinion piece argues that the Trump administration's ongoing assault on liberal arts universities, including Harvard and Columbia, is not a recent reaction to campus protests but a continuation of a decades-long Republican strategy. This 'counter-revolution,' detailed in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, aims to undermine and reshape higher education for political and economic reasons, such as countering the Democratic leanings of college-educated voters and redirecting funding towards trade schools to benefit industries like Elon Musk's.
Trump’s war on Harvard was decades in the making. This letter proves it
Harvard UniversityDonald TrumpUnited StatesUS universitiesSocietyHigher educationUniversities
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️An opinion piece argues that the Trump administration's ongoing assault on liberal arts universities, including Harvard and Columbia, is not a recent reaction to campus protests but a continuation of a decades-long Republican strategy. This 'counter-revolution,' detailed in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, aims to undermine and reshape higher education for political and economic reasons, such as countering the Democratic leanings of college-educated voters and redirecting funding towards trade schools to benefit industries like Elon Musk's.
Trending- 1 December 14, 1972: President Richard Nixon attacks university professors in Oval Office conversation.
- 2 1978: John LeBoutillier publishes 'Harvard Hates America'.
- 3 1980s: Conservatives like Kristol, Bloom, and Bennett perpetuate criticisms of universities.
- 4 November 2, 2021: JD Vance delivers 'The universities are the enemy' speech.
- 5 April 2023: Heritage Foundation publishes Project 2025's 'Mandate for Leadership'.
- 6 Recent past (post-2020): Rise of Black Lives Matter and abolition movements.
- 7 Recent past (pre-May 2025): Campus encampments go up on Columbia's campus.
- 8 Early May 2025: Federal judge blocks DHS from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students.
- 9 May 30, 2025: Trump attacks Harvard, suggests redirecting grants to trade schools.
- 10 June 11, 2025: Article published.
- Diminished faculty governance at some universities
- Major casualties in funding for sciences and medical research
- Compromised academic integrity and autonomy
- Undermining of area studies programs
- Potential elimination of the federal Department of Education
- Changes to student loan programs (e.g., terminating Public Service Loan Forgiveness, phasing out income-driven repayment plans, privatizing student loans)
- Shift in federal education funding priorities towards trade schools and international business programs
What: The Trump administration's actions against universities like Harvard and Columbia are part of a long-standing Republican effort to subjugate higher education for political and economic objectives, as outlined in Project 2025.
When: The article was published on June 11, 2025. The 'war' on universities dates back to the 1970s. Project 2025 was published in April 2023. Recent actions by Trump occurred in May 2025.
Where: United States, Harvard University, Columbia University, Orlando (Florida), Boston.
Why: The primary motivations are to counter the political influence of college-educated voters who tend to favor the Democratic party, to redirect federal funding from liberal arts institutions to trade schools for economic benefit (e.g., supporting industries like aerospace and robotics), and to dismantle programs perceived as 'woke' (e.g., DEI, gender ideology, area studies).
How: The strategy involves executive orders, policy proposals (Project 2025), public statements, attempts to revoke visas for Chinese students, redirecting grants, and demanding academic receivership for certain university programs.