The Trump Administration's Coordinated Attack on Higher Education and Scientific Research

LastWeekTonight

Introduction: Trump's War on Higher Education [0:04]

John Oliver introduces the topic of universities, acknowledging their contributions while focusing on former President Trump's ongoing campaign against higher education.

• Trump's rhetoric against universities intensified during his last presidential campaign, accusing them of "racial discrimination" and being "increasingly hostile" to White students [0:52].
• His demands escalated during protests against the war in Gaza, calling for the removal of "encampments" and "vanquishing the radicals" to take back campuses for "normal students" [1:03].
• Oliver critiques Trump's concept of "normal" for college, arguing that university is a place for reinvention and exploration, not conformity [1:50].
• A study involving rats driving cars illustrates that seemingly unusual research can have real-world applications [0:17].

  

Historical Precedents of Attacks on Academia [4:14]

Oliver explains that conservative distrust of education is not new, citing Richard Nixon's statement, "The professors are the enemy" [4:18]. Historically, attacks have fallen into two main categories:

• Mischaracterizing Scientific Research [4:26]
  • Universities are often accused of wasting taxpayer money on frivolous scientific research.
  • The "Shrimp on a Treadmill" Example [4:31]: Fox News has repeatedly highlighted a 2006 study involving shrimp on a treadmill, misrepresenting its cost and purpose.
    • The research, conducted by a marine biologist, aimed to understand how ocean changes affect marine organisms' ability to fight infections, relevant to seafood safety [5:50].
    • The treadmill itself cost less than $50 and was paid for by the researcher [6:04].
    • Critics like Joni Ernst and Elon Musk continue to cite this study as "insane wasting of taxpayer money" [5:30].
    • Oliver emphasizes that seemingly unusual studies can have significant practical implications.

      

• Claims of Liberal Indoctrination [6:23]
  • Colleges are portrayed as "havens of liberal indoctrination."
  • Stephen Miller's Early Career [6:43]: Oliver points to Stephen Miller, who, as a Duke University student in 2007, gained Fox News attention by claiming censorship when school newspapers refused an ad with anti-Muslim content [6:46].
    • Despite his claims, Miller had a regular column at Duke where he aired conservative grievances, suggesting that conservative viewpoints were represented [7:53].

      

    • Fox News panels frequently discuss "campus craziness" related to student activism [6:30].

      

  • J.D. Vance's Calls for Ideological Purge [8:49]: Senator J.D. Vance has advocated for seizing "institutions of the Left" and turning them "against the Left," even comparing it to a "de-Ba'athification program" for "de-wokeification" [9:10].
    • Vance praised Viktor Orbán's consolidation of power over Hungarian universities [9:00].
    • This demonstrates a desire not for diversity of thought, but for a singular, right-wing ideology in academia [8:44].

Trump Administration's Campaign Against Universities [10:00]

The Trump administration has intensified its assault, using the pretext of combating anti-Semitism following student protests over Gaza.

• Utilizing Gaza Protests as Justification [10:00]
  • Oliver acknowledges the complexity of the protests, including instances of anti-Semitism, concerns of Jewish students, and universities' varied responses [10:12].
  • However, he argues that the administration has leveraged these events to pursue a pre-existing agenda of controlling universities [10:37].

    

  • Oliver highlights the hypocrisy of Trump leading an anti-Semitism campaign, given his history of reportedly keeping Hitler's speeches, dining with a Holocaust denier, employing figures with anti-Semitic views, and using anti-Semitic tropes [12:44].
  • The administration formed a "Task Force to Combat Antisemitism," led by Leo Terrell, who explicitly stated their goal was to "bankrupt these universities" by cutting federal funds under Title VI [10:45].
• Targeting Columbia University [13:40]
  • Columbia, a prominent site of Gaza protests, was notified by the task force that its grants were under review [13:47].

    

  • Within four days, the administration canceled $400 million in contracts and grants, citing "persistent harassment of Jewish students" [14:01].
  • A week later, Columbia received a letter with extensive demands, including admissions reform and "new oversight" of its Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies department [14:14].
  • Columbia eventually agreed to almost all demands to restore funding, including paying a $200 million fine [14:35].

    

  • This capitulation was met with further escalation, including freezing an additional $700 million in NIH funding and threatening accreditation [15:10].
  • A Columbia professor noted a chilling effect on campus, with faculty in history, political science, and regional studies "terrified" to express controversial opinions [15:30].
• Harvard's Resistance and Retaliation [17:48]
  • Harvard received similar demands, including an audit of student and faculty political ideology to determine "viewpoint diversity" [17:50].
  • Unlike Columbia, Harvard sued the government in federal court [18:00].
  • In retaliation, the administration froze or terminated over $3 billion in research grants and contracts [18:03].
  • The administration also launched investigations into alleged discrimination against White men, noting an increase in faculty of color, women, and non-binary individuals, and a decrease in White men in tenure-track jobs [18:11].
  • Harvard secured a victory when a federal judge ruled the funding cancellation illegal, though the administration can appeal or continue costly investigations [18:26].

    

• Widespread Funding Cuts Across Institutions [19:29]
  • The administration has frozen billions in federal research funds at numerous other schools and slashed studies at public institutions [19:32].
  • Northwestern University, despite proactively implementing measures to combat anti-Semitism that mirrored the administration's demands, still had over $790 million in grants frozen [19:44].
  • The president of Northwestern, a Jewish descendant of Holocaust survivors, resigned amidst the pressure, highlighting the irony and severity of the situation [20:06].

    

The Value and Impact of University Research [21:06]

Oliver emphasizes the critical importance of publicly funded university research.

• Unexpected Benefits from "Frivolous" Studies [22:51]
  • The shrimp on a treadmill study aimed to keep bacteria out of seafood [22:57].
  • Ozempic was developed based on a hormone found in Gila monster venom [23:03].

    

  • A study on bee foraging led to an algorithm for the web hosting industry [23:09].
  • Research on rats driving cars revealed changes in stress hormones that could inform mental health treatments [23:15].
  • He humorously suggests that a "weird little tree frog that jizzes the cure for cancer" might be discovered by a curious university scientist [23:28].
• Economic and Health Contributions [25:23]
  • Many technological advancements, like the iPhone, rely on decades of academic research [24:28].
  • Publicly funded research is a major economic driver; every dollar of NIH medical research generates $2.56 in economic activity [25:29].

    

  • Disruptions in NIH grants have impacted research on Alzheimer's, cancer, and substance use [21:39].
  • Cancer patients in clinical trials, with no other treatment options, face potentially fatal consequences due to sudden funding cuts [22:01].

The Real Agenda: Ideological Control and Discrimination [25:49]

Oliver argues that the administration's actions are not about anti-Semitism but a broader ideological takeover.

• The plan, articulated by J.D. Vance in 2021, is to use federal funding as leverage to stop universities from "indoctrinating our children" and "re-institutionalize the Right" [20:23].
• Targeted grants often relate to gender identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and environmental justice [21:22].
• A federal judge, a Reagan appointee, ordered the reinstatement of terminated research projects, stating he had "never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable" in his 40 years on the bench [26:18].
• However, the Supreme Court blocked this order, allowing the administration to pause grants while the case proceeds [26:44].
• The ultimate goal is to restore academia's role as a "training ground for those looking to uphold old systems of power" instead of questioning them [27:06].

Call to Action: Universities Must Fight Back [27:45]

Oliver concludes by urging universities to resist the administration's demands.

• He argues that appeasement only leads to further demands and compromises the institutions' core independence and mission.
• Universities must "stop yielding, stand firm, and fight back" to defend the vital role of higher education and scientific progress.
• He invokes the image of the persistent shrimp on the treadmill as inspiration for universities to keep fighting despite the odds [28:11].