Writing in a very exciting post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump announced that he is considering a plan that would strip woke Harvard University of $3 billion in federal grants and redirect that money to support trade schools, which the president and many MAGA Americans see as a better use of federal money.
As background, American universities have long received extremely generous grants from the federal government. Those grants have theoretically been meant to support cutting-edge research of the sort it is generally unprofitable for companies to carry out, but have often been used in practice to subsidize woke university policies.
Or, at least, the Trump Administration suspects that universities are ripping off the federal government and the taxpayers who support it by misusing funds and overstating the amount of overhead directly related to research programs so as to continue leeching off of American taxpayers ever more greedily.
Meanwhile, many see America’s trade schools as being similarly important to research programs at universities, as those trade schools teach the future wokers who will build things for the research-using companies, but have been relatively neglected by the federal government in favor of high-tech and white collar projects, work, and schools.
So, President Trump’s plan would, if it goes into effect, be a clever way of killing two birds with one stone: he could both take action to punish the notoriously far-left university, which has become a perennial nemesis of his, and scrounge up the funds necessary for supporting trade schools and their pupils a bit better.
Posting about the idea on Truth Social, Trump framed the potential support for trade schools as being a far better investment than funneling more money to Harvard, writing, “I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land. What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!”
Trump’s comments on the matter came after he already stripped Harvard University of $2.2 billion in a move unconnected to trade schools, a move seemingly meant to punish the school for not bowing to Trump’s demands and backing off of some of its woke policies, such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.
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Harvard’s president freaked out about that revocation of funds in an entry letter, sayng, “Over the course of the past week, the federal government has taken several actions following Harvard’s refusal to comply with its illegal demands. Although some members of the administration have said their April 11 letter was sent by mistake, other statements and their actions suggest otherwise.”
President Garber continued, “Doubling down on the letter’s sweeping and intrusive demands—which would impose unprecedented and improper control over the University—the government has, in addition to the initial freeze of $2.2 billion in funding, considered taking steps to freeze an additional $1 billion in grants, initiated numerous investigations of Harvard’s operations, threatened the education of international students, and announced that it is considering a revocation of Harvard’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. These actions have stark real-life consequences for patients, students, faculty, staff, researchers, and the standing of American higher education in the world.”
Watch Sen. Kennedy comment on Trump’s decision to cut funding for Harvard here: