Tag Archives: Harvard University

2 paragraphs: JD Vance Slammed for University “Crisis” Comment, “Your Intellectual Justifications…Are Insulting”

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After a federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to stop Harvard University from enrolling foreign students, the Vice President of the United States JD Vance continued to attack the state of American higher education in broad strokes.

Taking aim at issues beyond the scope of the administration’s current accusations against Harvard, Vance wrote on Saturday on X: “There is an extraordinary ‘reproducibility crisis’ in the sciences, particularly in biology, where most published papers fail to replicate.”

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Vance continued with a litany of wide-ranging complaints: “Most universities have massive bureaucracies that inhibit the translation of basic research into commercial adoption.”

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Vance also slammed colleges for the way professors allegedly vote, saying that “the voting patterns of university professors are so one-sided that they look like the election results of North Korea.”

“And on top of all of this,” Vance claimed, “many universities explicitly engage in racial discrimination (mostly against whites and asians) that violates the civil rights laws of this country.

“Our universities could see the policies of the Trump administration as a necessary corrective to these problems, change their policies, and work with the administration to reform.

“Or, they could yell ‘fascism’ at basic democratic accountability and drift further into irrelevance.”

Executive summary: Greenland didn’t want me, the Pope bitch-slapped me for my childish, self-centered interpretation of ordo amoris, and now I’m doing my fascist best to become persona non grata at our nation’s flagship universities.

JD Vance Slammed for University “Crisis” Comment, “Your Intellectual Justifications…Are Insulting”
After a federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to stop Harvard University from enrolling foreign students, the Vice President of the United States JD Vance continued to a
JD Vance Slammed for University “Crisis” Comment, “Your Intellectual Justifications…Are Insulting”

News Nation: Judge: Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos was unlawfully detained by ICE

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A federal judge in Vermont on Wednesday released a Russian-born scientist and Harvard University researcher from immigration custody as she deals with a criminal charge of smuggling frog embryos into the United States.

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Petrova, 30, is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Louisiana. She is expected to be brought to Massachusetts as early as Friday in preparation for a bail hearing next week on the smuggling charge, lawyers said in court.

Another loss for King Donald & his bully boys!

Judge: Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos was unlawfully detained by ICE

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/ap-us-news/ap-judge-harvard-researcher-charged-with-smuggling-frog-embryos-was-unlawfully-detained-by-ice

Associated Press: Trump’s big plans on trade and more run up against laws of political gravity, separation of powers

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On Wednesday, an obscure but powerful court in New York rejected the legal foundation of Trump’s most sweeping tariffs, finding that Trump could not use a 1977 law to declare a national emergency on trade imbalances and fentanyl smuggling to justify a series of import taxes that have unsettled the world. Reordering the global economy by executive fiat was an unconstitutional end-run around Congress’ powers, the three-judge panel of Trump, Obama and Reagan appointees ruled in a scathing rebuke of Trump’s action.

The setbacks fit a broader pattern for a president who has advanced an extraordinarily expansive view of executive power. Federal courts have called out the lack of due process in some of Trump’s deportation efforts. His proposed income tax cuts, now working their way through Congress, are so costly that some of them can’t be made permanent, as Trump had wished. His efforts to humble Harvard University and cut the federal workforce have encountered legal obstacles. And he’s running up against reality as his pledges to quickly end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have turned into slogs.

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By unilaterally ordering tariffs, deportations and other actions through the White House, Trump is bypassing both Congress and the broader public, which could have given more popular legitimacy to his policy choices, said Princeton University history professor Julian Zelizer.

“The president is trying to achieve his goals outside normal legal processes and without focusing on public buy-in,” Zelizer said. “The problem is that we do have a constitutional system and there are many things a president can’t do. The courts are simply saying no. The reality is that many of his boldest decisions stand on an incredibly fragile foundation.”

Trump’s big plans on trade and more run up against laws of political gravity, separation of powers
President Donald Trump’s big plans on trade, deportations and more are running up against the laws of political gravity and the separation of powers.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-judges-courts-setbacks-1864c944c8142f18fd3075d5643bdefc

El Mundo: Children of the Chinese political elite are no longer welcome in the United States

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The daughter of the supreme leader, Xi Mingze, was enrolled at Harvard University in 2010.

Chinese students studying abroad who return to their country are known as “haigui,” which literally means “returning home from overseas.” Although the same word has a homophone that is often referred to in a joking tone: “Sea turtles.” Many of these “sea turtles” are children of high-ranking officials of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who have been sending their offspring to study at the best universities in the West, especially in the United States.

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On Wednesday, Rubio directly targeted China. “The United States will begin revoking visas for Chinese students, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” the secretary stated in a post.

This is so wrong. A “university”, as the word implies, mixes together a universe of students, faculty, and ideas. We don’t need government bureaucrats to censor what students and ideas we are exposed to. Nothing that a typical student is exposed to is classified or confidential — the textbooks can be purchased and shipped overseas, lecture notes are readily available on the internet, etc. This is a vengeful solution in search of a problem.

Children of the Chinese political elite are no longer welcome in the United States
Chinese students studying abroad who return to their country are known as “haigui,” which literally means “returning home from overseas.” Although the same word…

https://www.mundoamerica.com/news/2025/05/30/68395a32e4d4d86d068b4570.html

Politico: Larry Summers Says Trump’s Latest Attack on Harvard Is a ‘Prescription for Failure’

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The former Harvard president says Trump’s effort to ban international students would damage not just Harvard but America.

In just the last 24 hours, the Trump administration announced it would effectively ban international students from attending Harvard University, Harvard sued, and a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s ban.

The whirlwind of attacks and counterattacks surrounding one of America’s preeminent educational institutions represented a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s war on Harvard. As the institution wrote in its lawsuit, “with the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body.”

Harvard has been on the leading edge of the fight between the Trump administration and elite universities, and unlike some peer institutions, it has not backed down.

Former Harvard President Larry Summers has been a frequent critic of his old university, but he’s been an enthusiastic defender amid Trump’s latest attacks.

“Courage and capitulation are both contagious,” he said in an interview with POLITICO Magazine. “I am glad Harvard chose courage, because if Harvard, with all its good fortune, can’t resist authoritarian steps, who can?”

Summers argued the Trump administration’s legal case would find little merit in the courts, adding that the effort to rid Harvard of international students would only damage the United States in the long run.

“It’s hard to imagine a greater strategic gift to China than for the United States to sacrifice its role as a beacon to the world,” Summers said.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.…

Larry Summers Says Trump’s Latest Attack on Harvard Is a ‘Prescription for Failure’
The former Harvard president says Trump’s effort to ban international students would damage not just Harvard but America.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/05/23/trump-harvard-international-students-larry-summers-00367667

Newsweek: Harvard graduate self-deports to Mexico

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A Harvard graduate has self-deported to Mexico alongside his husband amid fears about President Donald Trump‘s immigration crackdown.

Francisco Hernandez-Corona, 34, and his United States citizen husband, Irving Hernandez-Corona, decided to leave the country because the federal government ramped up immigration enforcement, NBC10 Boston reported.

The couple traveled to Mexico’s west coast, arriving in Puerto Vallarta three weeks ago.

“We started seeing ICE everywhere and people sent to El Salvador,” said Francisco.

“There would be knocks at the door and [Francisco] would be scared and be terrified,” said Irving. “It was never our intention to leave under these circumstances. We left, basically fleeing.”

Francisco came to the U.S. when he was 10, sent by his father to cross the border with the help of a coyote. He described the journey through the desert as “the worst three days of my life,” adding, “Nobody asked me if this is what I want to do. I didn’t have a choice.”

Harvard graduate self-deports to Mexico
Francisco Hernandez-Corona and his U.S. citizen husband decided to leave the U.S. because of the federal government’s crackdown.

https://www.newsweek.com/harvard-graduate-self-deport-mexico-2075881

MSNBC: Trump admin blocks Harvard from enrolling international students, escalating radical fight

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The administration has gone from eliminating Harvard’s grants to targeting its tax-exempt status to halting its ability to enroll international students.

Harvard University has faced an unprecedented and radical offensive from Donald Trump and his team, which to date has focused on eliminating federal grants to the school, while simultaneously targeting Harvard’s tax-exempt status.

There is, however, a third element of the offensive. The New York Times reported:

The Trump administration on Thursday halted Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, a major escalation in the administration’s efforts to pressure the college to fall in line with the president’s agenda. The administration notified Harvard about the decision after a back-and-forth in recent days over the legality of a sprawling records request as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigation, according to three people with knowledge of the negotiations.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem personally sent a letter to the university, which she posted to X later Thursday, that read in part, “I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked.”

This development is extraordinary, but it does not appear out of the blue: In mid-April, while canceling nearly $3 million in DHS grants to Harvard, Noem simultaneously demanded that the university turn over records on foreign students alleged to have engaged in “illegal and violent activities.” Failure to cooperate would jeopardize Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification — which allows schools to admit international students.

Evidently, [Bimbo #2] Noem has now followed through on that threat.

This may well be the undoing of Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem, as she learns that that the tentacles of Harvard’s alumni extend everywhere.

Trump admin blocks Harvard from enrolling international students, escalating radical fight
The administration has gone from eliminating Harvard’s grants to targeting its tax-exempt status to halting its ability to enroll international students.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-admin-blocks-harvard-enrolling-international-students-escalating-rcna208587

MSNBC: Trump’s pick for IRS chief gives oddly evasive answers on presidential targeting

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Billy Long wouldn’t give a direct response when asked if the president can order the Internal Revenue Service to strip someone’s tax-exempt status.

Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Internal Revenue Service refused to state that the president ordering an audit of an individual or organization, or that an organization’s tax-exempt status be removed, would be illegal.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was apoplectic over Billy Long’s evasive responses to a line of questioning related to Trump’s open desire to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status for blatantly political purposes.

At one point during his testimony, Long said: “The IRS will not, should not be politicized on my watch, or any watch.” But his inability to give a clear response to Warren’s straightforward inquiry about his interpretation of the law certainly raises doubts.

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In a matter of years, Republicans have gone from hyping up dubious allegations that America’s tax system had been weaponized against conservatives to placating an illiberal wannabe “king” who openly wants to use that system against liberals. And Long is the living embodiment of that hypocritical turn.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/billy-long-irs-elizabeth-warren-nonprofits-tax-exempt-trump-rcna208278

Independent: More than half of Americans tell Trump to stay away from colleges and disapprove of his higher education attacks

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A new AP-NORC poll finds that the majority of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s stance on colleges and universities as he intensifies threats to cut federal funding unless schools comply with his political agenda.

More than half of Americans, 56 percent, disapprove of the Trump administration’s approach to higher education, while about four in 10 approve, reflecting his overall job approval ratings.

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This targeting of universities appears out of step with the wider American public, which sees such institutions as key to scientific research, new ideas, and innovation.

More than half of Americans tell Trump to back off colleges and their funding
Targeting of universities is out of step with the wider American public, which sees such institutions as key to scientific research, new ideas, and innovation, according to new research

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-harvard-university-funding-poll-b2748586.html

Fortune: Trump calls emptying U.S. ports a ‘good thing’ despite supply-chain panic because ‘that means we lose less money’

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As logistics professionals sound the alarms on emptying U.S. ports as a result of steep tariffs, President Donald Trump said those major import slowdowns are actually a boon.

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Trump not only acknowledged the shipping slowdown in a Thursday press briefing announcing a trade deal with the UK; he seemed heartened by it.

“We’re seeing as a result that ports here in the U.S., the traffic has really slowed and now thousands of dockworkers and truck drivers are worried about their jobs,” a reporter said in the press briefing.

“That means we lose less money,” Trump said. “When you say it slowed down, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”

Trump is deranged!

Trump calls emptying U.S. ports a ‘good thing’ despite supply-chain panic because ‘that means we lose less money’
The president has repeatedly claimed the U.S. has a $1 trillion trade deficit with China, though economists argue a trade deficit isn’t inherently negative.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-calls-emptying-u-ports-180609056.html