Social Trump Going After Academic Autonomy

[Madmick]

Now they are going after scientific journals and labs. I wonder how the morons in this thread will defend this.

https://www.pulmonologyadvisor.com/features/trump-censorship-federal-websites-academic-journals/

"The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has terminated nearly 800 research projects at a breakneck pace, wiping out significant chunks of funding to entire scientific fields, finds a Nature analysis of the unprecedented cuts.

The administration of US President Donald Trump began purging NIH-funded studies on topics that it deems problematic less than 50 days ago, continuously expanding its list to include research on topics ranging from COVID-19 to misinformation. Hundreds of the 30,000-plus scientists funded by the NIH yearly have been forced to halt their work after receiving notices that their research “no longer effectuates agency priorities”, and some have had to fire personnel or even shut down their laboratories."


These US labs risk imminent closure after Trump cuts

To understand the extent and breadth of these actions, which have so far clawed back more than US$2.3 billion allocated to US researchers, Nature tapped into a scientist-led effort to track these cuts (see ‘How Nature analysed NIH’s grant terminations’ in Supplementary information). Our analysis reveals the project topics, NIH institutes and US states affected the most.

The cancellations of projects, despite scientists scoring them highly during review, “tears the long-standing fabric of the government’s contract to pursue medical research that seeks to better the healthspan and lifespan for all Americans”, says Francis Collins, a geneticist who led the NIH, based in Bethesda, Maryland, for 12 years under three US presidents, including Trump.

No, I didn't approve of these cuts before this thread existed, and I don't now.

Please don't conflate this with the excision of bullshit DEI programs. That's good. Cutting government-funded scientific research is bad, especially when it only claws back a few billion rather than finding those trillions of waste I've read about again and again over the past decade that exist in Defense and Health Care. These portions of allocation make up over 50% of our total federal spending when you factor in what goes to those sectors from direct spending, or what gets spent on them after what is dispensed to states, or honored via obligations to things like military pensions and whatnot:

US government spending, budget, and financing | USAFacts

Get data-driven insights into how governmental revenue and spending affect American lives and programs. Get insight into Congressional and judicial decisions, programs like Medicare, Social Security, foreign aid, and more.

usafacts.org

 

[ermac88]

If Donald Trump continues policies that undermine academia, there are several long-term consequences that will hurt the U.S. Here's how:

1. Decline in Scientific Innovation

Defunding research institutions or politicizing science can slow down innovation in areas like medicine, technology, and energy.

The U.S. has historically led the world in scientific output, much of it driven by universities. Undermining these institutions could reduce global competitiveness.


2. Brain Drain

Talented researchers, scientists, and students might leave for countries with better academic freedom and funding.

International students, who often contribute significantly to research and the economy, may choose other countries if the U.S. is seen as hostile to intellectual inquiry.


3. Erosion of Critical Thinking

Undermining education can lead to a less informed public and increased susceptibility to misinformation.

If academic freedom is limited, students may not learn to question, analyze, or challenge ideas—skills essential to a functioning democracy.


4. Weakened Democracy

Universities play a crucial role in upholding democratic norms by fostering debate, civic engagement, and a deeper understanding of history and government.

If academic voices are silenced or demonized, public discourse becomes less grounded in facts and more in ideology.


5. Economic Impact

Universities are major economic engines, especially in research, tech startups, and local economies. Weakening them could harm regional and national growth.

Fewer investments in STEM and the humanities mean fewer innovations, patents, and creative outputs.


6. Cultural and Global Reputation

The U.S. has long been a global leader in education. Undermining academia could damage its reputation and soft power around the world.

Countries like China and the EU could fill the vacuum, gaining influence in global research and education networks.

Trump is such a low IQ individual....

It further begs; what really is trump objective?

Is he as asset for a foreign power?

All signs points to destabilizing and pushing the country back.

Unless he has no objective at all and his completely deranged.

 

[krelianx]

It further begs; what really is trump objective?

Is he as asset for a foreign power?

All signs points to destabilizing and pushing the country back.

Unless he has no objective at all and his completely deranged.

He is a crass megalomaniac nationalist populist, racist, uncultured demagogue, who is capitalizing on the failures of the welfare state left, and the latter's alienation of the working class. He is doing this with very tried and tested tactics that the new ethno nationalist right does since at least Berliusconi, and which became reproduced by people like Bolsonaro, and more recently, Milei. The blueprint is clear: to become an entertaining populist "speaks like the people" and represents an anti-politics that feeds of the discontent with the traditional political class and their phony ornate discourse, instilling xenophobia and promising the working class a return to the glories of the Fordist era when the U.S. rose to hegemony as an industrial power. Making America Great Again means to make the U.S. the hegemonic industrial power in the world.

More concretely, in what pertains to his current administrative policy: he is trying to shorten the breach of the trade deficit with tariffs to eventually reduce the value of the dollar and make American goods more competitive, since foreign banks hoarde dollars keeping their currencies low, making them more competitive. Effectively, he is alienating markets that are more and more drifting towards China for commercial aliences. Latin America is an egregious case; the Chinese just built the most expansive port for maritime transpacific trade the southern hemisphere. The U.S. is trying to effectively bully others, including allies, into a trade war. It's similar to what Regan did with the Plaza Accord.

Finally, he is trying to reclaim institutions that have traditionally been opposed to conservatism in order to strengthen ideological control: this is what he is doing with the academy and scientific establishment, intervening upon them to try to brute force conservatives there. This is not new either, right winged regimes with a soft spot for authoritarianism and populism will try to transform institutions into ideological factories by censoring and controlling scientific and academic liberty.

 

[krelianx]

No, I didn't approve of these cuts before this thread existed, and I don't now.

Please don't conflate this with the excision of bullshit DEI programs. That's good. Cutting a few billion from government-funded scientific research is bad, especially when it only claws back a few billion rather than finding those trillions of waste I've read about again and again over the past decade that exist in the Defense and Health Care. These portions of allocation make up over 50% of our total federal spending when you factor in what goes to those sectors from direct spending, or what gets spent on them after what is dispensed to states, or honored via obligations to things like military pensions and whatnot:

US government spending, budget, and financing | USAFacts

Get data-driven insights into how governmental revenue and spending affect American lives and programs. Get insight into Congressional and judicial decisions, programs like Medicare, Social Security, foreign aid, and more.

usafacts.org

The bigger picture as I see it is that this is all part of a big strategy for ideological control over the academy and scientific establishments, which have been historically one of the most powerful agencies against conservatism. I am glad at least some see the danger that this presents.

I already tried to share some sources and information, first-hand experience included, concerning the work that DEI departments do routinely in universities. I have worked with them for almost 15 years since I was a graduate student across several institutions: Cornell, UCLA; CalArts, CSUSB, and CSULB. But you seem in principle reluctant to even be willing to entertain the possibility you are not right about this issue, so we can let that slide.

 

[Andy Capp]

But out of all academic disciplines, only a very small handful (the social sciences) could possibly make a candidates' political leanings apparent.

All the sciences, engineering, health, law, education, etc., can have scholars studying things that have zero to do with political issues. No hiring committee is going to know you're a Trumper if you've spent your career studying migratory birds or property law or neurotransmitters.

And even in the social sciences, lots of stuff is decidedly non-political. Only the ones that specifically study structural inequality are likely to make their political views apparent.

So 95% of academics don't have anything to be discriminated on.

And yet, they're going to fuck off out of your country as soon as they can anyway, and dumb the place down ever further and faster.

I can hardly wait until after the 2028 election--if there is a real one and not some performative predetermined result shit--when the next administration gets blamed for reports that the US has dropped far below many other nations in the quality of university grad and post-grad achievement and technical innovation, and the difficulty you're having attracting top talent.


Edit: The can hardly wait part refers to the next admin getting blamed, FTR. What is happening there is very sad; I feel sorry for anyone who turned out to vote against this heinous shit.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Massachusetts governor calls Trump’s attacks on Harvard ‘bad for science’​

Maura Healey says president targeting universities hurts US ‘competitiveness’ and affects research and hospitals

José Olivares

Massachusetts governor Maura Healey said on Sunday that Donald Trump’s attacks on Harvard University and other schools are having detrimental ripple effects, with the shutdown of research labs and cuts to hospitals linked to colleges.

During an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, the Democratic governor said that the effects on Harvard are damaging “American competitiveness”, since a number of researchers are leaving the US for opportunities in other countries. After decades of investment in science and innovation, she said: “intellectual assets are being given away.”

In the past week, the US president cut off billions of dollars to Harvard in federal funds, after the university refused to concede to a number of the administration’s demands. Trump also called for its tax-exempt status to be revoked, a potentially illegal move, against the world-famous college in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Of the moves against colleges, Healey said: “It’s bad for patients, it’s bad for science, and it’s really bad for American competitiveness. There’s no way a state can make up for the cuts from federal funding.”

She added: “I was in a hospital recently, Boston Children’s, where some of the sickest kids in the country receive care. Cuts to Boston Children’s and other hospitals are a direct result of Donald Trump’s actions, as these are part of a teaching hospital system.

“These cuts to universities have significant ripple effects, resulting in layoffs of scientists and doctors, and clinical trials for cancer treatments have been shut down.


“As governor, I want Massachusetts and America to soar. What Donald Trump is doing is essentially inviting other countries, like China, to take our scientists and researchers. This is terrible, especially considering what he has done to the economy. I am working hard every day to lower costs in my state, cut taxes, and build more housing, while Donald Trump is making life more expensive and harder for all of us.”

Since Trump took office, his administration has deployed an “antisemitism taskforce” to demand various policy changes at different universities around the country.

Columbia University, one of the first institutions targeted by the taskforce, quickly caved to the Trump administration’s demands to restore $400m in federal funding. Some of the measures that Columbia conceded to included banning face masks on campus, empowering security officers to arrest people, and placing control of the Middle Eastern department under a new senior vice-provost.

Former Columbia University president Lee Bollinger said on Sunday that the Trump administration’s attacks on academic institutions represent a significant attack on first amendment rights.

“This is a kind of weaponization of the government’s power,” Bolinger said on CNN, adding that it “seems like a campaign of intimidation”.

“This is a kind of weaponization of the government’s power,” he said.

Earlier this month, the federal government sent Harvard two separate letters with specific demands. After the university publicly rejected those demands, the administration quickly froze nearly $2.3bn in federal funding.

The conflict between the administration and the elite university took a strange turn on Friday, with the New York Times reporting that an 11 April letter from the administration with additional demands – which escalated the showdown – was “unauthorized”. The university disputed that the letter was “unauthorized,” claiming the federal government has “doubled down” on its offensive.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...aley-trump-harvard-attacks-research-hospitals

 

[cottagecheesefan]

If Donald Trump continues policies that undermine academia, there are several long-term consequences that will hurt the U.S. Here's how:

1. Decline in Scientific Innovation

Defunding research institutions or politicizing science can slow down innovation in areas like medicine, technology, and energy.

The U.S. has historically led the world in scientific output, much of it driven by universities. Undermining these institutions could reduce global competitiveness.


2. Brain Drain

Talented researchers, scientists, and students might leave for countries with better academic freedom and funding.

International students, who often contribute significantly to research and the economy, may choose other countries if the U.S. is seen as hostile to intellectual inquiry.


3. Erosion of Critical Thinking

Undermining education can lead to a less informed public and increased susceptibility to misinformation.

If academic freedom is limited, students may not learn to question, analyze, or challenge ideas—skills essential to a functioning democracy.


4. Weakened Democracy

Universities play a crucial role in upholding democratic norms by fostering debate, civic engagement, and a deeper understanding of history and government.

If academic voices are silenced or demonized, public discourse becomes less grounded in facts and more in ideology.


5. Economic Impact

Universities are major economic engines, especially in research, tech startups, and local economies. Weakening them could harm regional and national growth.

Fewer investments in STEM and the humanities mean fewer innovations, patents, and creative outputs.


6. Cultural and Global Reputation

The U.S. has long been a global leader in education. Undermining academia could damage its reputation and soft power around the world.

Countries like China and the EU could fill the vacuum, gaining influence in global research and education networks.

Trump is such a low IQ individual....

Hasn’t all of this happened over the last 30-40 years?

 

[krelianx]

Hasn’t all of this happened over the last 30-40 years?

No, you nimrod. This is unprecedented.

This is from Nature, which is the most prestigious scientific platform in the world.

​

"75% of US scientists who answered ​

More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada."

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving

More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada.

www.nature.com

"Aix-Marseille University in France has received nearly 300 applications from US-based academics seeking refuge through its Safe Place for Science program, launched to offer "scientific asylum" amid the Trump administration's sweeping crackdown on American higher education. The initiative, which provides three years of funding and access to cutting-edge facilities for up to 20 researchers, has attracted 298 applicants—242 deemed eligible—from prestigious institutions like Johns Hopkins, NASA, Columbia, Yale, and Stanford. The surge in interest underscores a growing brain drain as US researchers face funding freezes, executive orders, and ideological restrictions.

The Trump administration's policies, including $9 billion in federal research funding cuts and targeted freezes—such as $2.2 billion for Harvard and $510 million for Brown—have disrupted academic work nationwide. Restrictions on grants, bans on terms like "political" and "women" in research proposals, and the detention of foreign scholars like Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil have heightened fears. "This isn't chaos," wrote University College London professor Christina Pagel, describing the attacks as a deliberate effort to align science with state ideology, suppress dissent, and prioritize geopolitical goals."

French University's 'Scientific Asylum' Draws Nearly 300 US Academics Fleeing Trump's Crackdown

Nearly 300 US academics, from NASA to Yale, have applied for "scientific asylum" at France's Aix-Marseille University, fleeing Trump's $9 billion research funding cuts and ideological crackdown in a historic brain drain.

www.universityherald.com

This is from the Futurism.com


"Right now, due to the funding cuts, we are unable to enroll any more participants into federally funded studies, or start new studies, or do really any new work," UW Medicine infectious disease researcher Rachel Bender Ignacio, who cut her own salary to distribute money to the rest of other staffers, told NBC.

Even politically uncontroversial lines of research, including Alzheimer's and cancer, have been swept up in a major shrinking of funding, which could lead to significant slowdowns in progress toward treatments, cures, and other interventions.

"We’ve gone through a bunch of contingency planning," University of Washington’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center director Thomas Grabowski told NBC, referring to grant decisions slowing to a crawl. "When it starts to look like multiple, multiple, multiple months, then there’s not a good answer to your question."

The university received about 1,2200 grants from the NIH, worth around $648 million, last year. This year that approval process ground to a halt, and more than 600 grants are still in limbo.

Scientists are now in the dark, awaiting some much-needed clarity from the agency, which has spent much of its resources pointlessly chasing after president Donald Trump's number-one bogeyman: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

"The fact that they’re cutting these things or putting them in limbo is really upsetting, and you know, I feel like they’re doing surgery with a chainsaw at the federal level," retired attorney Andrea Gilbert, who had undergone treatment for Alzheimer's disease under Grabowski's care.

Nobel-Winning Scientist Says His Researchers Are Fleeing the Country Because of Trump's Cruelty

Around 15 of Nobel Prize-winning biochemist David Baker's graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are looking to leave the US.

futurism.com

 

[Hit-N-Run]

Authoritarianism 101

Make an enemy for the stupid to date
Attack press
Empower the leader to an all powerful position
Attack free thought and leaning

If you can’t see what’s going on here you are a fool

 

[cottagecheesefan]

No, you nimrod. This is unprecedented.

This is from Nature, which is the most prestigious scientific platform in the world.

​

"75% of US scientists who answered ​

More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada."

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving

More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada.

www.nature.com

"Aix-Marseille University in France has received nearly 300 applications from US-based academics seeking refuge through its Safe Place for Science program, launched to offer "scientific asylum" amid the Trump administration's sweeping crackdown on American higher education. The initiative, which provides three years of funding and access to cutting-edge facilities for up to 20 researchers, has attracted 298 applicants—242 deemed eligible—from prestigious institutions like Johns Hopkins, NASA, Columbia, Yale, and Stanford. The surge in interest underscores a growing brain drain as US researchers face funding freezes, executive orders, and ideological restrictions.

The Trump administration's policies, including $9 billion in federal research funding cuts and targeted freezes—such as $2.2 billion for Harvard and $510 million for Brown—have disrupted academic work nationwide. Restrictions on grants, bans on terms like "political" and "women" in research proposals, and the detention of foreign scholars like Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil have heightened fears. "This isn't chaos," wrote University College London professor Christina Pagel, describing the attacks as a deliberate effort to align science with state ideology, suppress dissent, and prioritize geopolitical goals."

French University's 'Scientific Asylum' Draws Nearly 300 US Academics Fleeing Trump's Crackdown

Nearly 300 US academics, from NASA to Yale, have applied for "scientific asylum" at France's Aix-Marseille University, fleeing Trump's $9 billion research funding cuts and ideological crackdown in a historic brain drain.

www.universityherald.com

This is from the Futurism.com


"Right now, due to the funding cuts, we are unable to enroll any more participants into federally funded studies, or start new studies, or do really any new work," UW Medicine infectious disease researcher Rachel Bender Ignacio, who cut her own salary to distribute money to the rest of other staffers, told NBC.

Even politically uncontroversial lines of research, including Alzheimer's and cancer, have been swept up in a major shrinking of funding, which could lead to significant slowdowns in progress toward treatments, cures, and other interventions.

"We’ve gone through a bunch of contingency planning," University of Washington’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center director Thomas Grabowski told NBC, referring to grant decisions slowing to a crawl. "When it starts to look like multiple, multiple, multiple months, then there’s not a good answer to your question."

The university received about 1,2200 grants from the NIH, worth around $648 million, last year. This year that approval process ground to a halt, and more than 600 grants are still in limbo.

Scientists are now in the dark, awaiting some much-needed clarity from the agency, which has spent much of its resources pointlessly chasing after president Donald Trump's number-one bogeyman: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

"The fact that they’re cutting these things or putting them in limbo is really upsetting, and you know, I feel like they’re doing surgery with a chainsaw at the federal level," retired attorney Andrea Gilbert, who had undergone treatment for Alzheimer's disease under Grabowski's care.

Nobel-Winning Scientist Says His Researchers Are Fleeing the Country Because of Trump's Cruelty

Around 15 of Nobel Prize-winning biochemist David Baker's graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are looking to leave the US.

futurism.com

Aka: the academic class living off government handouts is now desperate to find useful work

 

[HereticBD]

Authoritarianism 101

Make an enemy for the stupid to date
Attack press
Empower the leader to an all powerful position
Attack free thought and leaning

If you can’t see what’s going on here you are a fool

LOL

What's happening is an answer to the authoritarian left trying all that shit, and losing.

What's the matter? You only like playing for keeps when your team is in charge?

 

[krelianx]

Aka: the academic class living off government handouts is now desperate to find useful work

You are beyond reach. Have a good life.

 

[Crazy Source]

LOL

What's happening is an answer to the authoritarian left trying all that shit, and losing.

What's the matter? You only like playing for keeps when your team is in charge?

You will be put in your place soon enough.

 

[krelianx]

You will be put in your place soon enough.

He's a moron, nothing comes out of engaging with him except disappointment in the species.

 

[HereticBD]

You will be put in your place soon enough.

How soon?

 

[Crazy Source]

How soon?

Revenge is a dish best served cold, my Canadian neighbor.

 

[HereticBD]

He's a moron, nothing comes out of engaging with him except disappointment in the species.

Ah' yes, the super intelligent "you're not educated enough to understand that men can become women" dude chimes in. LOL.

 

[Andy Capp]

No, you nimrod. This is unprecedented.

This is from Nature, which is the most prestigious scientific platform in the world.

​

"75% of US scientists who answered ​

More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada."

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving

More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada.

www.nature.com

"Aix-Marseille University in France has received nearly 300 applications from US-based academics seeking refuge through its Safe Place for Science program, launched to offer "scientific asylum" amid the Trump administration's sweeping crackdown on American higher education. The initiative, which provides three years of funding and access to cutting-edge facilities for up to 20 researchers, has attracted 298 applicants—242 deemed eligible—from prestigious institutions like Johns Hopkins, NASA, Columbia, Yale, and Stanford. The surge in interest underscores a growing brain drain as US researchers face funding freezes, executive orders, and ideological restrictions.

The Trump administration's policies, including $9 billion in federal research funding cuts and targeted freezes—such as $2.2 billion for Harvard and $510 million for Brown—have disrupted academic work nationwide. Restrictions on grants, bans on terms like "political" and "women" in research proposals, and the detention of foreign scholars like Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil have heightened fears. "This isn't chaos," wrote University College London professor Christina Pagel, describing the attacks as a deliberate effort to align science with state ideology, suppress dissent, and prioritize geopolitical goals."

French University's 'Scientific Asylum' Draws Nearly 300 US Academics Fleeing Trump's Crackdown

Nearly 300 US academics, from NASA to Yale, have applied for "scientific asylum" at France's Aix-Marseille University, fleeing Trump's $9 billion research funding cuts and ideological crackdown in a historic brain drain.

www.universityherald.com

This is from the Futurism.com


"Right now, due to the funding cuts, we are unable to enroll any more participants into federally funded studies, or start new studies, or do really any new work," UW Medicine infectious disease researcher Rachel Bender Ignacio, who cut her own salary to distribute money to the rest of other staffers, told NBC.

Even politically uncontroversial lines of research, including Alzheimer's and cancer, have been swept up in a major shrinking of funding, which could lead to significant slowdowns in progress toward treatments, cures, and other interventions.

"We’ve gone through a bunch of contingency planning," University of Washington’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center director Thomas Grabowski told NBC, referring to grant decisions slowing to a crawl. "When it starts to look like multiple, multiple, multiple months, then there’s not a good answer to your question."

The university received about 1,2200 grants from the NIH, worth around $648 million, last year. This year that approval process ground to a halt, and more than 600 grants are still in limbo.

Scientists are now in the dark, awaiting some much-needed clarity from the agency, which has spent much of its resources pointlessly chasing after president Donald Trump's number-one bogeyman: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

"The fact that they’re cutting these things or putting them in limbo is really upsetting, and you know, I feel like they’re doing surgery with a chainsaw at the federal level," retired attorney Andrea Gilbert, who had undergone treatment for Alzheimer's disease under Grabowski's care.

Nobel-Winning Scientist Says His Researchers Are Fleeing the Country Because of Trump's Cruelty

Around 15 of Nobel Prize-winning biochemist David Baker's graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are looking to leave the US.

futurism.com

 

[Hit-N-Run]

LOL

What's happening is an answer to the authoritarian left trying all that shit, and losing.

What's the matter? You only like playing for keeps when your team is in charge?

Name one person shipped to another country for imprisonment in the last admin? How about years under Obama? How about the last 50 years.

You sound dense when you can’t see the difference between what the Trump regime is doing and every other admin.

 

[Deleted member 592570]

I wonder who the Republicans learned this from lmao