VDH: Elite Universities Final Cave to Trump

Jul 18, 2025

Elite universities are grappling with the fallout from the Trump administration's demands. They face financial pressure to adjust their policies on race-based admissions after a recent Supreme Court ruling. Amid the fear of losing federal funding, university leaders are torn between appeasing the administration and responding to their own faculty and students. The discussion highlights the complexities of navigating political and social expectations while dealing with rising antisemitism and reliance on international students.

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INSIGHT

Universities Cut Deals with Trump

Elite university presidents negotiate with the Trump administration to secure federal funds.
They use Trump as a scapegoat to rationalize concessions to wary faculty and students.

INSIGHT

Elite Universities' Controversial Practices

Elite universities overcharge up to 50% in overhead on federal grants and violate 2023 Supreme Court rulings on race.
Campuses suffer antisemitism and depend heavily on students from illiberal regimes.

INSIGHT

Campus Fears Drive Compliance

University presidents fear Marxist students and faculty and therefore seek compromises.
They cite threats of losing federal funding and increased taxes as reasons for concessions.

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Elite universities know they’re in the wrong. For years, they’ve been:

Charging upwards of 60% for “overhead” costs for federal research grants.

Blatantly violating the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 Civil Rights ruling barring race-based admissions and hiring practices.

Allowing rampant antisemitism on campus.

Reliant on international students from illiberal regimes.

Facing both mounting pressure from the Trump administration to change their ways, and vocal opposition from their Marxist students and faculty to remain the same, university presidents are starting to fold:

So, how do these presidents do it? They're afraid of their students. They're afraid of their Marxist faculty. So what they're doing is, essentially, they're talking to the Trump administration. And they're going to go right back and they're going to say, ‘You know, I did not want to do this. I really did not want to cut a deal. I want to keep going with DEI. I think we have a right to. But I can't. Donald Trump's a tough customer. If I don't cut a deal with him, we're gonna go broke. We'll get no federal funds. We'll get no federal grants. We'll get an even bigger tax on our endowment. So I've got to cut a deal. He made me do it.’

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