Trump forges ahead in his quest to kill free speech on college campuses
President Donald Trump’s war on the First Amendment continues unabated with the suspension of dozens of federally funded research grants to Princeton University.
While specific details on the amount of the grants are not available, Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber made the announcement Tuesday.
“Princeton University will comply with the law. We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism. Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University,” Eisgruber said.
The White House is framing the move as part of an investigation by Trump’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. As with its other punitive threats, this action seems designed to chill freedom of speech on college campuses.
Princeton is just one of 60 schools currently under “investigation” by the Trump administration over alleged “antisemitism”. The common thread throughout these targeted institutions is that students have organized pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses.
This federal funding extortion comes in tandem with the Trump administration’s unconstitutional crackdown on student activists. On Monday, Trump threatened to withhold nearly $9 billion in funding from Harvard University unless it sufficiently complied with the White House.
After Columbia University faced a similar threat from Trump, the school capitulated to the administration’s egregious demands, and Interim President Dr. Katrina Armstrong abruptly resigned.
Additionally, the Trump administration has “paused” $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania for allowing transgender athlete Lia Thomas to compete on its swim team three years ago.
Meanwhile, other schools have silently cut diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were created to protect underrepresented students and faculty.
Trump’s war on civil rights, civil liberties, and the First Amendment threatens to quiet a generation of activists. But will it succeed?
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