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President Donald Trump doubled down on his effort to reshape American higher education, vowing to end what he called “woke, socialist, anti-American ideology” from college campuses and restore merit-based standards across the nation’s universities.
In a Truth Social post Sunday, Trump said U.S. universities were once “a great strategic asset” but have become “corrupting our youth and society.” He vowed to remake the system “fast,” focusing on admissions, hiring, campus culture, and the use of federal funding.
“These Institutions will commit to High Quality Standards, an Intellectually Open Campus Environment (including the protection of Free Speech and Debate), Institutional Neutrality, major steps toward Affordability for Students, and an end to the entanglement of Foreign Money,” Trump wrote. “Americans deserve to be treated in accordance with their demonstrated achievements and potential.”
The president’s reform agenda has targeted some of the country’s most prestigious universities, including Harvard and Columbia, which have become focal points in the debate over academic freedom, antisemitism, diversity programs and federal civil rights law.
“To those Universities that continue to illegally discriminate based on Race or Sex, we will continue our current efforts to swiftly and forcefully enforce Federal Law. But for those Institutions that want to quickly return to the pursuit of Truth and Achievement, they are invited to enter into a forward looking Agreement with the Federal Government to help bring about the Golden Age of Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” the president wrote.
“They will agree to follow Federal Law, and protect the Civil Rights of ALL Students, Faculty, and Employees on Campuses. They will stop racist Admission Policies, and put an end to unjust and illegal discrimination in Faculty Hiring. These Institutions will commit to High Quality Standards, an Intellectually Open Campus Environment (including the protection of Free Speech and Debate), Institutional Neutrality, major steps toward Affordability for Students, and an end to the entanglement of Foreign Money in the Finances of American Universities. Americans deserve to be treated in accordance with their demonstrated achievements and potential, and upon regaining this fundamentally American Value, our Nation will be unstoppable,” he continued.
“We will once again have Universities that develop the talents of our amazing young people to lead lives of Success and Fulfillment, cultivate a Love of Country and a Culture of Achievement, and help make all Americans proud, safe, prosperous, and free!” President Trump concluded.
