President Donald Trump has a bad habit of undermining his own policy agenda.
Trump wants sustained 3% economic growth. He wants to reduce the trade deficit. And he wants to ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of technological innovation across many domains. Trump’s attacks on Harvard University jeopardize all 3 of these goals.
Attacking Harvard is poor policy, especially as the University is rapidly reforming itself. Trump’s efforts to micromanage education at the University, to withdraw financial support from the institution, and to deny Harvard the ability to enroll international students are not only outside the law, they are unconstitutional. His actions against the University are despotic and vindictive, more worthy of an extreme authoritarian dictator, not the President of a nation that places a high value on the rule of law.
Yes, Harvard has condoned and sanctioned antisemitic acts. Yes, it continued to turn a blind eye even when these injustices were apparent. The University has also turned a blind eye on aggressive verbal attacks against Jewish students at the school. In essence, Harvard University, perhaps America’s finest institution of higher learning, has tolerated and abetted behavior inconsistent with the highest values of the nation.
But Harvard is a private entity. Under the Constitution, Harvard has rights of academic freedom that include creating a curriculum without interference by the federal government. Harvard also has property rights guaranteed by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution. Property cannot be taken without due process. Seizing grant money from Harvard is unconstitutional and violates fundamental principles of administrative law, including the proscription against arbitrary and capricious acts. Trump’s attacks on Harvard are a clear example of arbitrary and capricious policy.
Trump’s vendetta against Harvard damages America. Harvard is a national treasure. It acculturates international students with positive values such as the belief in the rule of law, confidence that capitalism is a superior economic model to socialism, and positive attitudes toward the U.S.. We should also remind ourselves that America is not an island. The U.S. needs allies in this time of grave danger from China. Prohibiting international students from entering the U.S. to attend Harvard sends a negative message to the world about what the U.S. stands for. Moreover, international students who attend Harvard often pay $100,000 or more for the privilege of studying there. In this way, international students reduce the trade deficit, which Trump so aggressively wants to cut.
It also means losing out on the best young minds. Do we want those individuals to develop the next Google or Apple in Europe or China instead of in America? Harvard University is central to Trump’s stated policy of maintaining economic and technological superiority over China. The facts are clear: Professors at Harvard have been awarded 161 Nobel Prizes. Researchers from Harvard were instrumental in the first organ transplant. Harvard teachers developed the first programmable computer. Today, researchers at the University are working on a cure for type 1 diabetes.
Monies that the President is trying to take back will inhibit Harvard’s efforts to defeat brain cancer and to find the cause and a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. As America’s population ages, defeating cancer and Alzheimer’s would have an economic benefit measured in the trillions over our lifetimes. Trump is trying to deny the U.S. all of these positive outcomes because Harvard University refuses to bow down before Trump, a man who wants to be king.
WHAT HAPPENED TO TUCKER CARLSON AND CANDACE OWENS?
Productivity growth is the key to increasing the standard of living for every American. Over the past 50 years, the private sector has taken the lead on both fundamental research and development as well as applied R&D. Denying Harvard research funds will over time reduce the economic growth rate of the country. This is directly contrary to Trump’s stated goal of accelerating economic growth.
Harvard University deserves our thanks for standing up to the president. It benefits all of us and our country by doing so.
The writer graduated from Harvard Law School.
James Rogan is a former U.S. foreign service officer who has worked in finance and law for 30 years. He writes a daily note on the markets, politics, and society. He can be followed on X here. He can be reached at [email protected].
