The Foolishness of Trump’s Persecution of American Universities: Silencing campuses, driving talent away, and empowering America’s rivals.

Trump’s war on American universities is eroding academic freedom, driving global talent away, and weakening the nation’s scientific and intellectual leadership.

Ricardo Martins, NEO-Journal, June 22, 2025

This article reveals how ideology-driven policies, reminiscent of McCarthyism, are turning elite campuses into battlegrounds of censorship and decline.

In his second term, President Donald Trump has launched an aggressive campaign against American higher education, targeting universities and students who express dissenting views on foreign policy, particularly regarding Israel and Palestine.

This crackdown includes punitive measures against institutions that permit pro-Palestinian demonstrations and the revocation of student visas for individuals critical of Israel, conflating such criticism with antisemitism. These actions, influenced by pro-Israel lobbying groups, undermine academic freedom and threaten the global standing of U.S. universities.

The Trump administration’s approach to higher education jeopardizes the foundational principles of academic freedom and openness and the whole Enlightenment tradition

The administration’s policies have led to significant consequences:

Visa Revocations: According to the New York Post, the Trump administration has “aggressively” revoked visas for Chinese students, particularly those in STEM fields, citing national security concerns. This move disrupts the influx of international talent that has historically bolstered U.S. technological innovation. Secretary of State Rubio has already revoked more than 4,000 visas (all countries comprised). Now the Secretary targets the almost 300,000 annually Visas awarded to Chinese students. Just as a note, Indian students are enrolled in bigger number in the U.S. than Chinese.

Funding Cuts: Significant reductions in federal funding have forced prestigious institutions like Harvard and Johns Hopkins to implement hiring freezes and lay off staff. Johns Hopkins, for instance, according to The Guardian, announced plans to cut over 2,000 jobs following an $800 million reduction in USAID funding.

Academic Freedom Under Threat: Executive Order 14188, issued to combat antisemitism, mandates increased surveillance of foreign students and staff, particularly those involved in campus protests against Israel. This has led to the detention and potential deportation of students like Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist at Columbia University, raising serious First Amendment concerns.

Broader Consequences

These policies have broader implications that Trump’s administration does not consider:

Brain Drain: European countries are actively recruiting U.S.-based researchers affected by funding cuts, offering them opportunities abroad. A coalition of 12 European governments is strategizing to attract these academics, potentially leading to a significant loss of talent for the U.S.

Economic Impact: International students contribute over $40 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Restrictive visa policies threaten this revenue stream, further straining university budgets.

Technology lead Impact: According to Politico, 70 percent of Silicon Valley’s highly educated tech employees are from overseas, according to a recent study from a regional think tank — and of that group, China supplies more than any country except India. Eighteen percent of those employees are currently Chinese-born.

Erosion of Academic Independence: By conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism and penalizing institutions accordingly, the administration compromises the neutrality and independence of academic research and discourse.

Is This Europe’s Talent Momentum?

As the U.S. tightens its borders and slashes university funding, Europe is seizing the moment. The European Commission, alongside several EU member states, has launched coordinated initiatives to attract disillusioned American academics and researchers.

Countries like Germany, France, and the Netherlands are offering fast-track visas, generous research grants, and tenured positions to U.S.-based scholars affected by Trump’s policies. According to Business Standard, a 12-nation coalition is actively “poaching” talent from U.S. universities facing layoffs and budget crises.

Meanwhile, Politico reports a surge in applications from American scientists and professors to EU programs like Horizon Europe and ERC Advanced Grants. The European Commission has launched the “Choose Europe for Science” grant program.

Individual institutions are moving quickly: ETH Zurich has opened a dedicated fellowship track for U.S. researchers; Sciences Po in Paris has expanded its visiting professorships and is advertising positions directly to U.S. faculty; and the University of Copenhagen has launched a “Safe Haven for Scholars” program to support those displaced by political repression. These efforts signal a broader European strategy to turn the U.S. brain drain into its own intellectual gain.

China’s Academic Ascent

As the United States enacts restrictive policies on academic freedom and international collaboration, China is strategically positioning itself to attract American scholars and researchers. This move has started before the latest Trump’s restrictive measures to international, and particularly Chinese students. Through a combination of government initiatives and university-led programs, China aims to capitalize on the growing discontent among U.S. academics. Following, I mention a few Chinese government initiatives which gained momentum after the U.S. declared war on semiconductors, aiming to isolating China in this crucial technology.

Government Initiatives:

Talent Recruitment Programs: China’s “Thousand Talents Plan,” along with its successor programs, continues to offer competitive salaries, substantial research funding, and state-of-the-art facilities to attract top-tier international researchers.

International Cooperative Program for Innovative Talents (ICPIT): Administered by the China Scholarship Council, ICPIT supports collaborations between Chinese universities and foreign institutions, focusing on interdisciplinary research and innovation.

Revised Research Funding Regulations: In 2024, China amended its National Natural Science Fund Regulations to enhance support for groundbreaking basic research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and early-career researchers, making the research environment more attractive to foreign talent.

China’s approach is not merely about filling positions, but about enhancing its global academic standing. By attracting international talent, China aims to boost its research output, foster innovation, and position itself as a leader in science and technology. This strategy aligns with China’s broader goals of economic development, technology independence and global influence. As put by The Economist, “China has become a scientific superpower.”

Conclusion

The Trump administration’s approach to higher education, characterized by punitive measures against dissent and restrictive immigration policies, jeopardizes the foundational principles of academic freedom and openness and the whole Enlightenment tradition. These actions not only undermine the global reputation of American universities but also risk long-term damage to the nation’s innovation and economic prosperity.

Trump’s crackdown on critics of Israel, student visas, and academic independence is sabotaging U.S. values, universities and science, empowering rivals like China and the EU, and accelerating America’s intellectual decline.