Summers slams Trump’s “tyranny” by escalating his attack on Harvard
Former Harry University President Larry Summers warned of government “tyranny” by President Donald Trump attacked his deepening attack on schools and earlier this week denounced the freeze on federal funding “roughly representative”;
“This isn’t isolated, what’s going on at Harvard,” Summers said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday. “This is part of a widespread and extensive effort to curb institutions challenging the presidential administration.”
Trump is an escalating standoff with Harvard after the government freezes $2.2 billion in federal grants to schools this week. The president continuedthreatenHe accused Harvard of tax-free status and employing “radical left” faculty members on Wednesday. Harvard said “I can no longer think of a place to study,” and the president said he should no longer receive federal funds.
The Trump administration, which accused Harvard of mistreating anti-Semitism on campus, reinforced its demands last week by demanding admissions and changes to employment practices. Harvard President Alan Gerber rejected the terms this week. I’m saying They made it clear that the government’s intentions were not to “work with us to address anti-Semitism.”
Summers said Harvard still needs to do more to combat prejudice against Jews and expand intellectual diversity, but he praised the agency’s efforts to stand up to Trump.
“The university has made some very serious mistakes. Yes, we should be pressured and put into pressure with strength that escalates strength to change,” says Summers, a paid contributor to Bloomberg TV. “But I think this is new and an authoritarian and real question about our democracy, as the US president calls for a change in the tax status of his enemy.”
Former US Treasury Secretary Summers said he hopes Harvard University will find ways to maintain important research in the face of federal funding cuts.
“If the US government goes to war with our great universities, it means a sharp decline in the kind of scientific advancement that the US has become the world’s vy hope,” he said. “It means the end of our efforts to treat illnesses like cancer and diabetes. It means a great risk to our national security, as one of our great national assets is our ability to innovation.”
Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard is the oldest and wealthiest American university. It boasts a $53 billion donation.
“Harvard shouldn’t interfere in politics,” Summers said. But he said, “if an institution like Harvard can’t resist tyranny.”
This story was originally introduced Fortune.com