The Trump administration's fight with Harvard University isn't letting up.

In recent weeks, the White House has moved to strip more than $2 billion in federal research

grants, block international student enrollment, and suspend student visa applications.

As tensions rise, some at Harvard are speaking out, among them renowned professor and cognitive

scientist Stephen Pinker,

whose New York Times op-ed is titled Harvard Derangement Syndrome. I spoke with him yesterday.

Stephen Pinker, welcome to the News Hour. Thank you. You have described many of Harvard's critics

as having what you call Harvard derangement syndrome, this tendency to see only

flaws in the institution while ignoring its many strengths and contributions. Explain what you mean

by that and how you distinguish legitimate criticism from what you see as irrational hostility.

Yeah, so Harvard does have some problems. I co-founded the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard to deal with them.

There have been some cancellations of faculty for saying politically sensitive things leading

to outrage mobs.

There is a political skew in the faculty with probably not enough conservative voices.

There have been protests that have crossed the line from expression of opinion to intimidation

and silencing. On the other hand, Harvard is a really big place. There are 24,000 students, 12 schools, three campuses, 2,700 professors.

And if there's an incident here or there, it can go viral and it can make people think

that Harvard is nothing but cancellations, nothing but intrusive demonstrations.

In fact, most of what happens at Harvard are students learning, professors doing research,

people publishing their findings, including many politically incorrect findings.

The fact that every once in a while something catches the attention of someone and there's a mob,

doesn't mean that Harvard lives under a regime when

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