Trump’s Rants about Harvard Get Darker as He Loses a Big One in Court

THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent

The New Republic

News, Politics

4.4 • 800 Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a series of rants to reporters, President Trump’s rage at Harvard took a sadistic and unhinged turn. He made it clear that only total subjugation to him on Harvard’s part will satisfy him. This comes as a judge just blocked another one of his executive orders aimed at grinding a major law firm into submission, a big setback to Trump in a string of legal losses on that front. In today’s episode, Katherine Stewart, a sharp observer of MAGA who has a new piece on her Substack about the Harvard catastrophe, explains that these things are connected: Trump’s attacks on Harvard and other institutions are about creating the deliberate impression that we’re sliding into lawlessness and terror, so victories like that one in court are a crucial reminder that we still do have the rule of law. Stewart explains why keeping alive this idea is so essential, why Trump is counting on you to lose sight of it, and what must happen now. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:28.6	.
0:29.6	This is the Daily Blast from the New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.
0:46.5	I'm your host, Greg Sargent.
1:03.1	President Donald Trump's rage at Harvard University has now taken a truly sadistic and unhinged turn.
1:11.7	In a series of rants to reporters, Trump made it clear that only total subjugation to him on Harvard's part will satisfy him,
1:16.8	and total subjugation would require Harvard to basically endorse Trump's idea that their foreign student body is riddled with dangerous radicals and terrorists.
1:22.1	All this considerably raises the stakes in this fight.
1:26.0	We need a new kind of language to capture the true
1:28.4	level of demagoguery and malevolence at work here, and if Harvard backs down, the consequences
1:33.9	could be very serious. A lot is on the line. Catherine Stewart, a writer who regularly dissects
1:39.9	the right wing, has a new piece on her substack arguing that the assault on Harvard and other
1:44.5	universities is better understood as an attack on truth and learning. Catherine, thanks so
1:50.2	much for coming on. It's great to be here. To catch people up, the Trump administration recently
1:56.1	demanded extensive information about Harvard's foreign student body. Harvard has tried to comply, but Trump says it isn't good enough, and in retaliation, he revoked Harvard's ability to receive foreign students. Catherine, let's start here. The original demand for information about students was itself a grotesque abuse of power. It's not a demand Harvard could really meet
2:19.0	the way Trump claims to want them to. Can you talk about that? Well, the president is targeting a
2:24.0	particular institution with illegal and unconstitutional methods to serve a frankly destructive
	...

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