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Bulwark Takes

Trump Tries to Break Harvard: Only American Students Allowed

Bulwark Takes

The Bulwark

Politics, News Commentary, News, Society & Culture

4.71.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Trump administration is escalating its battle with Harvard, moving to block international student enrollment and threatening funding unless the university complies with demands for control over courses and student data. It’s a political attack aimed at weakening elite institutions, but Harvard—wealthy and powerful—is unlikely to fold. The bigger threat is whether the courts will allow it.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Building a coffee business, serving the best Americano in town is up to you. But winning back time and

0:05.0

growing your business, leave that to sum up. Take orders and payments anywhere with the new SumUp terminal. Turn occasional customers into regulars with a free loyalty program. And with the sumup point of sale system, you'll always know when you're running low on your best selling blends. Visit sumup.co.uk to learn more.

0:20.2

Hey guys, it's me, Sam Stein, managing editor at the pollwork.

0:22.9

I'm joined by JVL, editor of, your bestselling blends. Visit sumup.com. UK to learn more. Hey guys, it's me Sam Stein, managing editor at the pollwork.

0:22.9

I'm joined by JVL, editor of the publication.

0:26.1

We are going to be talking about some breaking news that just happened.

0:29.1

Pretty wild stuff.

0:30.2

It looks like the Trump administration is moving to restrict international students

0:35.5

from going to Harvard University, a real escalation in the war between

0:40.4

the administration and the university. Before we get to that, subscribe to the feed. We appreciate

0:44.9

your subscriptions. We welcome international students and viewers. All right, JVL. What are your

0:50.0

first reactions to this? It's a really big deal. It is a continuing attempt to threaten the economics of Harvard.

0:59.4

I mean, the Trump administration has basically said, we want to own Harvard.

1:04.4

We want to be the shadow hand that makes all decisions at Harvard.

1:09.5

They want help.

1:12.7

They would like to have guidance over who Harvard lets in, who Harvard rejects, who

1:17.6

Harvard hires, what teachers are hired to Harvard, and what they teach.

1:23.7

And to impose this, what they have said is like anywhere that Harvard touches the government,

1:31.0

we are going to use that as leverage against you. And so this is grants and funding.

1:36.2

Harvard's a gigantic institution, right? I mean, there are there are grants coming into

1:41.1

biomedical research being done in Harvard. And what the Trump administration said is, we want to know what your undergraduate courses

1:49.8

are.

...

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