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Feldman: Trump is using antisemitism to go after Harvard
Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman doesn’t downplay the reality of antisemitic violence in the US: “These things are real and they have to be taken very seriously.” But he draws a sharp line between legitimate concern and political opportunism.
“There is a flavor of using antisemitism as an excuse to go after Harvard,” he says. Feldman recounts a colleague whose science funding was cut due to alleged antisemitism on campus—despite being part of an all-Jewish research team. “It just makes no sense at all.”
As part of a wide-ranging conversation in the latest episode of GZERO World, Feldman argues that this kind of approach isn’t about fighting hate—it’s about making universities the enemy.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube.Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
As Trump pressures universities, what's really at stake?
American universities have long been engines of innovation, global leadership, and critical thought. But now they’re in the political crosshairs. Under the Trump administration, elite schools like Harvard and Columbia are facing lawsuits, funding threats, and mounting pressure to crack down on perceived antisemitism and “woke” culture. White House allies say it’s about protecting students. Constitutional scholar Noah Feldman says it’s about power.
On GZERO World, Feldman joins Ian Bremmer to argue that President Trump’s campaign against higher education is a broader attack on independent institutions—and the role they play in shaping public truth. Feldman warns that cutting federal science funding, punishing international students, and politicizing speech on campus are part of a strategy to delegitimize universities and assert control over what they teach and who they admit.
“No one at Harvard...wants to knuckle under to Trump,” Feldman says. “The university doesn’t have any value if it can’t be independent.”
Feldman also discusses rising antisemitism, Harvard’s legal battle with the Trump administration, and why standing up now could set the precedent for how all US universities respond in the future.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
Trump vs higher education, with Harvard's Noah Feldman
From lawsuits and executive orders to funding cuts tied to antisemitism claims, the Trump White House is targeting institutions like Harvard and Columbia in what Feldman calls an effort to undermine independent centers of truth. “Trump's gone after universities, he's gone after media, and he's going after courts,” Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman tells Ian Bremmer in the latest episode of the GZERO World podcast. “Each in its own way is an independent institutional voice telling people, ‘This is the way things are.’”
Feldman explains why this isn’t just about cancel culture or campus politics—it's about whether universities will remain places where truth is pursued freely, or "knuckle" under political pressure. He discusses Harvard’s legal fight with the administration, growing antisemitism on and off campus, and the deeper risks for American democracy if academic independence erodes.
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