Completely foreign to a nation of laws and a democratic people.

Today on The Daily Blast, @gregsargent.bsky.social talks to @ryanenos.bsky.social about the internal politics at Harvard leading to its current posture and why this fight’s outcome has broader significance amid our slide into authoritarianism. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

US higher ed is under attack. Harvard refusing Trump's unreasonable, lie-based, often illegal demands is making a difference. I especially appreciate how @ryanenos.bsky.social explains that research grants aren't favors, they're competitive contracts serving national priorities as set by Congress.

"We are now in a system of competitive authoritarianism. And it’s just about whether we manage to take our democracy back from that." On the pod, @ryanenos.bsky.social is so good on Harvard pulling back from surrender to Trump, and on need for institutions to fight: newrepublic.com/article/2061...

Ryan had a good conversation about this thesis as it relates to Harvard @gregsargent.bsky.social's pod this morning. 1/

At New Republic, @gregsargent.bsky.social & @ryanenos.bsky.social slam legacy news media for referring to ...er... arrangements made between Trump & universities, & media organizations, & law firms as "deals." They should be called their proper name: "extortion." newrepublic.com/article/2061...

One might interpret the Washington Post news as consistent with my ongoing claim that our legacy institutions, once thought to be the bulwark of civil society, will not save our democracy. They are simply too vulnerable to the extortion leveled by the ruling regime.

wow

“Ryan Enos, a government professor at Harvard, said Mr. Trump’s shifting demands seemed to show he was motivated by revenge instead of policy goals. “He’s just looking for a way to win a battle and assert political retribution on an institution that he thinks is defying him,” Mr. Enos said.”

If you're looking for detailed crosstabs showing Trump's current approval rating among various demographic groups in the US, we've published those here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... For example, 32% of men under 30 currently approve of Trump's job performance; 67% disapprove.