Trump’s War on Students

The Trump regime’s crackdown on student protesters has escalated into a full-blown campaign to dismantle higher education as a space of dissent. After months of pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. campuses, Trump declared them breeding grounds for “terrorist sympathizers,” and his Department of Government Efficiency swiftly responded—with threats, defunding, and surveillance.

Columbia University became ground zero. In March, the regime canceled over $400 million in federal funding to the university, citing its alleged failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment. But the evidence presented was thin—centered mostly on student chants and peaceful sit-ins. Critics, including prominent Jewish faculty, have accused the administration of weaponizing antisemitism to crush political opposition.

From Protest to Persecution

In campaign speeches and press conferences, Trump repeatedly equated student protesters with the January 6 rioters. “They storm buildings, intimidate people, and break the law,” he said of demonstrators holding vigils and walkouts. The conflation is deliberate: by reframing civil protest as insurrection, Trump justifies the use of federal power to suppress it.

Department of Education dismantling is underway. Trump has proposed abolishing it entirely, handing control to states, and transferring federal student loan management to the Small Business Administration. Experts warn this would devastate financial aid access for low-income students and create bureaucratic chaos for borrowers.

The goal is clear: destroy the infrastructure that supports political resistance. Universities, long a breeding ground for criticism of power, are being defunded, surveilled, and accused of sedition.

Fascism Wrapped in False Solidarity

Trump’s invocation of antisemitism is not about protecting Jews—it’s about silencing critics. Jewish students and faculty have marched alongside Palestinian allies in protest of this manipulation. Some of the most vocal dissent has come from Jewish organizations appalled by the White House’s selective outrage.

Meanwhile, Trump has praised European nationalist leaders known for openly antisemitic rhetoric. His alignment with Viktor Orbán, who has run smear campaigns against Jewish philanthropists, and his hosting of figures like Nick Fuentes at public events, undercuts any claim to genuine concern.

It is authoritarianism wrapped in the language of protection. It is propaganda. And it’s working.

A Test for the Public

What’s happening on U.S. campuses is not just a student issue. It’s a litmus test for democratic endurance. The administration is using one of the oldest fascist tools—exploiting fear of an enemy within—to silence dissent.

And this time, the “enemy” is a generation unwilling to look away from genocide.

If that terrifies those in power, maybe it should.