Trump Vows to Eliminate 'Woke' Ideology from US Universities

US President Donald Trump has committed to eliminating what he describes as "woke, socialist, and anti-American ideology" from American higher education institutions, threatening federal enforcement actions while offering cooperative agreements to compliant universities. In a social media statement Sunday, Trump lamented that while American colleges historically represented strategic national assets, "tragically, however, much of higher education has lost its way," accusing academic institutions of "corrupting our youth and society" through ideological practices he considers unconstitutional.Enforcement Threats and Proposed Compact

The president issued explicit warnings to institutions maintaining policies the administration deems discriminatory, stating "to those universities that continue to illegally discriminate based on race or sex, we will continue our current efforts to swiftly and forcefully enforce federal law." Simultaneously, Trump invited universities to enter "forward looking agreements" with the federal government to achieve what he characterized as a "golden age of academic excellence," proposing his "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" as a framework for cooperation.

Compact Requirements and Institutional Resistance

Universities accepting the administration's compact would commit to ending "racist admission policies" and eliminating "unjust and illegal discrimination in faculty hiring," according to Trump's outline. Additional requirements include maintaining "high quality standards, an intellectually open campus environment," institutional neutrality, student affordability initiatives, and terminating "entanglement of foreign money." The administration recently circulated the compact to nine prominent universities, though Massachusetts Institute of Technology became the first to formally reject the agreement Friday.

Academic Freedom Concerns and Ongoing Investigations

MIT President Sally Kornbluth defended her institution's decision, noting the compact "includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution." Kornbluth emphasized that "the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone." Since Trump's January inauguration, the Education Department has initiated multiple investigations into universities alleging civil rights violations through racial preferences, prompting accusations from academic institutions that these actions constitute authoritarian assaults on academic freedom.