The US government has launched a deliberate attack on human knowledge and progress under the Trump administration. This sweeping assault on education, science, and history is conducted with fanaticism reminiscent of the Dark Ages that followed Rome’s fall.
Colleges and universities face threats of losing federal funding if they refuse to submit to the administration’s demands or even comply with its policies. The National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and other scientific institutions are under sustained attack. Historical institutions like the Smithsonian and artistic organizations such as the Kennedy Center are being repurposed to promote MAGA ideology over fact-based information.
Libraries lose funding, scientists face dismissal, educators are silenced, and researchers are warned against discussing forbidden subjects. Decades-old databases of public health information risk disappearing. Facts contradicting Trumpism are deemed heretical.
This unified assault on knowledge is part of a broader effort to undermine Americans’ ability to comprehend the world around them. Like inquisitors who persecuted Galileo for questioning Earth’s rotation, the Trump administration believes that truth-seeking imperils its power.
Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/05/trump-defund-schools-research-republicans/682742