President Trump’s first 100 days in office have included 143 executive orders, eight declared national emergencies, hundreds of January 6 pardons, DOGE, deportations, a war against higher education, an actual trade war, Liberation Day, MAHA, the return of the Iran deal, McDonald’s on Air Force One, Teslas on the South Lawn of the White House, lots of grant-freezing, a Zelensky showdown, the Gulf of America, the triumph of the plastic straw and, of course, Signalgate.
In other words, there’s a lot to make sense of. So we asked trusted writers, contributors, and friends of The Free Press to help us.
Christopher Rufo on American Education
For half a century, Republican presidents campaigned on reforming American schools and universities, only to retreat after taking office. This White House is different. Within 100 days, President Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have terminated $1 billion in funding for left-wing nongovernmental organizations, begun to dismantle the Department of Education from within, and launched a war against racial discrimination in the Ivy League.
These policies represent a much-needed shock therapy. For decades, elite universities have brazenly violated the Civil Rights Act and implemented DEI programs that intentionally punish whites, Asians, and Jews. By threatening to terminate billions in federal funding, the president is sending a clear signal to Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton: No more racial discrimination in the guise of “social justice.” Either wind down discriminatory DEI programs, or do not expect continued public subsidies.
Continue reading the entire piece here at The Free Press (paywall)
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Christopher F. Rufo is a senior fellow and director of the Initiative on Critical Race Theory at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor of City Journal. He is the author of America's Cultural Revolution.
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