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Trump’s Education Secretary Wants Universities To Bend To White House Whims

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Education Secretary Linda McMahon apparently thinks research at American universities is only permissible if it’s “in sync” with the Trump White House.

President Donald Trump has been attacking Harvard University, threatening to cut its funding and revoke its ability to enroll international students, as the State Department works to vet foreign students’ social media accounts before granting them educational visas.

During an interview with CNBC on Thursday, McMahon, a former professional wrestling promoter, explained a simple solution U.S. colleges could employ: Just get on board with Trump’s agenda.

“Universities should continue to be able to do research as long as they’re abiding by the laws and are in sync, I think, with the administration and what the administration is trying to accomplish,” she told CNBC.

Linda McMahon: “Universities should continue to be able to do research as long as they’re abiding by the laws and in sync, I think, with the administration and what the administration is trying to accomplish.” pic.twitter.com/apzHh5hSx7

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 28, 2025

McMahon’s comments come just days after Trump threatened to take away $3 billion in grant money from Harvard, which he accuses of antisemitism and harboring “radicalized lunatics” and “troublemakers.”

Not surprisingly, McMahon’s comments on behalf of the administration sparked criticism.

American Association of University Professors President Todd Wolfson told Newsweek that McMahon’s assertion about Harvard being “in sync” with the administration was “outrageous and dangerous,” adding that “American higher education exists to serve the public, not radical right-wing politicians that are attempting to control what can be said, taught, or researched on our campuses.”

People on social media also attacked McMahon’s suggestion that universities bend their research goals to the whims of the administration.

And, yes, things got brutal.

Linda McMahon’s comments are a blatant attack on academic freedom, using anti-Semitism as a convenient excuse to punish Harvard for not bowing to Trump’s agenda. Withholding federal funding over political disagreements is a cowardly move that undermines education and research.…

— 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕥🌴Siegien 🐦📷 (@margaretsiegien) May 28, 2025

Trump is trying to take over, the schools, the media, the law firms and the courts. Is anyone paying attention?

— Denison Barb (@DenisonBarbs) May 28, 2025

Academic freedom: Should universities tailor research to fit an administration’s agenda?

Shifting standards: Different administrations have different goals—does this mean research legitimacy would vary over time?

— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) May 28, 2025

Linda McMahon’s statement is deeply troubling, and fundamentally un-American. In a free democracy, university research is not supposed to be “in sync” with any administration’s political agenda. That’s not academic inquiry, it’s propaganda.

Universities are bastions of…

— Evaristus Odinikaeze (@odinikaeze) May 28, 2025

Has anyone asked GOP Senators about universities having been able to act independently of administrations for hundreds of years? And why this should change?
Liberal Presidents haven’t shut down or defunded more conservative universities.

— Janice Hough (@leftcoastbabe) May 28, 2025

Ah yes, the new standard for academic research: only legal if it vibes with the administration’s political agenda. Who needs academic freedom when you can have government-approved science and research that’s ‘in sync’ with the party line? Next up: peer review by cabinet members

— Ryca (@_oRyca_) May 28, 2025

Making everyone dumber, killing off people through disease or poverty, or giving all of our money to Trump? Which administration policy is she talking about?

— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) May 28, 2025

McMahon has earned plenty of mockery on social media already.

Last month, while speaking about artificial intelligence at the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, she repeatedly referred to it as “A1,” like the steak sauce, instead of “AI.”

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