Retired Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe applauded his institution for standing firm in the face of President Donald Trump's efforts to shake it down on Thursday — and said Trump will lose this fight badly in court.
Trump demanded that Harvard University crack down on student protesters, in much the same way he forced an agreement from Columbia University. When the school refused, Trump froze billions of dollars in scientific grants and tens of millions in government contracts, and is now threatening to strong-arm the IRS into revoking Harvard's tax-exempt status.
"So these funding cuts are already threatening critical academic research and potentially life-changing innovations, the university says," said CNN anchor Jake Tapper in conversation with Tribe. "How long do you think Harvard can financially afford this standoff with the Trump administration, even with your huge endowment?"
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"We're going to stand up for basic principles, for the rights of our students, for the rights of research, for the survival of the teaching hospitals," replied Tribe, a frequent cable news critic of Trump. "As long as it takes, we can outlast this bully."
"What we have discovered is that he is a combination of ineptitude, vindictiveness, lawlessness and bluster," Tribe continued. "The people who caved to him and who make deals with him, the universities and the law firms who thought that if they paid his ransom, they would be safe, have learned that they're not safe. He comes back for more. That's the way it works. But because all of these demands, the attempt to take over, essentially, a private educational institution to tell us what we can teach, to tell our students, what they can say, what they can think, to tell law firms whom they can defend — those efforts are absolutely illegal."
"It's not even a close question," he added. "Judges across the spectrum are going to rule against Trump. We are going to prevail. And in doing so, we hope that we will give courage to others, because the only way to deal with a bully is to stand up to him, to stand up in solidarity and say, no, you will not dictate all of us, you will not control our lives, you will not control our thoughts."
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