Photo by Abhinav Bhardwaj

There are a multitude of reasons why Donald Trump and his supporters are waging war against colleges and universities. But among the reasons is a simple one–historically conservative reactionary regimes hate intellectuals.

Trump and his supporters hate higher education for obvious reasons. Those with college degrees are not his supporters and voted against him in 2024. Colleges are full of students and professors who vote for Democrats and they have visibly protested against his policies or embraced issues such as opposition to Israel’s war against the Palestinians, support for transgender rights, or DEI in general. One could argue that Trump’s populism is rooted in what historian Richard Hofstadter labeled “anti-intellectualism” in American life. Americans generally hate smart people, labeling them as Alabama Governor did as “pointy-headed intellectuals,” or in the words of Vice-President Spiro Agnew who lumped them together with the media to call them “An effete core of........

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