Trump's conquest over scientific research

Calypso Morgan

Since Trump came to power, he has begun his project of destroying all the institutions that were holding the United States of America. One of them is the dismantling of all academic and scientific research: firing, cutting funds, freezing funds (Princeton University is suffering frozen funds of 210 million dollars – one of many universities going through the same thing), and censoring the hard work of scholars. You can see the scary pattern of dictatorship seeping into this country, where for centuries it boasted about democracy and freedom.

In this uncertain time, we do not know which cliff Trump and his buffoon under ketamine would dive with the American people into. However, we can already witness what we could consider a need to move out of the United States. This question of leaving is on the mind of many scientists, to the point that in many recent polls, 75% of workers in this field are considering leaving.

That information exposes a pattern: when a hostile government gains power, the intellectuals flee the country. The best-known example is when German scientists, artists and other academics left Germany at the beginning of 1933, when the Nazis came to power. This example is one of many, and it is a piece of worrying news for many people. Some actions, such as France with the Aix-Marseille University, are welcoming researchers who are looking for a new place to work.

If this kind of alternative exists, it doesn’t give a definitive answer to the problems of Trump destroying his own country. Also, I need to mention that France is giving a great speech about welcoming scientists and academics, but the actions don’t follow the words of the men and women in power: this year, the president Emmanuel Macron cut the budget of universities and research by billions of euros, with the motive of making savings. So I don’t see how we could help our American colleagues with missing funds.