University professor hails that science 'thrived' under Hitler in attack on Trump's NIH cuts

Robert Kuttner, a professor at Brandeis University, argued on Monday that even Adolf Hitler "knew to support German science," while attacking President Donald Trump’s latest spending cut target.

Shortly after taking office, Trump issued a freeze on external communications at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and all its sub-agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

Although the NIH resumed its grant-making process Friday, the agency announced that it would be cutting $9 billion in overhead costs under a new directive from the Trump administration.

Kuttner warned in an article for the left-wing American Prospect, titled "What Trump Could Learn From Hitler on NIH Funding," that these cuts would negatively impact important research at major universities throughout the country, while claiming, "Even Hitler did not trash German science."

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a $9 billion spending cut in response to a new mandate from the Trump administration. (Alamy/Getty Images)

"Hitler did seek to turn science to his own ends, to promote research on eugenics, new technologies for blitzkrieg war, sick medical experiments, and more efficient ways for the mass killing of Jews," Kuttner allowed, before adding, "Yet civilian German science, long a mark of German pride, also thrived" under Hitler.

"During the Nazi era, German scientists and engineers invented the first electron microscope, industrial-scale production of artificial fiber, pharmaceuticals such as advanced sulfa drugs, artificial rubber, and much more," he said.

Kuttner concluded, "Trump, in short, is even more nihilist than Hitler."

The new Trump directive mandates a 15% cap on "indirect costs" for NIH grants, or overhead for facilities and administration. The percentage has historically been closer to 27-28%, with some over 60%, according to NIH, while for private foundation grants it's usually between 0% and 15%.

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Despite going so far as to invoke Hitler in warning about the 15% mandate, Kuttner wrote that his "informed hunch" is that it will be walked back, with university leaders and state lawmakers planning legal action to restore funding.

"Small-d democratic politics, battered but unbroken, to the rescue," Kuttner declared.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)

Brandeis University told Fox News Digital it "supports and defends our faculty’s academic freedom, and the right to express their views. Brandeis along with the Association of American Universities (AAU), the American Council of Education (ACE), and many of our peer premier research universities including the University of Chicago, John Hopkins, MIT, Brown University, Cal Tech, and Cornell, has joined a federal lawsuit challenging the new guidelines released by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) on February 7th."

Democratic strategists have compared Trump to Hitler several times throughout the years, particularly in the weeks leading up to the 2024 election. Former Vice President Kamala Harris herself repeatedly compared Trump to Hitler while calling him a "fascist" who "admires dictators."

Fox News' Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @lmkornick.