Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) spoke at Harvard on Wednesday and told Harvard, in person, to stop discriminating against Jews and to pay taxes like other Americans.
Scott’s journey into the belly of the beast came as Harvard President Alan Garber vowed not to compromise with the Trump administration over its demands for reform.
President Donald Trump has suspended billions of dollars in federal grants to Harvard, and the Internal Revenue Service is said to be reviewing Harvard’s tax-exempt, non-profit status, due to its political stances.
The administration wants Harvard to take a tougher line against antisemitism; to remove “diversity, equity, and inclusion” practices; to reform its radical curriculum; and to include more conservative academic voices.
Harvard has sued the Trump administration, claiming that it is violating the Administrative Procedure Act in the way that it suspended Harvard’s funding, among other claims.
The Harvard Crimson reported:
Florida Senator Rick Scott defended the Trump administration’s campaign against Harvard and questioned the University’s tax-exempt status at an Institute of Politics forum Wednesday evening.
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“You can’t discriminate. It’s federal law. You can’t be antisemitic,” Scott said. “If you have students here that are violating their visas, you gotta comply with the law.”
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“I don’t actually personally understand why higher ed doesn’t pay taxes,” Scott said. “If they make an income, they should have to pay income taxes. We all should be in that together.”
Harvard has tried to defend its funding by claiming that crucial medical research on childhood cancer and Alzheimer’s disease will be interrupted. It has struggled, however, to mount a moral case against Trump.
Garber has admitted that Trump is correct about the problem of antisemitism at the university, saying he had experienced it personally.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
