President Donald Trump speaks throughout a Cupboard assembly on the White Home on April 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Photographs/Getty Photographs North America
Wesleyan College President Michael Roth says he finds no consolation within the Trump administration’s supposed struggle in opposition to antisemitism on school campuses.
Roth, the primary Jewish president of Wesleyan, advised Morning Version that the White Home is “utilizing antisemitism as a cloak” and threatening to defund universities to get them to “categorical loyalty to the president.”
Within the newest battle between the Trump administration and America’s most prestigious universities, President Trump threatened to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt standing. The risk got here after the college refused to adjust to the administration’s demands, which included instantly shutting down all range, fairness and inclusion (DEI) applications and insurance policies on the faculty.
Roth says that canceling DEI applications doesn’t shield Jewish folks, however as an alternative reduces entry and equity on campuses.
The White Home maintains that its actions are aimed toward combating antisemitism on school campuses. Within the final month, the administration has canceled or frozen nearly $11 billion in federal grants at a number of universities.
Although Wesleyan is small and doesn’t have billions of federal {dollars} at stake, Roth says what’s in danger is “the liberty to pursue analysis, the way in which you see match as an expert in your subject.”
Roth spoke to NPR’s A Martínez about how federal funding cuts will affect smaller universities and why he would not consider the administration is genuinely curious about defending Jewish folks.
The next excerpt has been edited for size and readability.
A Martínez: Michael, what strain has your college felt from the administration, if in any respect?
Michael Roth: Nicely, like many universities across the nation, we now have seen grants to our particular person researchers canceled. Usually with only a two sentence e mail saying, “Your grant is being canceled as a result of it not meets the priorities of the administration.” And that is fairly chilling as a result of we have by no means had grants, for example, for historic analysis or biomedical analysis, should in some way observe the priorities of a brand new administration. This can be a new and fairly terrifying prospect.
Martínez: You wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times, which famous that you are the first Jewish president of a formally Methodist College. And also you mentioned that right now’s struggle in opposition to antisemitism is “a canopy for a variety of agendas that don’t have anything to do with the welfare of Jewish folks.” What did you imply by that?
Roth: Nicely, it is fairly clear. If you see these assaults on totally different universities starting from saying to cancel your DEI applications, which actually simply means canceling entry or equity in your campus, or canceling analysis initiatives on diabetes or tuberculosis. Canceling these applications won’t shield Jews.
I do know that antisemitism is an actual factor and it is on the rise worldwide. However that is like utilizing antisemitism as a cloak to do different issues, to get universities to specific loyalty to the president. And that is new terrain for america. We’ve to name it out, as a result of it actually has nothing to do with stopping antisemitism.
Martínez: You possibly can most likely discover loads of Jewish Trump supporters who would say that President Trump has achieved extra for Jews and Israel than every other president. Is there a distinction for Jewish folks between the Trump administration’s assist of Israel and the way it claims it fights antisemitism?
Roth: I feel that the Trump administration’s assist for Israel has attracted many Jews who really feel beleaguered by their fellow residents being important of the present Israeli authorities. I personally assist Israel’s proper to defend itself. I do not applaud the way in which they’re conducting a conflict in Gaza, which has displaced so many individuals and killed so many kids and different noncombatants.
However I perceive that my fellow Jews usually suppose any person who helps Israel should be good for us. However what I wrote that column about is that supporting Trump as a result of he helps Israel, although he is violating the legislation, although he is violating civil rights, goes to show dangerous for the Jews. As a result of we rely on the rule of legislation, we rely on civil rights, and we abandon them at our peril.
The digital piece was edited by Obed Manuel and Kristian Monroe.
