Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s treatment of colleges, a new AP-NORC poll finds

WASHINGTON AP A majority of U S adults disapprove of President Donald Trump s handling of issues related to colleges and universities according to a new poll as his administration ramps up threats to cut federal funding unless schools comply with his political agenda More than half of Americans disapprove of the Republican president s approach on higher teaching the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Population Affairs Research finds while about in approve in line with his overall job approval Since taking office in January Trump has tried to force change at universities he says have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism The spotlight majority of in the last few days has been on Harvard University where Trump s administration has frozen more than billion in federal grants threatened to strip the school s tax-exempt status and demanded broad guidelines changes The Trump administration also has cut off money to other elite colleges including Columbia University the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University over issues including the handling of pro-Palestinian activism and transgender athletes participation in women s sports Harvard has framed the establishment s demands as a threat to the autonomy that the Supreme Court has long granted American universities The poll shows a disconnect between the Trump administration s targeting of universities and an American masses that sees them as key to scientific research new ideas and innovative apparatus About in U S adults say colleges and universities make more of a positive contribution to biological and scientific research than a negative one and a similar share favors maintaining federal funding for scientific research Let s talk about Harvard for a minute announced Freddy Ortega a Democrat and a retired military veteran in Columbus Georgia The way he took away all that money in funding impacting things that Harvard has been working on for the betterment of the world One man should not have that much power Ortega continued This is something for Congress to deal with Ortega who s Hispanic also mentioned he s concerned about Trump s attempts to dismantle diversity equity and inclusion programs across U S society I came up in the military I know the good that those programs do he explained It changes the direction that people s lives are going to take Republicans are divided on cuts to colleges federal funding Trump s stance on higher learning resonates more strongly with Republicans the bulk of whom see college campuses as places where conservatives are silenced and liberal ideas run unchecked About in Republicans approve of how Trump is handling issues related to colleges and universities which notably is higher than the share of Republicans who approve of his handling of the economic activity and about in say they re extremely or very concerned about liberal bias on campus Republicans are more divided however on withholding federal funding from schools unless they bow to Trump s demands About half are in favor while about one-quarter are opposed and a similar share are neutral I m all for it explained Republican voter Hengameh Abraham a mother of two in Roseville California She supports cutting federal funds and opposes DEI programs saying she emigrated to America from Iran as a teenager and worked hard to get ahead in school without the help of affirmative action programs Your racial identity nationality and background should not be a factor in getting accepted to college or getting a job explained Abraham She supports Trump s focus on campus antisemitism When pro-Palestinian protests swept U S colleges last year particular of the demonstrators messaging was anti-U S she noted I do not think if you have any kind of anti-American agenda or slogan that you should be allowed on a university campus in the United States she reported In Harvard s scenario Trump has threatened to remove its tax-exempt status and his administration has implemented funding cuts Those measures are divisive among the general masses Nearly half oppose withholding federal funding as a punitive action while about one-quarter favor it About one-quarter are neutral Charles Jolivette a college career counselor who lives in New Orleans sees Trump s learning policies as an attack on free speech and people of color Not only is the president going after anyone he feels is an opponent and anyone who is not compliant but he s attacking particular of the preponderance essential elements of our society announced Jolivette a Democrat It s rampant bullying from the president of the United States who is supposed to be moving across the aisle The cost of tuition far outweighs other concerns A top concern of most of Americans is the cost of a college degree About in U S adults are extremely or very concerned about the cost of tuition That concern is shared by majorities of Democrats and Republicans and far outweighs concerns about antisemitism and liberal bias on campuses among the general masses College costs a lot more than it requirements to To get an teaching you should not have to break your pocketbook revealed Eunice Cortez a Republican near Houston Cortez who s originally from Mexico did not go to college but she made sure her U S -born children did and is proud that her grandchildren are getting college degrees She supports Trump but is concerned that chosen of his policies including funding cuts will make it harder for people who need tuition aid to get an guidance She sees it as the authorities getting in the way of an educated society The poll shows a divide between college-educated Americans and those without college degrees highlighting a workable cultural rift that Trump has seized on in the past The bulk Americans with a college degree are opposed to withholding funding from universities that don t comply with the president s requirements while those without a college degree are split with about in in favor a similar share opposed and about in saying they don t have an opinion Kara Hansen a registered independent in Seminole Oklahoma is a meager credits shy of a college degree She supports the idea of dismantling the Instruction Department to shake things up But she announced she s concerned by what she calls Trump s authoritarian tendencies and a growing fear on college campuses to speak up and voice opinions It feels like everybody has a muzzle on Hansen stated They can t fully express themselves because they re afraid of getting in trouble and afraid of Trump About in U S adults say students or professors can freely speak their minds a lot on college and university campuses About in say they can do this to various extent Republicans feel their views are stifled About in say liberals can speak their minds a lot or particular on campus but fewer than half say the same about conservatives