Latest news with #Arnn
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House partners with conservative college for Independence Day videos
The White House is partnering with a prominent conservative Christian college in Michigan to produce videos ahead of the United States' 250th anniversary — a stark contrast to President Donald Trump's ongoing battles with higher education institutions deemed adversarial by his administration. The White House's rapid response team announced a partnership with Hillsdale College on a video series related to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States' independence, in a post to X this week that included the first installment of the project. 'The White House has partnered with @Hillsdale to tell our story of a rag-tag army defeating the world's mightiest empire and establishing the greatest republic ever to exist,' the post read. The collaboration serves as a seal of approval for the college — which has deep ties to the Trump administration — from the president, as the White House presses forward with its campaign against elite universities across the country. In recent weeks, the administration has pulled billions in federal funding and launched investigations into institutions over what the White House views as antisemitism on campuses. The most prominent punching bag for the White House has been Harvard University. Earlier this month, the Ivy League college chose to defy White House orders to institute broad changes to its governance and policies, prompting the administration to slash over $2.2 billion in federal funds to the institution. Harvard has since sued the Trump administration, calling the freeze "unlawful and beyond the government's authority.' In the video, Hillsdale President Larry P. Arnn tied the project's focus on honoring American independence to Trump's iconic 'Make America Great Again' slogan. 'Part of the purpose of this series of lectures is to remember,' Arnn said in the video. 'President Trump does this in part I think — I won't speak for him — but the word 'again' is important to him. He has a famous slogan that I will not repeat here but everybody knows what it is.' Hillsdale did not receive financial compensation for helping produce the series, college spokesperson Emily Davis said in a statement to POLITICO Tuesday. 'Hillsdale is not taking a dime of federal money for this video series; in fact, we've worked with the White House and the Department of Education to provide these videos to the American public at no cost to the government,' Davis said. 'The Department of Education has an agreement in place with Hillsdale College to provide this educational content to the American people as we celebrate America's 250th birthday.' The White House and the Education Department did not respond to requests for comment about the video series. Hillsdale's connection to the White House stems from Trump's first presidential campaign, which Arnn and other college faculty members endorsed in 2016. Hillsdale College was also on the advisory board of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's blueprint for the next administration. In a recent interview with Fox News, Arnn suggested Harvard give up its reliance on federal funds if it doesn't wish to comply with Trump's orders. Hillsdale doesn't accept government funding, Arnn said, and instead relies on private donations and its endowment to avoid having to adhere to federal regulations. 'My suggestion [to Harvard] would be to go in the right direction,' he told Fox. 'It's written in your own history. And you should probably do it with your own resources if you don't like bureaucrats in Washington telling you what to do," he said.
Politico
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Politico
White House partners with conservative college for Independence Day videos
The White House is partnering with a prominent conservative Christian college in Michigan to produce videos ahead of the United States' 250th anniversary — a stark contrast to President Donald Trump's ongoing battles with higher education institutions deemed adversarial by his administration. The White House's rapid response team announced a partnership with Hillsdale College on a video series related to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States' independence, in a post to X this week that included the first installment of the project. 'The White House has partnered with @Hillsdale to tell our story of a rag-tag army defeating the world's mightiest empire and establishing the greatest republic ever to exist,' the post read. The collaboration serves as a seal of approval for the college — which has deep ties to the Trump administration — from the president, as the White House presses forward with its campaign against elite universities across the country. In recent weeks, the administration has pulled billions in federal funding and launched investigations into institutions over what the White House views as antisemitism on campuses. The most prominent punching bag for the White House has been Harvard University. Earlier this month, the Ivy League college chose to defy White House orders to institute broad changes to its governance and policies, prompting the administration to slash over $2.2 billion in federal funds to the institution. Harvard has since sued the Trump administration , calling the freeze 'unlawful and beyond the government's authority.' In the video, Hillsdale President Larry P. Arnn tied the project's focus on honoring American independence to Trump's iconic 'Make America Great Again' slogan. 'Part of the purpose of this series of lectures is to remember,' Arnn said in the video. 'President Trump does this in part I think — I won't speak for him — but the word 'again' is important to him. He has a famous slogan that I will not repeat here but everybody knows what it is.' Hillsdale did not receive financial compensation for helping produce the series, college spokesperson Emily Davis said in a statement to POLITICO Tuesday. 'Hillsdale is not taking a dime of federal money for this video series; in fact, we've worked with the White House and the Department of Education to provide these videos to the American public at no cost to the government,' Davis said. 'The Department of Education has an agreement in place with Hillsdale College to provide this educational content to the American people as we celebrate America's 250th birthday.' The White House and the Education Department did not respond to requests for comment about the video series. Hillsdale's connection to the White House stems from Trump's first presidential campaign , which Arnn and other college faculty members endorsed in 2016 . Hillsdale College was also on the advisory board of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's blueprint for the next administration. In a recent interview with Fox News, Arnn suggested Harvard give up its reliance on federal funds if it doesn't wish to comply with Trump's orders. Hillsdale doesn't accept government funding, Arnn said, and instead relies on private donations and its endowment to avoid having to adhere to federal regulations. 'My suggestion [to Harvard] would be to go in the right direction,' he told Fox. 'It's written in your own history. And you should probably do it with your own resources if you don't like bureaucrats in Washington telling you what to do,' he said.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
College president whose school takes no fed funding says Harvard 'could make it on their own' after Trump cuts
The president of a prominent Christian college in Michigan reacted Thursday to President Donald Trump's battle with Harvard University — and the billions it stands to lose due to a federal funding freeze over its response to on-campus antisemitism. "We all have a right to free speech, but if you join the academic community, you don't get to say whatever you want. You can't go to physics class and talk about English Lit. Also, you can't spit on people because they're Jews or denounce them… because that breaks down the friendship that is necessary to the partnership of a college," Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn told Fox News Digital in an interview. "Now, having said that, of course — you shouldn't say 'dirty Jew.' It's perfectly legitimate to say, 'I don't agree with it.' But to say, 'Israel took that land, and they don't have a right to it,' and the response would be, 'OK, see if you can prove that.' That's an academic undertaking," he said. Trump Admin Slashes Over $2.2B In Funding To Harvard After School Defies Demands "Shouting, preventing people from going to class, threatening them personally. That breaks down the academic community. They shouldn't be doing that. And it's, you know, because the [1964] Civil Rights Act is written in a certain way; if they permit that kind of activity, Harvard is in violation of that act, and that act applies to every organization in America." A college, being an incubator of learning, should especially be an organization to prohibit such virulent behavior outright, Arnn added. Read On The Fox News App 5 Controversies Embroiling Harvard University As Trump Seeks To Cut Funding Earlier this month, the Trump antisemitism task force froze $2 billion in grants to Harvard, and Trump later floated stripping its tax-exempt status after the school's administration released a statement saying it would not comply with demands. Arnn said that, antisemitic behavior or not, there are thousands of stipulations a college must agree to in order to receive funding from the federal Department of Education. "The government has changed so much since 1960, and it's all over everything now, including education. And Harvard doesn't like some recent things it's been demanded to do, but it's obeying hundreds of pages of rules that are detailed, and they have to comply with because they have a lot of money from the government," he said. "So the obvious solution would be, don't take the money from the government, which is what we do," he said, referring to Hillsdale. Arnn said Hillsdale, founded in the mid-19th century in part by friends of then-Illinois attorney Abraham Lincoln, has never been as wealthy as Harvard but remains an exceptional institution. "The fact that they are defending [themselves] is good, and maybe they should have the complete courage of their convictions and just give [the funding] up," he said. If the frozen funds account for the school's annual federal contribution, it would calculate to $90,000 per student, Arnn added, noting the school also has a large endowment. "Maybe they could make it on their own," he said. "Every transaction at Hillsdale College… is a voluntary transaction… [N]obody comes here unless they want to, they have to sign an honor code to come." Arnn compared Hillsdale's connections to a politically budding Lincoln to Harvard's title as the oldest college in the country, and Princeton University's ties to Founding Fathers like President James Madison. "If James Madison had come to college here, I would never shut up about it, right? Frederick Douglass spoke on our campus twice. I never shut up about that," he said. Arnn cited how the first Trump administration investigated Princeton after figures there publicized its supposed racist structures. "[Madison] personally took pride in the fact they had kept the word 'slave' out of the Constitution, because although they had to make a compromise and not abolish it in certain ways, and that compromise is for a very big reason," he said. "The problem is, we have a set of principles that are perfect, but we will never serve them perfectly," said Arnn. "[T]he attempt to do so can do a lot of harm depending on what the attempt is." "My suggestion [to Harvard] would be to go in the right direction. It's written in your own history. And you should probably do it with your own resources if you don't like bureaucrats in Washington telling you what to do," he said. In a statement, Harvard President Alan Garber said Harvard will "not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights," and "no government… should dictate what private universities can teach, who they can admit and hire…"Original article source: College president whose school takes no fed funding says Harvard 'could make it on their own' after Trump cuts
Fox News
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
College president whose school takes no fed funding says Harvard 'could make it on their own' after Trump cuts
The president of a prominent Christian college in Michigan reacted Thursday to President Donald Trump's battle with Harvard University — and the billions it stands to lose due to a federal funding freeze over its response to on-campus antisemitism. "We all have a right to free speech, but if you join the academic community, you don't get to say whatever you want. You can't go to physics class and talk about English Lit. Also, you can't spit on people because they're Jews or denounce them… because that breaks down the friendship that is necessary to the partnership of a college," Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn told Fox News Digital in an interview. "Now, having said that, of course — you shouldn't say 'dirty Jew.' It's perfectly legitimate to say, 'I don't agree with it.' But to say, 'Israel took that land, and they don't have a right to it,' and the response would be, 'OK, see if you can prove that.' That's an academic undertaking," he said. "Shouting, preventing people from going to class, threatening them personally. That breaks down the academic community. They shouldn't be doing that. And it's, you know, because the [1964] Civil Rights Act is written in a certain way; if they permit that kind of activity, Harvard is in violation of that act, and that act applies to every organization in America." A college, being an incubator of learning, should especially be an organization to prohibit such virulent behavior outright, Arnn added. Earlier this month, the Trump antisemitism task force froze $2 billion in grants to Harvard, and Trump later floated stripping its tax-exempt status after the school's administration released a statement saying it would not comply with demands. Arnn said that, antisemitic behavior or not, there are thousands of stipulations a college must agree to in order to receive funding from the federal Department of Education. "The government has changed so much since 1960, and it's all over everything now, including education. And Harvard doesn't like some recent things it's been demanded to do, but it's obeying hundreds of pages of rules that are detailed, and they have to comply with because they have a lot of money from the government," he said. "So the obvious solution would be, don't take the money from the government, which is what we do," he said, referring to Hillsdale. Arnn said Hillsdale, founded in the mid-19th century in part by friends of then-Illinois attorney Abraham Lincoln, has never been as wealthy as Harvard but remains an exceptional institution. "The fact that they are defending [themselves] is good, and maybe they should have the complete courage of their convictions and just give [the funding] up," he said. If the frozen funds account for the school's annual federal contribution, it would calculate to $90,000 per student, Arnn added, noting the school also has a large endowment. "Maybe they could make it on their own," he said. "Every transaction at Hillsdale College… is a voluntary transaction… [N]obody comes here unless they want to, they have to sign an honor code to come." Arnn compared Hillsdale's connections to a politically budding Lincoln to Harvard's title as the oldest college in the country, and Princeton University's ties to Founding Fathers like President James Madison. "If James Madison had come to college here, I would never shut up about it, right? Frederick Douglass spoke on our campus twice. I never shut up about that," he said. Arnn cited how the first Trump administration investigated Princeton after figures there publicized its supposed racist structures. "[Madison] personally took pride in the fact they had kept the word 'slave' out of the Constitution, because although they had to make a compromise and not abolish it in certain ways, and that compromise is for a very big reason," he said. "The problem is, we have a set of principles that are perfect, but we will never serve them perfectly," said Arnn. "[T]he attempt to do so can do a lot of harm depending on what the attempt is." "My suggestion [to Harvard] would be to go in the right direction. It's written in your own history. And you should probably do it with your own resources if you don't like bureaucrats in Washington telling you what to do," he said. In a statement, Harvard President Alan Garber said Harvard will "not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights," and "no government… should dictate what private universities can teach, who they can admit and hire…"
