President Donald Trump has remained a controversial figure throughout 2025.
His actions — particularly those affecting the economy and education — have had a huge impact on both the United States’ reputation and the everyday lives of Americans.
Most recently, Trump has set his sights on Harvard University, a globally renowned institution. He has proposed altering its curriculum to better align with his political views.
This alarming move threatens to omit historical realities for the sake of promoting the false narrative that America is flawless.
Actions like these are dangerous.
When we diminish the truth of our country’s past, we lose the ability to understand past mistakes, setting us up to repeat them. This also fosters a narrow-minded worldview that demonizes other countries and deflects criticism, especially domestically.
Trump clearly views this transparency as a threat. He wants to have the ultimate control over the country, and this is evident in how he tries to bully everybody into compliance. When Harvard initially declined the offer, Trump retaliated by freezing over $2 billion in federal funding.
Trump’s influence isn’t limited to academia, either. His administration has actively undermined First Amendment rights.
The Trump Administration has recently banned multiple words from being included in federal documents. Among them are “woman,” “science-based,” “victim,” and “Gulf of Mexico.”
These aren’t just random omissions. They are politically charged decisions aimed at erasing concepts and communities Trump has openly opposed. Evidently, Trump is taking advantage of his position in office to censor the citizens of this country and control their lives.
Further, university students have been threatened by Trump with arrest and deportation for participating in “illegal protests.” Such intimidation tactics have no place in America. People have a constitutional right to speak out against the government, especially in the face of injustice.
Silencing people does not eliminate opposition. If anything, it encourages people to speak up; quiet surrender won’t happen.
Trump may dismiss all criticism as leftist propaganda, but that simply isn’t the truth. He must come to terms with the fact that censorship and authoritarian control are not the solutions to America’s problems.
