Harvard prof says Trump seeks to ‘divide and conquer’ the U.S.
A Harvard professor claims President Trump's directives on anti-Semitism and DEI constitute a 'threat to democracy'
Cornell Brooks calls on listeners to 'take charge' and 'protest'
Cornell William Brooks, a Harvard University professor and former NAACP president, accused President Donald Trump of using federal policy to “divide and conquer” Americans by targeting Ivy League schools, including Harvard.
Brooks took aim at the Trump administration in a June 1 interview with MSNBC’s Al Sharpton.
The social justice professor criticized Trump’s push to defund institutions that fail to comply with federal directives on campus anti-Semitism, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) reporting, and visa transparency. Brooks claimed these actions are not about public safety or anti-Semitism, but instead part of what he called an “anti-American” effort to “limit the participation of black and brown students” from around the world.
Brooks argued that Trump’s scrutiny of Harvard’s international student admissions, especially following the university’s alleged noncompliance with federal visa reporting, was designed to reduce campus diversity and the contributions of foreign students.
“Here’s what happens,” Brooks said. “You divide the country, you make it less competitive, you pit people against one another.”
[RELATED: Trump admin reviews $9B in Harvard federal funding over anti-Semitism concerns]
Brooks credits international students, who make up over a quarter of Harvard’s student body and often pay higher tuition rates, as subsidizing the education of “American-born” students at colleges and universities in the U.S.
Harvard reports that 27 percent of its student body consists of international students, many of whom often pay full tuition without financial aid. Brooks argued that these students help subsidize the education of domestic students, and restricting their enrollment harms American competitiveness.
He dismissed the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail anti-Semitism as a disingenuous mechanism to attack on DEI programs and affirmative action. “We are not really facing racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia—we are literally facing a threat to democracy as we know it—an existential threat,” Brooks said.
The Ivy League professor labeled the Trump administration’s effort to curtail DEI and affirmative action policies as “unconstitutional” and “unlawful,” calling on listeners to “take charge” and resist. “History is tied to protest. Protest is tied to democracy,” he said.
One Harvard undergraduate student disagreed with Brooks’ framing, telling Campus Reform, “Americanism doesn’t boil down to DEI and non-Americans, as professors like Cornell Brooks like to think.”
“International students broke the rules and, in the spirit of safety, Trump demanded to know how and who,” the student added.
Federal scrutiny of Harvard has escalated in recent months after the school was accused of failing to ensure Jewish student safety, and for its continued support of DEI practices, even after the Supreme Court’s landmark 2023 ruling against race-based admissions.
In May, Harvard rebranded its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as the “Office of Community and Campus Life,” but critics have called the move a superficial attempt to avoid losing more federal funding.
Campus Reform contacted Professor Brooks and Harvard University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
