Donald Trump is tougher on Harvard than on Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump is harder on Harvard than he is on Vladimir Putin. Picture: AFP

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Donald Trump must urgently change his approach to Vladimir Putin.

The US President is taking a tougher stand on Harvard than against the Russian dictator who, in recent days, launched the most aggressive aerial bombardments against Ukraine since he first invaded the country in February 2022.

Trump has chosen to make an example of Harvard, the world’s richest university, in a warning shot to institutions that resist his domestic political mandate. The White House has frozen $2.2bn in Harvard’s federal research funding, sought to revoke its ability to enrol international students and instructed federal agencies to cancel contracts with the university valued at up to $100m.

Trump aims to force a reckoning within the elitist, left-leaning establishment that has dominated academia, entrenched progressive ideologies across American society and failed to crackdown on vile displays of anti-Semitism. And he is prepared to ignite a first amendment legal battle over academic freedom to do so.

This stands in stark contrast to his stalling bid to end the war in Eastern Europe where Trump has demonstrated again and again that he is not prepared to risk upsetting Putin.

None of the temerity and boldness in the pursuit of his domestic agenda is replicated in his diplomacy with the Russian leader.

While Trump has demonstrated recklessness in his extraordinary attack on Harvard, his supine management of Putin is reckless in its own way.

It is time this changed.

At the weekend, there were signs of a shift. Trump sharpened his tone towards Putin – saying he had gone “absolutely crazy” in escalating the conflict and warned it could lead to the “downfall of Russia.”

These are fighting words, but they need to be backed-up with action. This will require a major reboot of how Trump views the war and the path to peace.

So far, the US President has shown little to no appetite for hard decisions that would apply greater pressure to Putin. This is the glaring reason for his failure so far to mediate an end to the more than three year conflict.

Everyone can see it but the US President.

Just look at his record. After their two hour phone call on Monday May 19, Trump retreated from his stance that Putin accept a ceasefire. Instead, he stated that Ukraine and Russia must thrash out a solution between themselves. The US also declined to join the EU in ramping up sanctions against Moscow.

The White House objective is to restore ties with Moscow. It said in March that improved relations would have a “huge upside” including scope for “enormous economic deals” and geopolitical stability.

Trump’s proposal for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire has been taken up by Ukraine, but consistently rejected by Russia. Yet the US President reserved his harshest criticism for Volodymyr Zelensky and attacked him publicly in the White House Oval Office.

Concerns are growing over Trump’s conciliatory approach. Senator Lindsey Graham’s “Russia sanctions bill” enjoys overwhelming majority support in the US Senate and more Republicans are demanding a tougher line.

All the signs are that Trump needs to change – and soon.

Yet, the US President signalled on Wednesday it was more of the same. He is still waiting for a memorandum from Russia outlining its conditions for a ceasefire despite Putin’s aerial bombardment.

“We’re going to find out whether to not he’s tapping us along or not,” Trump said. “And, if he is, we’ll respond a little bit different.”

Trump offered an explanation for why he hadn’t resorted to sanctions already. “If I think I’m close to getting a deal, I don’t want to screw it up by doing that,” he said. “You have to know when to use that.”

There are three relevant points. First, Trump’s uncertainty shows his approach to the ending the war is failing. Two, his rehabilitation of Putin has backfired and is working against US interests. Three, it is now too late for Trump to walk away without inflicting lasting damage on his presidency.

Having gotten involved, the US President will be one of those held responsible for the outcome in Eastern Europe. If Russia makes major inroads against Ukraine, this will be seen as a setback for Trump and a blow to America’s international standing.

The US is still the leading global superpower. Not even Trump cannot escape this reality.

A change of fortune is still possible. Trump is unique in being able to shift on a dime – a strength and a weakness. Trump will justify any course correction as a return to strength and argue that rolling the dice with Putin was a risk worth taking.

But the longer he waits, the more any pivot will be seen as a necessity driven by weakness and lethal misjudgment.