The Trump administration has unleashed a slew of threats to cut federal funding for prestigious American universities such as Yale, Columbia, and Harvard.

Many academics and critics have condemned these threats as anti-democratic and fascist in nature, arguing that they undermine academic freedom and promote censorship among university staff and students.

These funding cuts, however, reveal a more sinister reality unfolding in the US. Critics warn that the country is sliding towards authoritarianism – and that, with Trump’s second term, a new form of fascism may be taking shape.

Image: Image: Shutterstock – Joshua Sukoff

Produced By: Timothy Nguyen

Featured In Story: Dr Marco Duranti, Senior Lecturer in Modern European and International History at the University of Sydney

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 16 April 2025