Trump’s ‘overreach’ into US Universities and what we could see in New Zealand w/ the University of Auckland’s Timothy Fadgen: 31 March, 2025

US President, Donald Trump, has cancelled over $400 million US dollars, or roughly $697 million New Zealand dollars, worth of research grants and contracts at Columbia University, as leaders at the university move to alter campus and academic policies to align with what the Trump Administration are demanding.

Many believe this is the Trump Administration ‘overreaching,’ their power into universities in the country and how they choose to operate.

On Friday, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to a Senior Politics and International Relations Lecturer at the University of Auckland, Tim Fadgen, about Trump’s moves, and if we could see something similar here in Aotearoa.

They started off by asking what the Trump Administration is wanting to change about how Columbia University operates.