And it’s only the beginning
This post is a summary of a longer article I wrote in Italian, available on Medium.
In light of Trump’s series of decisions on science and technology, it’s worth reflecting on how the United States became a scientific powerhouse through attracting brilliant minds fleeing persecution in Europe. Scientists like Einstein, Fermi, Noether, and von Neumann transformed American science. They emigrated to the USA due to racial laws, starting with the banning of jewish people from teaching, pushing great minds out of European Universities, eventually leading to full-scale persecution. This inflow of scientific talent has been at the core of America’s identity as leading center in science and technology.
Soon, we might be witnessing the opposite phenomenon due to a series of executive orders.
Just one week into his second term, Trump has launched an assault on years of U.S. scientific and environmental policies. His immediate withdrawal from both the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO) signals a deeper shift. The WHO decision particularly reveals the administration’s shortsightedness: while the U.S. was the largest donor, contributing about 15% of the WHO’s modest $10.4 billion biennial budget, this amount is negligible compared to America’s GDP. Trump’s base celebrated these decisions, viewing the WHO as a health tyranny – conveniently forgetting its crucial role in global vaccination campaigns and disease eradication.
On climate action, Trump’s hit slogan “We will drill, baby, drill” comes as he abandons international climate negotiations. This retreat leaves China – already dominating renewable energy and electric vehicles – to further consolidate its grip on the $2 trillion clean energy market projected for 2035. The irony of Trump’s key ally Elon Musk producing electric cars while the administration undermines clean energy seems lost on everyone involved.
Even more alarming are Trump’s direct attacks on American science infrastructure. By freezing all grant review meetings at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), he has effectively paralyzed 80% of the world’s largest public biomedical research fund. The National Science Foundation (NSF) faces similar constraints, with federal funding frozen, particularly for anything remotely connected to “foreign aid, non-governmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.“
The administration’s imposed communications blackout on these agencies until February 1st has created chaos in the research community. While existing clinical trials can limp along, new project approvals are suspended, threatening years of research. Young scientists seeking tenure face particular uncertainty, caught in what appears to be collateral damage from Trump’s crusade against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies in federal agencies and universities.
For decades, mentioning scientific excellence meant thinking of Princeton, Harvard, and MIT, just to name a few. But as Trump’s policies spawn economic and political uncertainties – echoing his previous travel bans and dismissals of Chinese researchers – will global talent still choose America? Trump’s rhetoric about supporting science and technology, including an AI mega-fund and merit-based excellence, rings hollow in light of his actions. In his zealous war against ‘woke’ ideology and the establishment, he seems to have forgotten a fundamental truth: without basic research, we wouldn’t have the World Wide Web (CERN), SpaceX (NASA), the iPhone (Bell Labs), or AI (MIT).
The question now isn’t whether American and global science will suffer, but how much damage will be done before we realise what we’re losing.
The Spin of Things 
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