Voters split even on Trump policies toward the Ivy League: Poll

The question of whether wealthy universities should even be eligible to receive federal research grants generated a sharp divide.

Published: April 23, 2025 5:15pm

The Trump administration's ongoing feud with Harvard over its handling of antisemitism on campus has voters looking at the Ivy League school for renewed scrutiny.

The administration this month moved to freeze federal funds allotted to the school as it refused to comply with demands to rein in its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and crack down on perceived antisemitism on campus.

In the latest Napolitan News survey, voters appeared skeptical of allowing wealthy universities like Harvard to rely on federal funding to cover student loan costs. A plurality (48%) supported requiring schools with billion-dollar endowments to fund student loans using their own endowment funds while 36% favored the status quo and 17% were unsure.

Voters were split down the middle at 41% on whether President Donald Trump should revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status over antisemitism. A plurality agreed, however, that the U.S. should tax the earned income on private school endowments if they had more than $1 billion in assets.

The question of whether wealthy universities should even be eligible to receive federal research grants generated a sharp divide. Forty-one percent approved allowing them to receive such grants while 39% opposed doing so and 20% were unsure.

Conducted April 21-22, the survey questioned 1,000 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

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