The Democrats have picked the wrong fight with Trump. He will not back down.
That’s why White House Press Sec. Karoline Leavitt curb stomped a top Democrat governor with just three silencing words.
President Donald Trump is once again proving he’s the leader America needs by taking a firm stand against the rampant antisemitism plaguing our nation’s colleges and universities. His administration’s Department of Justice has proposed a massive $1 billion settlement against the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), highlighting years of failures to protect Jewish students from discrimination and harassment.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t mince words when she addressed Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s empty threats to sue the Trump administration. Newsom had labeled the DOJ’s proposal as “extortion” after it targeted UCLA for its alleged mishandling of antisemitic incidents. Leavitt fired back during a briefing, asserting the administration’s full legal authority to demand better from these institutions.
“Bring it on, Gavin,” Leavitt said. “This administration is well within its legal right to do this and we want to ensure that our colleges and our universities are respecting the First Amendment rights and the religious liberties of students on their campuses and UCLA has failed to do that. And I have a whole list of examples that I will forward to Gavin Newsom’s press office if he hasn’t seen them himself.”
Under the proposed settlement, UCLA would fork over $1 billion to the federal government and add $172 million to a fund for victims of civil rights abuses. In exchange, the administration would reinstate $584 million in federal research funding that had been withheld. This isn’t punishment for punishment’s sake—it’s a wake-up call to universities that have prioritized radical activism over student safety.
UCLA found itself in the spotlight during the 2023 anti-Israel protests, where school officials reportedly turned a blind eye to a shocking “Jew Exclusion Zone.” This area required students to denounce Israel publicly just to enter certain parts of campus. Even worse, some administrators were exposed privately supporting the protesters and considering ways to reward their disruptive behavior.
The university recently wrapped up a $6.5 million discrimination lawsuit filed by students and a professor affected by this exclusion zone. As part of that deal, UCLA committed to donating $2.33 million, split between its own antisemitism-fighting fund and various Jewish groups. But clearly, that’s not enough to erase the damage or prevent future incidents.
Newsom, ever the defender of the status quo, vowed that UCLA wouldn’t cave to what he sees as overreach. He accused Trump of undermining academic freedom and targeting a key public institution. This kind of rhetoric from leftist politicians shows just how out of touch they are with the real victims on these campuses.
“Donald Trump today is trying to silence academic freedom; he’s attacking one of the most important public institutions in the United States of America,” Newsom said, according to KQED. “He has threatened us through extortion with a billion-dollar fine unless we do his bidding. So as long as I am governor, I will stand tall and push back against that, and I believe every member of the California legislature feels the same way.”
University of California President James Milliken echoed Newsom’s outrage, warning that a $1 billion hit would cripple the system’s ability to serve the public. He claimed it would “completely devastate our country’s greatest public university system” and “all Californians,” as reported by KQED. But such complaints ring hollow when weighed against the harm inflicted on Jewish students.
Trump’s actions come at a critical time, as evidence mounts that leftist-dominated campuses across America have systematically downplayed or ignored antisemitism. For instance, Harvard University is currently under scrutiny by the Trump administration, which is reviewing billions in government contracts and grants due to ongoing antisemitism allegations. This follows a pattern where elite schools prioritize political correctness over protecting vulnerable groups.
Reports from advocacy groups like Hillel International highlight how Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) frameworks have “largely failed” Jewish students by sidelining antisemitism in favor of other agendas. Critics argue these policies, pushed by leftist administrators, create environments where anti-Jewish sentiment thrives unchecked.
Historical precedents at places like Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale reveal deep-rooted antisemitism that echoes today’s campus unrest, with pro-Palestinian activism often crossing into outright hate. These institutions, long bastions of liberal thought, have failed to confront their dark pasts while allowing modern echoes to persist.
A GOP-led report slammed Harvard and Northwestern for failing Jewish students during protests, including Harvard’s reluctance to label Hamas’ October 7 attacks as “violent” and Northwestern’s consideration of removing Sabra hummus from campus amid anti-Israel pressure. Such decisions illustrate how administrators bend to radical demands while ignoring harassment.
Even judges are calling out universities for their inaction, as seen in a New York case where a school was criticized for forcing Jewish students to “hide in a proverbial attic” during rising threats. Lawsuits against Harvard accuse the school of “rewarding antisemitism” and disregarding pleas from Jewish students. By exposing these failures and linking them to flawed DEI initiatives that divide rather than unite, Trump is championing true American values of freedom and equality.
People who have been to elite universities like Harvard don’t understand how loathed they are. Their dripping contempt for the uncredentialed resulted in the pillaging of the working class by the over-credentialed college elites. Everything Trump is doing is a reversal of that. pic.twitter.com/5NFc9qemgE
— Batya Ungar-Sargon (@bungarsargon) May 27, 2025
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