"Americans across the political spectrum are realizing that for-profit universities and media outlets are anything but “independent,” despite what they might claim in press releases. That’s driving a historic collapse in public trust for the media and higher education — and making it easier for Trump to divide and conquer what were once the nation’s most-trusted safeguards of free expression and critical thought. It’s hard to blame the 56 percent of Americans who have lost confidence in higher education as a positive force in our culture. After all, if the best-funded independent university in the world can’t or won’t defend itself against blatant Republican authoritarianism, what good is its alleged independence? From the beginning it’s been clear that Harvard didn’t actually violate any laws, but institutions seen as left-leaning by the MAGA movement don’t need to do anything wrong to be targeted. Just ask Columbia University, which sent Trump a $221 million payoff after he threatened to cut off their federal funding, or Paramount, whose browbeaten executives gave Trump $16 million for airing news that offended him. But the size of Harvard’s payment boggles the mind. Half a billion dollars. For what?"