Vice President JD Vance accused U.S. universities of racially discriminating against white and Asian students and alleged widespread scientific failures, obstructive bureaucracies and political bias among faculty in a post on X on Saturday.
Allegations of racial bias: “There is an extraordinary ‘reproducibility crisis’ in the sciences, particularly in biology, where most published papers fail to replicate,” Vance wrote. “And on top of all of this, many universities explicitly engage in racial discrimination (mostly against whites and Asians) that violates the civil rights laws of this country.” He argued that institutions could either cooperate with the Trump administration on reforms or “yell ‘fascism’ at basic democratic accountability and drift further into irrelevance.
Institutional and ideological claims: Vance also claimed, “Most universities have massive bureaucracies that inhibit the translation of basic research into commercial adoption. The voting patterns of university professors are so one-sided that they look like the election results of North Korea.” He did not provide specific examples or data to support the claims.
Legal and political backdrop: The post comes amid ongoing national debate over affirmative action and the role of race in college admissions. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard that race-based admissions policies were unconstitutional, prompting many institutions to revise their diversity strategies.
Counterpoint: Some Asian American students and leaders have pushed back against anti-affirmative action lawsuits, arguing that such efforts exploit Asian identities to challenge diversity policies. Rep. Grace Meng has said Asian Americans have been “used as a pawn” in legal battles over affirmative action.
This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.
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