Trump’s Ultimatum to Columbia University Was Deserved

By April of last year, it was clear that Columbia University needed help.

The cultural tide in America had turned against the permissive atmosphere on America’s campuses, which tolerated the roving bands of menacing, occasionally violent anti-Israel mobs that had transformed their institutions from centers of learning to gauntlets. That month, Columbia President Nemat Shafik abandoned the defiant posture that typified the stance Ivy League presidents had previously assumed. She confessed that conditions on her campus were “not acceptable” and would not be “tolerated,” and that the treatment to which Jewish students had been subjected violated her university’s code of conduct.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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By April of last year, it was clear that Columbia University needed help.

The cultural tide in America had turned against the permissive atmosphere on America’s campuses, which tolerated the roving bands of menacing, occasionally violent anti-Israel mobs that had transformed their institutions from centers of learning to gauntlets. That month, Columbia President Nemat Shafik abandoned the defiant posture that typified the stance Ivy League presidents had previously assumed. She confessed that conditions on her campus were “not acceptable” and would not be “tolerated,” and that the treatment to which Jewish students had been subjected violated her university’s code of conduct.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.