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Trump, the Universities, and the Courts—Plus, the Case of Stephen Miller

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Erwin Chemerinsky asks about if Trump defies the courtsand David Klion talks about the architect of Trump’s attack on the undocumented.

Jon Wiener

March 12, 2025

President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol on March 4, 2025, in Washington, DC.(Win McNamee / Getty Images)

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Trump, the Universities, and the Courts; plus the Case of Stephen Miller | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

The Supreme Court ruled against Trump last week in the first test of his refusal to release money appropriated by Congress, and more than a dozen more similar cases are likely to come before the court –– probably including a challenge to his withholding hundreds of millions from research universities on the grounds that they have failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism. But what if Trump defies court decisions that go against him? Erwin Chemerinsky comments –– he’s dean of the Law School at UC Berkeley.

Also: The man in charge of Trump’s plan to deport ten million undocumented people is Stephen Miller, who has a “seething, visceral, unquenchable hatred” for immigrants –– that’s what Nation columnist David Klion says, as he examines a life that “defies any easy explanation.”

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The Supreme Court ruled against Trump last week in the first test of his refusal to release money appropriated by Congress, and more than a dozen more similar cases are likely to come before the court—probably including a challenge to his withholding hundreds of millions from research universities on the grounds that they have failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism. But what if Trump defies court decisions that go against him? On this episode of Start Making Sense, Erwin Chemerinsky—dean of the Law School at UC Berkeley—comments.

Also on the episode: The man in charge of Trump’s plan to deport 10 million undocumented people is Stephen Miller, who has a “seething, visceral, unquenchable hatred” for immigrants—that’s what Nation columnist David Klion says, as he examines a life that “defies any easy explanation.”

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Trump’s Attacks on Voting, and on Iran / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

After Senate Democrats block the SAVE act, Trump is likely to declare a national security emergency – claiming China could interfere in the midterms – as a basis for restricting voting. David Cole comments; he’s former legal director of the ACLU.

Also: Congress must challenge Trump’s war on Iran and assert its constitutional duty to take up War Powers resolutions and assert its primacy over matters of war and peace. John Nichols explains.  

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Jon WienerTwitterJon Wiener is a contributing editor of The Nation and co-author (with Mike Davis) of Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties.


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