"The White House has contempt for knowledge," says Norwegian researcher
Norwegian researchers will not tone down their criticism of Trump's policies.
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Last week, a French researcher was denied entry to the USA. He was on his way to a conference on space research in Houston, Texas.
He was selected for a random check at the airport. A security officer went through the researcher's mobile phone and laptop, according to the newspaper Le Monde. There, they found messages criticising Trump's research policies.
The researcher was told that the messages were considered hate speech against Trump, qualifying as terrorism.
The French Minister for Higher Education and Research, Philippe Baptiste, stated that he was concerned about the expulsion. The messages in question were private conversations between the researcher and friends and colleagues, according to Baptiste.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, told CNN that the researcher was not expelled because of the messages.
Anyone can be investigated
"The French researcher in question was in possession of confidential information on his electronic device from Los Alamos National Laboratory – in violation of a non-disclosure agreement – something he admitted to taking without permission and attempted to conceal," she told CNN.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency declined to comment on this specific case but stated that anyone entering the USA may be subject to inspection. They also denied that the decision was politically motivated, but said that individuals whose messages raise concern could be investigated further.
"I have never had my phone examined," says Kjell Terje Ringdal from Kristiania University of Applied Sciences.
Ringdal has criticised Trump's policies in several media outlets.
"A shift towards totalitarian rule"
"I have actually considered the possibility that they might start banning people who are critical. It doesn't worry me personally, but my concern is about what it means politically," Ringdal tells sciencenorway.no, adding:
"This is a shift towards fascism and totalitarian rule that is unsettling to witness."
Jill Walker Rettberg from the University of Bergen also has no plans to change what she says publicly.
"Not using our freedom of speech while we still have it makes it more likely that we will lose it. I haven't said anything that violates either American or Norwegian law," Rettberg writes in an email to sciencenorway.no.
She will soon attend a research conference in Florida.
"Important to speak face to face"
"I also considered not attending the conference, but this is an international event I have wanted to participate in for years, with many researchers from both the USA and other countries. Not going would be a setback for my research," writes Rettberg, adding:
"And perhaps now, more than ever, it's important to speak with each other face to face."
Rikke Gürgens Gjærum is the vice rector at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. She recently wrote an op-ed in which she called what is happening in the USA censorship by a totalitarian regime. But she is not afraid.
"I'm not worried about raising my voice to defend what we believe in – a society where all people should be free and independent, allowed to think, express themselves, and conduct research freely," she writes in an email to sciencenorway.no, adding:
"Engaging in discussions in open media with well-founded arguments is something we as academics have a duty to do, not something we should fear. We all have a moral responsibility to protect our democratic values."
Wants to shut down the Department of Education
Last week, Trump signed an executive order marking the beginning of the dismantling of the Department of Education.
Both during his election campaign and as president, he has accused the department of indoctrinating children and adolescents with left-wing politics. During the signing, he blamed them for American children's poor academic performance, according to Fox News.
In addition to overseeing primary and secondary education, the Department of Education manages student loans for 40 million current and former students. It also administers grants for students from low-income families. The department monitors the rights of minorities, including Black and queer students.
The Department of Education has 4,200 employees.
Trump depends on Democratic support in the Senate to shut down the department. A total of 60 votes are required to dissolve a federal department. The Republicans hold 53 votes.
Wants to empty her own department of responsibilities
However, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is committed to working towards the closure of her own department. The decision grants her the authority to transfer responsibilities and authority to states and local school boards.
"There are political and societal fractures in the USA right now. And this happened fast. It has only been 60 days," says Kjell Terje Ringdal from Kristiania.
He has had a good working relationship with the American embassy in Norway for many years.
"There are very skilled people working there, and I believe they want to continue collaborating, but structural obstacles may be placed in their way as well," he says.
"Contempt for knowledge"
"If there's an ideology in the White House at the moment, it's contempt for knowledge," says Ringdal.
It began with the USA changing its policies and withdrawing from the UN, WHO, and NATO. It has continued with budget cuts and layoffs in national agencies.
"The current trend we are seeing is the dismantling of both supranational and national structures. All power is being pushed down to the local level and then to the individual," he says.
This could lead to a policy where everyone is left to fend for themselves.
"There's no room for the state, only for the cowboy and his family," he says.
Rather than holding back, Ringdal intends to increase his criticism of Trump's policies.
The USA is an important partner
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The USA is the largest and most important non-European country for international research collaboration with Norway, the Research Council of Norway writes on their website (link in Norwegian). In 2023, the Research Council of Norway funded more than 400 projects involving collaboration between Norwegian and American researchers.
Rikke Gürgens Gjærum believes it is crucial that researchers continue to collaborate with their American counterparts, as many Norwegian researchers have done for years.
"All researchers have a responsibility to protect and uphold academic freedom – regardless of changing political leadership in democratic countries," she says.
Nor does Jill Walker Rettberg intend to refrain from criticising Trump.
"But we can see that there's now a lot of uncertainty about travelling to the USA. And I think most people will think twice about it," she says.
Ringdal believes that the USA has broken up with the world.
"It may be difficult to get the relationship back on track," he says.
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Translated by Alette Bjordal Gjellesvik
Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
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