Why elite US colleges are looking to make a deal with Trump

Trump’s war with the woke university system is just beginning, and while some colleges are looking to fight back, others are thinking about doing a little “Art of the Deal” to curry favor with The Donald, On The Money has learned.Trump wants massive cultural changes at the nation’s top colleges.No more protests celebrating the Oct.

7 massacre of innocent Israelis.More western civ and fewer courses depicting America as the great Satan.

He wants to squeeze the colleges financially to get his way.Wall Street executives who work with endowments are talking about different ways their clients can soften the blow of likely cuts in federal funds, stiff new taxes on endowments, and a possible loss of the schools’ tax-exempt status, which would throttle donations from alumni since they couldn’t write them off, according to people with knowledge of the matter.While Harvard is fighting back, praying the courts can lend a hand and restore funding, colleges are also hiring lobbyists to scour Capitol Hill and convince lawmakers that they aren’t that woke and shouldn’t be paying for the sins of Harvard or say Columbia.They’re also arguing that withholding federal aid will likely impact the sciences, not the woke gender studies departments, and thus curtail crucial medical research.Another avenue being discussed is to possibly get on Trump’s good side and get him to back off his assault by appealing to his well-honed instincts as a deal maker.Trump the businessman is the reason his name is on some many buildings in NYC and around the world.

He loves to do deals.and some colleges might just cut him in on a little side hustle they’ve developed in recent years, my sources say.It involves using federal grants to create patents that ultimately lead partnerships and business with venture capital firms.

Money is made if they create useful products — drugs, computer chips, AI whatever — that can be sold to the public, On The Money has learned.The idea to give ...