Letters: Gavin Newsom’s funding threat sounds like simple extortion

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Re: “Newsom threatens to stop funding” (Page A1, Oct. 4).

Gov. Newsom is acting like an extortionist. His threat to withhold university funding unless schools publicly oppose President Trump’s demands is political coercion. Public universities should not be strong-armed into adopting the governor’s preferred positions. Their mission is education and open inquiry, not serving as instruments of partisan pressure.

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What makes this especially troubling is the hypocrisy. Newsom built his political brand by criticizing Trump for using federal funds as a political weapon. Yet now he is employing the same tactic, undermining the consistency and credibility for which he once claimed to stand.

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