President Trump is intensifying an unprecedented pressure campaign on higher education, specifically targeting universities he has criticized, such as Harvard. The stakes are substantial, including billions of dollars in research funding, the security of international students, tax-exempt status, and the principle of academic freedom.

Lawrence Summers, former Treasury Secretary and Harvard president, described Trump's confrontational strategies against universities as a form of "extortion." Speaking with "Sunday Morning" national correspondent Robert Costa, Summers emphasized that these tactics could have far-reaching consequences for everyone involved.