Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Michael Ciaglo
President Donald Trump’s return to office is casting a long and uncertain shadow over Massachusetts, where his administration’s aggressive stance against so-called “woke universities” is expected to have wide-reaching economic and social repercussions, according to Boston Globe correspondent Kara Miller.
“In epic tales, heroes and villains often have a lot in common even if they can’t initially see it,” Miller wrote in a recent column. “For the Trump administration, the ultimate foe just might be liberal elites.” Massachusetts, a state deeply reliant on its elite academic institutions, medical centers, and a global talent pool, could find itself especially vulnerable.
“Massachusetts may be uniquely positioned to suffer in President Trump’s second term,” Miller warned. “We have built an economy on expertise, excellence, and education.” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu echoed these concerns, telling the Globe, “We’re living under a cloud of chaos.”
She emphasized the urgency with which Boston is preparing for the fallout. “Boston is at the center of many of the most targeted industries and communities, and so we’re feeling it very much very urgently,” she said. “Our city budget this year includes preparations for worst-case scenarios.”
Wu is bracing for “immediate, significant impacts to federal funding or larger macroeconomic impacts,” should Trump follow through with sweeping policy changes that threaten the very pillars of the Massachusetts economy.
Boston University economist Adam Guren painted a bleak picture of the local outlook. “I think the local economy is going to hurt. I think it’s going to hurt a lot. This is a particularly scary time for Massachusetts,” he said.
Cait Brumme, CEO of the startup accelerator MassChallenge, added her voice to the chorus of concern. “Up until a couple of months ago,” she noted, “Massachusetts was a really attractive place to be.” Now, she fears, “there’s a risk people will feel like: You may not be welcomed here.”
Miller concluded her piece on a somber note: “It will be hard for the state — and some of its most significant institutions — to win the battles of the next three-and-a-half years. The question is whether they can hold on long enough to win the war.”
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