Jack Pichotta

Late in the 19^th century Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) said “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”  If he were alive, he would probably say that President Trump’s effort to curtail science is beginning another rhyme.   

Beginning in the 6^th century BC, ancient Greek and Roman philosophers used science to make sense of the world.  For nearly a thousand years, first Greek and then Roman philosophers explored a variety of questions concerning astronomy, mathematics, ethics, political philosophy and biology.  These philosophers used what is now commonly referred to as the scientific method by starting with a question followed by systematic observation, research and measurement, often repeated as new evidence was identified.   

“On the Nature of Things”, by the early Roman philosopher Lucretius, is a philosophical treatise that explores the nature of the universe, the principles of atomism, the mechanics of existence.  He calls for an understanding of the natural world based on observable phenomena rather than divine intervention or religious fear, suggesting that the universe is governed by material laws and the interactions of atomic particles. 

In the early 4th Century, the Roman Emperor Constantine validated Christianity and from that time, until the Renaissance, faith replaced the scientific method as the accepted method by which to understand life’s many questions.  Rather than consider the findings of Lucretius and other Greek and Roman philosophers, church leaders determined that only faith-based solutions were acceptable. The writings of early philosophers were ignored and often destroyed.  Owning, reading or even talking about the efforts of earlier philosophers was punishable, often by death. 

In the 15^th and 16^th centuries a cultural movement occurred in Europe with efforts to revive and surpass the ideas of classical antiquity, beginning the Renaissance.   History defines the thousand years between Constantine and the Renaissance as the “middle” or “dark ages.” That period of time was marked by economic, intellectual, and cultural decline. 

 In 1417, a copy of “The Nature of Things” was found in a German Monastery.  Since then, “The Nature of Things” has been identified as one of the most important works of literature ever published.  In his book, “The Swerve,” Stephen Greenblatt suggests that the finding of “The Nature of Things” was “How the World Became Modern”. 

The Renaissance, which lasted from the 14^th through the 17^th centuries, saw many contributions to different fields, including new scientific laws, new forms of art and architecture, new religious and political ideas. During this period, some of the finest intellectuals, writers, diplomats, physicists, and craftsmen in history flourished, while global discovery opened new nations and civilizations. 

The founding of America, and the U.S. Constitution, was influenced by Renaissance focus on the questioning of authority, personal rights, the idea of government by consent and the importance of the citizens role.  

 
In the early 21st century, U.S. President Donald Trump, emboldened by a series of Supreme Court decisions and supported by a largely theocratic base, began to dismantle many of science-based systems and programs prior presidents and administrations had enacted.  These actions were predicated by an effort to tilt public perception to conform with a particular world view that religion was as valid as science, and that opinions were as valid as established facts.  President Trump’s Administration has taken unprecedented action to recast scientific discovery as something sinister and wasteful. 

The following is a short list (from a May 15 report by Senator Bernie Sanders) of the Trump Administrations actions in his war on science: 

• Cut $2.7 billion in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. Trump officials are weaponizing medical research for unrelated policy. 

• Erasing scientific data – at least 175 public health datasets from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website and 135 datasets from a central HHS data repository were deleted. 

• Lied about the consequences of their actions. Elon Musk says “no one” has died from the foreign aid freeze. But researchers estimate nearly 200,000 people have already died, and a global vaccine program estimates 1.2 million children will die because of cuts that will save taxpayers 0.005 percent of the federal budget. 

• Suppressing Scientific Communication – Since January 20, 2025, scientific staff at NIH, CDC, and other health agencies have been subject to restrictions requiring all public-facing communication to be cleared by political appointees. 

• Researchers are being prohibited from attending conferences because their study’s conclusions do not align with the administration’s views. 

• All scientific publications in the process – including those already peer-reviewed – were frozen. Topics perceived as inconsistent with Trump’s executive orders were blocked entirely. 

• At least 10,000 employees at HHS agencies have been terminated, and an additional 10,000 have retired, quit, or been forced out by the administration.  

• The agency in charge of the health and well-being of all Americans has been cut down to less than one-half the size of Tesla, and less than one-fifth the size of the for-profit hospital corporation HCA Healthcare and less than one-sixth the size of the UnitedHealth Group. 

• Terminated the entire CDC team that supported state and local initiatives to monitor and respond to a range of environmental health threats including pollution, wildfires, radon, harmful algal blooms, and lead in drinking water. 

• Rescinded over $12 billion in public health and mental health funding for states that was provided by Congress to support COVID response and recovery activities as well as infectious disease and mental health programs. 

• Continually frames attacks on science as attacks against elites.  

  

Although it is impossible to now know the extent of the damage being done by President Trump’s Administration, it is possible that the impacts of his actions may, like Constantine’s efforts,  reverberate for decades.  Those of us who believe in the principles that made America great – our diversity being a strength, education being something to be admired versus scoffed at, and that scientific discovery and collaboration should be enabled and encouraged versus curtailed, must be concerned.  

The Trump administration’s efforts regarding science are mirrored by its efforts to control and stifle certain educational topics at both the local and collegiate levels, and his efforts to transform the US Presidency to that of a “unitary executive” by attempting to consolidate all government power to the executive branch, rendering the powers vested in the Judicial and Legislative branches subservient to the president – essentially pushing the United States of America toward an autocratic coup.  

History (and Mark Twain) is watching…