JD Vance slams Harvard over lack of ‘ideological diversity,’ compares university to North Korea

Speaking at the New World Gala hosted by American Compass in Washington, DC, Vance said he believes around 95 percent of Harvard’s faculty voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the last presidential election. He added that universities across the country have become "almost quasi-theocratic, or quasi-totalitarian societies."

"If you ask yourself, a foreign election, a foreign country's election, you say 80% of the people voted for one candidate, you would say, 'Oh, that's kind of weird, right? That's like, not a super healthy democracy,’” Vance explained. “If you said, 'Oh, 95% of people voted for one party's candidate,' you would say, 'That's North Korea, right… That is impossible in a true place of free exchange for that to happen.'"

Vance called for more ideological diversity, arguing that prioritizing an environment that fostered debate without fear of professional retaliation would lead to better institutions.

“The quality of the institution would be so much better and that’s what I want, because we need high-quality universities. Right now, the problem is we don’t have them,” he said.

His remarks come amid an ongoing feud between the Trump administration and Harvard University. The administration has pushed for changes at the school, including dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and addressing rising antisemitism on campus. In response, Harvard President Alan M. Garber has pushed back, calling the administration’s demands unconstitutional and describing them as "direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard.”

The Trump administration has already frozen $2.3 billion in grants and contracts to Harvard and has threatened to revoke an additional $100 million in federal funding.