Dem
47
GOP
53
When Donald Trump threatened to take away Harvard's tax-exempt status, he probably thought he would get widespread support from his base, which hates elites, and it is tough to be more elite than Harvard. Turns out he guessed wrong. People understand that there are a lot of liberals wandering around Harvard Yard, but 48% of Americans support Harvard's rejecting Trump's demands while only 31% disapprove.
The poll also put the question in an abstract form. They asked people if they agreed with the statement: "No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue." Of the respondents, 49% agreed. They also asked if they agreed with the statement: "The gravy train of federal assistance to institutions like Harvard is coming to an end because taxpayer funds are a privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to access that privilege." Only 35% agreed with this.
Many people are against "elites" in some abstract sense. Nevertheless, we would love to see a pollster ask "If you had brain cancer, would you prefer a surgeon who graduated from the elite Harvard Medical School or one who graduated from a less 'woke' college, like the Arkansas State University Medical School?" (V)