The MeidasTouch Podcast - Nonprofits Fight Back against Trump Attacks

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on how Donald Trump’s attack on the University of Virginia led to the widely respected University President to quit his job and Meiselas then speaks with Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, about Trump’s attacks on non-profits. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The president of the University of Virginia abruptly resigned, was forced out by the Trump DOJ. The Trump DOJ, the same way they've been attacking Harvard, they've been attacking the University of Virginia. But unlike Harvard, which is a private university in a democratic state that has the ability and means to protect itself and the endowment to protect itself from the attacks by the Trump regime.

The University of Virginia is currently in a state that's controlled by a MAGA Republican governor. And so the Trump regime attacked the University of Virginia for promoting diversity, for allowing people to read the books that they want to read. It was the same type of attack on Harvard, where the Trump regime wanted to determine what the curriculum is for students at University of Virginia, to audit the political views of people. And the president, Jim Ryan, wouldn't allow Trump to do that and push back. And so the Trump regime said, okay, we're going to work with the governor of Virginia,

who's a MAGA Republican, and we're going to basically destroy the university and shut it down. So the president of the University of Virginia, Jim Ryan, was faced with either resigning and saving the university or not resigning and the Trump regime destroying the University of Virginia with the complicity of the MAGA Republican Virginia governor. So as Larry Sabato, a great attorney, says, President, Jim Ryan's resignation letter to the University of Virginia community. Here it is. Note that he didn't stay and fight because the Trump administration would have cut the

University of Virginia's federal funding drastically, would have cut hundreds of jobs, financial aid for students, and the visas for international students. Matt Bennett explains, I went to the University of Virginia law with Jim Ryan, and I have admired him for 35 years. There is no better college president in America. This is absolute bullshit. Patty Daves wrote, so disappointing. Jim Ryan is a great person and a fabulous president. University of Virginia president resigns under pressure from Trump administration. The Justice Department demanded that James Ryan step down

to help resolve a civil rights investigation into the school. And the civil rights investigation is that you need to discriminate against black and brown people, against diverse viewpoints, by promoting diversity in the University of Virginia. You are racist, says the Trump regime. Let's take a look at Jim Ryan's letter right here.

To the University community, I'm writing with a very heavy heart to let you know that I have submitted my resignation as president of the University of Virginia. To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe in and I believe deeply in this university, but I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job. To do so would not only be, but would also appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld. This is especially true because I have decided that next year would be my last year for reasons

entirely separate from this episode, including the fact that we concluded our capital campaign and have implemented nearly all of the major initiatives in our strategic plan. While there are very important principles at play here, I would at a very practical level be fighting to keep my job for one more year while knowingly and willingly sacrificing others in this community. If this were not so distinctly tied to me personally, I may have pursued a different path, but I cannot in good conscience cause real and direct harm to my colleagues and our students in order

to preserve my own position. It has been my honor to be your president. Thanks for the outpouring of support over the last few days and weeks. My deepest gratitude to all the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who make this university and this community both great and good. This was excruciatingly difficult of a decision, and I am heartbroken to be leaving this way. Best Jim, Jim Ryan President.

Now, Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate for governor in Virginia, wrote the following, The resignation of President Jim Ryan is a loss for the University of Virginia and the Commonwealth that the president of a top-ranked, thriving public university would be pressured to resign by the Department of Justice in order to avoid further harm and harassment from the Trump administration as a clear infringement upon academic freedom and should concern every Virginian and American. As an alumna of the University of Virginia, I am deeply saddened to see our governor,

his administration, and so many members of the Board of Visitors remain silent in the face of these attacks on the integrity and independence of the University of Virginia. As governor, I will take decisive steps to ensure that all our Commonwealth's Board of Visitors are composed of individuals committed to the mission of serving and strengthening our public colleges and universities. I will work to restore a standard of leadership that puts academic excellence of Virginia's students and the strength of Virginia's public colleges and universities ahead of any public, ahead of any political agenda. I also wanted to talk about its universities that are under attack, its nonprofits that are under attack.

And, you know, a lot of this stuff is getting swept under the rug with all of Donald Trump's distractions out there that he throws at us every single day. I mean, just think, what was it, in the past two or three weeks, Congress held a hearing called Public Funds, Private Agendas, NGOs Gone Wild, and this is, we're exposing how radical Democrats are using government funds and this and that. And this was really an attack on nonprofits in general as well. And if you think about the importance of nonprofits, think about hospitals are none, a lot of hospitals are nonprofits. And the Trump regime wants to go after nonprofits, try to revoke nonprofit status go after the leaders of nonprofits because it is an authoritarian regime

That's trying to seize control and seize power and make people suffer The Trump regime hates Americans. They want Americans to die. They want to kill people That's why they put out a murder bill the more people who suffer the more Trump can try to take advantage of the chaos for his dictatorship. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. I want to bring in Diane Yentl. She is the president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits. And she recently testified before Congress. Nonprofits step in to fill gaps not met by government or other entities alone. Simply put, the work of charitable nonprofits improves lives and strengthens communities and the country. Nonprofits represent the best of America.

Neighbors helping neighbors. Across the country, nonprofits are having federal funding slashed or eliminated due to arbitrary cuts of congressionally approved spending and through reckless and unlawful federal funding freezes by the Trump administration. These actions are causing real harm. Food banks across the country already struggling

with high levels of need are serving fewer meals due to spending cuts. Non-profit health clinics have closed, leaving neighbors without access to potentially life-saving care. Non-profits focused on preventing violence and crime have seen their budgets disappear, putting a stop to critical work. After-school programs have been canceled and school lunch programs are squeezed. The administration's target. Let's bring in Diane Intel, president and CEO of the National Council of nonprofits.

What you listed there at that hearing, those aren't democratic things or Republican things or independent things or red state things or blue state things or purple state things. Like these are programs in our communities that enrich, help develop, save people's lives and they're being gutted. They're under attack. A lot of them have been destroyed already. Talk to us about that.

That's exactly right. And thank you so much for having me. Non-profit organizations, as you say, and as I said in my testimony, do essential, really often life-saving work in communities throughout the country, whether they're red states or blue states and in urban, rural and suburban communities alike.

And nonprofits fill essential gaps that government and private entities on their own can't. And whether we realize it or not, virtually all of us are touched by nonprofit organizations during our lives. So whether we're visiting a nonprofit hospital or an afterschool program, we're going to a community college, whether through arts and culture in our community or through social services, right? We're all touched by nonprofits and then harmed by efforts to dismantle or unfund nonprofit organizations.

And since the beginning of this administration, we really have seen a relentless and unprecedented attack on nonprofit organizations. And even more importantly on the people and on the communities that we serve. We've seen just wildly inaccurate statements, reckless actions that are intended to harm the reputation, the value, the fundamental purpose

of nonprofit organizations. You know, it just seems that because nonprofit organizations are out there, keeping to themselves, doing good, you're not out there, you know, trying to beat people up. You're trying to uplift people. It just seems like one of these things that has made it,

unfortunately, a target for the cruelty that we've seen, because, you know, I don't think... I think it's usually the reaction of nonprofits to help lend a hand versus saying, we got to go on the offense and we've got to fight and we've got to develop litigation strategies and we got to start suing everybody, you know, but, but you've had to adapt, right? You've had to now, um, you know, build a robust litigation plan to fight back against these efforts. Not to say you weren't doing that before, but the idea of nonprofits being viewed by

the United States government as rogue entities that are harming the country. That is an unprecedented perspective that the United States government is taking about the great work nonprofits are doing. So talk to us about some of the legal efforts that you've been engaged in, that you're pursuing right now. Would love to hear that. Yeah, and it's been incredibly disheartening.

You're absolutely right. Nonprofits do this work in local communities quietly quietly, you know, they're working with communities to meet local community needs. They're not looking for praise or, but, and they're certainly not expecting to be attacked for that really good, important work that they do. So it was just one week after inauguration that we ended up filing a lawsuit against this administration.

And I should say the National Council of Nonprofits, we've been around for 35 years and we've never been involved in a lawsuit beyond filing an amicus brief maybe. And here we were a week after inauguration, the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against a sitting administration. And it was because the administration attempted at that time to overnight freeze all, virtually all federal spending, to freeze all grants and contracts overnight without a proposed end date. And just think for a minute what that would have meant if all federal funding was shut down overnight

without any end date in sight. For nonprofits who lost funding with that kind of a freeze, it would have meant domestic violence and crisis hotlines that provide life-saving support, having to shut down. It would mean homeless shelters closing, early education programs ending, health centers having to cut staff, food banks, not being able to provide meals to hungry people,

just an on and on and on, would have been the harm to nonprofits and to local communities. So we acted very quickly. The news of that or the attempt to shut down federal funding came at like eight o'clock one evening. And by the noon the next day, our lawyers from Democracy Forward were in court

filing for a temporary restraining order. And the judge ruled in our favor just minutes before that directive was to go into effect at 5 p.m. that day. So we've continued to follow that lawsuit and pursue that lawsuit in the courts. We currently have a nationwide preliminary injunction in place, and that is preventing the administration from attempting such widespread reckless cuts to federal funding as long as that continues to be in place. And we'll follow that lawsuit as far as it takes us

to make sure that that kind of reckless action can't have such catastrophic impact in communities. Since that time, we also filed a second lawsuit because despite that preliminary injunction, we've seen the administration attempt in other ways to freeze or cut other pools of funding. So we filed a lawsuit to prevent them from freezing funding that comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act. And in that case, too, we were successful. We have a nationwide preliminary injunction in place, preventing the freezing of those

funds. So all of that money that otherwise would have been frozen is now flowing to communities as it should and will continue working through the courts and other ways to make sure that continues. I think what you point to there also is this relentlessness, you know, by this administration, I call them the Trump regime, though you stop them once they are dead set on taking away people's nonprofits. You know, you block them here in a nationwide injunction, they pop up here, you got to stop them

there, you stop them there, they go there. And you know, you and the great work that you do, you're having to dedicate all this time now and all of its resources, the two fighting back against the United States government, who is putting all of its resources into shutting down food banks and nonprofits that help people build homes for people who can't have homes and helping people with persons with disabilities.

It's like, what are we even talking about here? But I think it's important that we're talking about it because I do think that, you know, corporate news in their 24 hour news cycle, it's always like, oh, what did Trump say today? What did he do? Are we doing that? And people lose sight of something like this. But this is what actually impacts them the most. These are the organizations down their block in the community center at, right by their town hall that they rely on every day.

So I'm glad that we have the platform on the Midas Touch Network with 5 million subscribers here to highlight this type of story and to highlight your organization. So Diane, before we go though, you're speaking to about 5 million people here on this YouTube channel and growing. What do you want them to know?

What's the takeaway and the message that you want people watching this to know about what's taking place? Yeah, and I appreciate it so much. I appreciate your shining a spotlight on this because it is so important and relentless and unprecedented. And it will such all of these actions together will have such harmful consequences for communities across the country if we don't prevent them.

And we are doing all that we can through litigation, through education and advocacy, through communications, ensuring safety, security, and wellness for leaders and professionals in the nonprofit field and for their communities. And we welcome support and engagement on all of these issues. We are asking people to call your member of Congress, urge them to defend and support and advance the important work of nonprofits,er in your local community for a nonprofit organization and post about it online.

Talk about the ways that you and your family and your community rely on nonprofits in your community and share that message as broadly as you can. Overall overarching all of this is this harmful narrative and wrong and baseless narrative about the work that nonprofits do. So the most important thing we can do is counter that narrative with the truth of nonprofits and the good work that we're doing throughout the country. And the more you and your viewers can help us do that, the more effective we can be. Diane Yantel, President and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits. Thanks for joining us.

Thanks so much for the opportunity. Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to six million subscribers. The truth is more important than ever. Check out our new Truth Over Lies collection at store.mitustouch.com. All 100% USA Union made.