The Guardian view on Trump’s war on science: Europe should pick up talent fleeing the US | Editorial

DDonald Trump spent much of his second term at war with science and scientists. It cuts the staff of institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by a third and has canceled or frozen up to 8,000 federal research grants. This not only harmed individual research programs, but also damaged America’s credibility as a reliable partner within the scientific community. It’s no surprise that many researchers—a poll last year by the journal Nature put the figure at 75 percent—say they are considering leaving the United States altogether.

However, it’s one thing to express displeasure, but it’s another to up the stick and leave. If the UK and EU want to attract elite scientific talent, their approach must be two-fold: directly appeal to scientists concerned about political interference in their research and offer stable, earmarked funding.

France has proven it can work with its Choose France for Science initiative, launched at the start of Mr Trump’s wave of budget cuts, and emphasizing academic freedom and a £90m pot to attract international researchers. His government announced this month that of the 46 academics recruited so far by the program, 41 would leave the United States.

This contrasts with the similarly branded European offering, Choose Europe for Science, which has a respectable £790 million in funding. However, despite the Trump administration’s rhetoric denouncing the Trump administration’s war on science, not all the money is going to researchers outside of Europe. Data from the European Research Council suggests that applications from U.S.-based academics doubled in 2025, but that number remains relatively low. New funding for science is always welcome, but it remains to be seen whether opening large, highly competitive application cycles like this will sway many Americans when more direct appeals are made.

It is disappointing to see the UK spending just £54 million over five years on its own efforts to recruit international researchers. The government has suggested that this initial pot of money is only a trial and that more money could be released later. But now is not the time to be shy. The disruption Mr. Trump unleashed may not last, and other offers are being made. Canada, which has similar cultural and linguistic advantages to the UK, has recognized what it calls a “historic opportunity” and launched an impressive £900m initiative over 12 years. The goal is to attract some 1,000 researchers during this period, a number that could transform the Canadian scientific landscape.

Some perspective is helpful. The United States has been the world’s scientific superpower since the mid-20th century, and it will take more than the rest of Mr. Trump’s term to change that. As French economist Philippe Askenazy has argued, as long as U.S. federal funding for science remains relatively high and its university system is stable, we are unlikely to see a truly catastrophic exodus.

However, Mr Trump has further insulted, defunded and alienated thousands of top researchers – people that countries spend decades and millions of pounds training or recruiting. He has been particularly tough on crucial areas such as vaccines, infectious disease research and the climate crisis. While Europe and the United Kingdom should always prioritize their own local researchers and programs, there is a unique opportunity to enrich both our scientific culture and our economy by providing a lifeline to American scientists.

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