Their fortunes are already built. They have shifted into defensive posture. They don't care about enabling more people to do discovery, that actually puts their position at great risk of disruption. What they want is to have very little innovation, and be able to capture the innovation that squeaks through.

I imagine some of them think that the industrial sector could replace academic sector for foundational scientific researcher ("the free market solves all known problems"). I imagine others believe we are headed for a huge crash that affects the whole world, in a way that having a large academic scientific establishment will not help. Just go live in a bunker in NZ until society rebuilds itself, or whatever (Altman). I suspect a few of the folks are just looney, and don't think rationally (Thiel).

It benefited them in the past, that allowed them to build up their fortunes. Bill Gates, for example, is now a big holder of farmland. Science allows others to build up fortunes that challenge theirs, and hurts the stasis in which they become gilded aristocracy.

Lowering their taxes while burning everything to the ground benefits them now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

Step 1. Exploit the commons.

Step 2. Shut the door.

if you "genuinely" want to understand, start considering the opposite - what is the easiest way to defend policy like this?

"science with outside helps the other side" - done.

Current administration sees US as losing its positions, so the main answer is to close the leaks that feed its opponents with US effort

Because science is an abstraction for ann incredibly wide range of human activity some of which benefits industrial applications and some that doesn’t.

In my opinion, it’s been a problem for a long time. Sure, the titans of industry are very interested in the profitable applications of science, but they are generally less interested in investing in science, let alone the science itself. Science is seen as a cost center, and research is inherently risky. Even in the glory days of Bell Labs and Xerox PARC, both were backed by monopolies (the Bell System was the phone monopoly, and Xerox had patents in xerography). The former was subject to special government rules due to AT&T’s constant anti-trust troubles, and the latter’s culture was heavily influenced by ARPA due to ex-ARPA people like Bob Taylor.

I am reminded by this quote from an email exchange between Bret Taylor and Alan Kay, published in 2017:

“As I pointed out in a previous email, Engelbart couldn't get funding from the very people who made fortunes from his inventions.

“It strikes me that many of the tech billionaires have already gotten their "upside" many times over from people like Engelbart and other researchers who were supported by ARPA, Parc, ONR, etc. Why would they insist on more upside, and that their money should be an "investment"? That isn't how the great inventions and fundamental technologies were created that eventually gave rise to the wealth that they tapped into after the fact.

“It would be really worth the while of people who do want to make money -- they think in terms of millions and billions -- to understand how the trillions -- those 3 and 4 extra zeros came about that they have tapped into. And to support that process.”

https://worrydream.com/2017-12-30-alan/

The titans of industry not understanding the importance of science beyond its profitable applications doesn’t surprise me at all.

But it isn't required in order for them to get richer at this point.

That's just the political division. Scientists and academic types tend to lean left, the republicans are a right leaning party so they oppose them. It's not even a Trump thing, it's been like this for decades, though Trump is obviously more aggressive than previous Republican leaders.

heres a bit of a fringe view, from me, and others.

governments need influence, and yellow the truth,so as to manage the overall situation, thats a first assumption.

now we see a lot of actions that in the end seemlike footgunning, basically derailing the foundations of civilization.

perhaps this is not megalomania, greed, or sickness.

perhaps, as is often portrayed in popular scifi, we are all doomed to face a terrible challange, there are only few very closed mouth individuals that absolutely know. [remember this is a fringe conspiracy hypothesis]

we are being distracted and kept on the dark about impending catastrophe,so as to stave off absolute chaos,little hope of influencing anyone except by overwhelming show of force. perhaps "they" know its a matter of years, not decades until we experience that thing that suddenly, seemingly cyclically clears the board and the whole assembly begins again from square 2,or 3,not quite square one. [Re fringe;conspiracy]

"they" are behaving in an all bets are off manner, keeping thier hand hidden, playing an endgame rather than making a benign effort.

They already have that fortune. So, they dont care and dont have to care. Moreover, someone else using science to create fortune is just another competitor and a threat to said fortune.