In my opinion, when companies or institutions cave to Trump despite the law being on their side, they are not misunderstanding the law; they are making educated guesses that the U.S. is heading in a direction where, in practice, the law won’t matter.
This can be basically true while at the same time true that these companies are acting entirely out of horrifyingly selfish ambition and cowardice, ensuring and expediting the future they anticipate, not just guessing at it.
Better that the lie enters the world through them than someone else, I guess.