'Harvard has lost its way': Trump renews threats over aid, 'woke' policies

US President Donald Trump has intensified his clash with Harvard, accusing the university of ideological bias, threatening its tax status, and declaring it has 'lost its way' under its current leaders

US President Donald Trump has intensified his standoff with Harvard University, making it a centrepiece of his broader campaign against elite academic institutions. The dispute, rooted in funding and ideological differences, has escalated with Trump threatening financial and legal repercussions against the university.

 

In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump wrote, “Everyone knows that Harvard has ‘lost its way'. They hired, from New York (Bill D) and Chicago (Lori L), at ridiculously high salaries/fees, two of the WORST and MOST INCOMPETENT mayors in the history of our Country, to ‘teach’ municipal management and government,” he wrote. “These two Radical Left fools left behind two cities that will take years to recover from their incompetence and evil.” 

 

The US President further accused the institution of filling its ranks with “woke, Radical Left” individuals. He claimed they were unqualified and fostered a culture of failure among students. “Harvard has been hiring almost all woke, Radical Left, idiots and ‘birdbrains’ who are only capable of teaching FAILURE to students and so-called ‘future leaders,’” Trump added.

 

Further, Trump also referred to the recent plagiarism controversy involving Harvard’s former president, saying, “When it got so bad that they just couldn't take it anymore, they moved this grossly inept woman into another position, teaching, rather than firing her ON THE SPOT.”

Trump vs Harvard: Threats to strip federal support

The attack comes on the heels of Trump’s decision to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard. He has also warned of revoking the university’s tax-exempt status unless it complies with demands for structural organizational reforms.

 

These demands include changes to student selection, hiring policies, and the introduction of federal audits into academic departments and programmes.

 

However, Harvard President Alan Garber has pushed back, saying that the institution would not compromise its core values. “The school would not ‘negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights,’” Garber said on Tuesday, drawing a line against political pressure.

White House justifies action

The Trump administration has defended its broader campaign against universities as a response to what it sees as unchecked anti-Semitism and pro-Hamas sentiment. This follows a wave of protests last year across US college campuses opposing Israel’s war in Gaza, and which sometimes targeted Jewish students.

 

Beyond Harvard, dozens of institutions have come under similar threats from the administration, particularly over their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. The White House has criticised these initiatives, claiming they amount to discrimination and ideological bias.