President Donald Trump has taken aim at Harvard University by seeking an enormous $1,000,000,000 (£730m) in damages as his feud with the Ivy League institution ramps up.
Announcing his pricey demand, Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday (2 February), accusing the prestigious university of ‘feeding a lot of nonsense’ to the New York Times.
Trump wrote: “Strongly Antisemitic Harvard University has been feeding a lot of ‘nonsense’ to The Failing New York Times,” after the outlet ran a report saying he was backtracking on a previous request for $200 million from the university.
Trump added that Harvard President Alan Garber ‘has done a terrible job of rectifying a very bad situation for his institution’ and went on to insist that the Trump administration wants ‘nothing further to do, in the future, with Harvard University.’
So what has gone on, and when did the feud start? Here’s everything you need to know about Trump’s battle with Harvard.
Donald Trump vs Harvard
‘Radical left’ ideologies and antisemitism accusations
The feud can be traced back to when the Trump administration accused Harvard and several other institutions of not doing enough to tackle antisemitism, when pro-Palestinian protests were taking place on campus.
Harvard denied this accusation, however, Trump said he was determined to put a stop to ‘woke’ and ‘radical left’ ideologies on campuses in the US.
Trump also wanted to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and wanted Harvard to introduce ‘merit-based’ hiring and admissions.
Trump revokes key funding
He escalated things further by revoking some $2bn in research grants, as well as freezing federal funding.
Following the withdrawal of funding, Harvard sued Trump’s administration last year, saying the move breaches Harvard’s First Amendment rights.
A federal judge made the decision to block the freeze in funding, with Trump’s team blasting the ‘egregious decision’.
They insisted Harvard would remain ‘ineligible for grants in the future’.
Harvard sues Trump
Harvard University sued the Trump administration in return, saying that ‘no government should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue’.
It had looked like an agreement could be reached, with claims that Harvard was in talks with the administration to spend $500 million on programs to settle the dispute, instead of a $200 million fine.
Harvard is one of the universities which has been threatened with a withdrawal of funds (Sophie Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
What has reignited the Trump-Harvard feud?
After temporarily calming down, Trump has been angered by a report in the New York Times which alleged that his administration was considering settling without payment.
Following the article, Trump wrote: “We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University.”
He went on to accuse the institution of ‘serious and heinous illegalities’, but did not state what those were.
Trump insisted ‘this should be a Criminal, not Civil, event,’ and said ‘this case will continue until justice is served.’
Following the movement against Harvard, three other prestigious universities, including Columbia, Penn and Brown, organised deals with Trump to protect their funding.
It is not known how or why Trump has come up with the billion-dollar figure.
What has Harvard said?
Last year, Harvard President Garber said in a statement that the ‘university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.’
Garber went on to dispute the president’s claims: “As a Jew and as an American, I know very well that there are valid concerns about rising antisemitism.
“To address it effectively requires understanding, intention, and vigilance. Harvard takes that work seriously. We will continue to fight hate with the urgency it demands as we fully comply with our obligations under the law. That is not only our legal responsibility. It is our moral imperative.”
