US President calls Harvard a “disgrace” and “antisemitic,” warns the university’s tax-exempt status is under legal scrutiny.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Harvard University is abusing its tax-exempt status, describing the university as “antisemitic” over its handling of anti-Israel protests on campus.
“I think Harvard is a disgrace. They’re obviously antisemitic, and all of a sudden they’re starting to behave,” Trump told reporters.
“But when you see what they were saying, what they were doing, when you see the way they took care of events, when you watch that woman, that horrendous president that ruined the image of Harvard, maybe permanently, in Congress…when you take a look at what happened there, it was horrific.”
Noting that the issue of Harvard’s tax-exempt status is being handled by lawyers, Trump continued, “Tax-exempt status, I mean, it’s a privilege. It’s really a privilege, and it’s been abused by a lot more than Harvard, too. So we’ll see how that all works out.”
“I don’t think they’ve made a final ruling. I don’t believe they’ve made a final ruling, but it’s something that these schools really have to be very, very careful with,” stated the President. His comments come a day after two individuals familiar with deliberations at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said Harvard University may soon face the loss of its tax-exempt status.
Sources said a final determination by the IRS is expected shortly, as tensions between the university and the administration escalate over Harvard’s refusal to amend its hiring and governance practices in line with federal demands.
This follows the administration’s decision to freeze over $2 billion in federal funds allocated to the school over its failure to handle the antisemitism on campus. Harvard has pushed back, citing the autonomy granted to private educational institutions under the US Constitution.
The Trump administration recently issued a firm ultimatum to Harvard University, demanding sweeping policy changes as a condition for maintaining its access to nearly $9 billion in federal grants and contracts.
Harvard, like other universities in the US, has seen an uptick in anti-Israel activity since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the war in Gaza which followed. The university has come under fire over its handling of antisemitism on campus.
Just two days after the October 7 massacre, a coalition of 34 Harvard student organizations released a statement in which they blamed Israel for Hamas’ attack. Later, then-Harvard President Claudine Gay came under fire after she, along with MIT President Sally Kornbluth and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, testified before a congressional hearing on the issue of antisemitism on college campuses.
All three university presidents gave similar answers to Rep. Elise Stefanik in which they failed to unequivocally condemn antisemitism or even calls for genocide against Jews. Gay eventually resigned as President of Harvard.
