U.S. President Donald Trump launched a harsh attack on Harvard University, which is considered one of the world’s most outstanding educational institutions and said it was a “joke” and should not be obtained for federal funding.
This comes after the Trump administration freezes about $2.3 billion in federal funds at Harvard. According to media reports, the U.S. government made the decision after the Ivy League agencies failed to comply with the government’s requirements.
Trump says Harvard’s “lost”
Trump brought it to the social media platform Truth Society, noting that elite education colleges have been “lost” and claiming that Harvard has been hiring “radical leftists.”
“Everyone knows that Harvard has ‘lost’… Harvard has been hiring almost all the wake-up, extreme left…”
He added that Harvard is no longer regarded as a decent place to study.
He wrote: “…Harvard is no longer considered a decent place to study and should not be considered on the list of great universities or universities in the world.”
Trump said Harvard was a joke and it should no longer receive federal funds.
He continued: “Harvard is a joke, teaches hatred and stupidity, and should no longer be given federal funds.”
Harvard responds to Trump’s demands
University President Alan Garber wrote in a letter to members of the Harvard community that the federal government has granted grants and contracts to the institute to help pay for work leading to innovation in areas such as medicine, engineering and science.
He added that recently, the federal government threatened to establish partnerships with universities like Harvard and accused them of anti-Semitism on campus.
Garber told the U.S. government has released an updated and extended list of requirements. As he explained some “requests”, he said Harvard would not accept the agreement they proposed. “Colleges will not give up independence or give up their constitutional rights,” he said.
He continued: “This violates Harvard’s First Amendment rights and exceeds the legal limits of government power in Chapter 6. It threatens our values as private institutions committed to the pursuit, production and dissemination of knowledge.”
“No government – no political party in power – should decide what private universities can teach, which parties they can acknowledge and hire, and what areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Garber added.
