In a scathing post on Truth Social Wednesday, former President Donald Trump launched his most forceful attack yet against Harvard University, just two days after his administration announced it was pulling $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts from the institution.
“Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning,” Trump declared, accusing the University of promoting “hate and stupidity” through what he described as a radicalized faculty.
The remarks signal a potentially broader effort by Trump to escalate pressure on Harvard, a long-standing target of conservative criticism over its perceived liberal bias. In his post, Trump accused the University of hiring “woke, Radical Left, idiots and ‘birdbrains’” who are “only capable of teaching FAILURE to students and so-called future leaders.”
A Harvard spokesperson declined to comment on the remarks or the federal funding cut.
Trump also reignited criticism of former Harvard President Claudine Gay, calling her a “plagiarizing president” who “embarrassed Harvard” during a congressional testimony that led to her resignation earlier this year. He blasted the University for retaining Gay as a faculty member rather than dismissing her entirely.
“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 wrote.
Though Gay no longer holds an administrative role, she continues to serve as a professor and leads a small reading group on campus.
Trump’s post also took aim at Harvard’s hiring of prominent Democratic political figures, including former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and former Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. De Blasio was appointed as a fellow at the Institute of Politics, while Lightfoot joined the Harvard School of Public Health.
The post follows a series of increasingly aggressive moves by Trump toward the Ivy League school. On Tuesday, he threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status, a significant escalation in his criticism.
Trump’s remarks came one day after Harvard President Alan M. Garber reportedly rejected demands from the White House, though the nature of those demands has not been made public.
As tensions between the former president and one of America’s most prestigious universities continue to rise, Harvard now finds itself at the center of a growing political storm.
