Barack Obama backs Harvard as Trump calls to revoke school's tax-exempt status

Former President Barack Obama, a Harvard grad, has come out in support of the beleaguered university as the Trump administration has withheld $2.2 billion in federal funds and the president has called for the revocation of Harvard's tax-exempt status. Obama backed Harvard's rejection of the Trump administration's demands for on-campus and administrative reform in the wake of violent, antisemitic protests that rocked the campus following Hamas terror attacks on Israel in October 2023.

"Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope other institutions follow suit," Obama said. Other Ivy League schools are also under the Trump microscope for antisemitism, trans inclusion in women's sports, and civil rights violations.

After some back and forth with the university over the past week, President Donald Trump said on Truth Social "Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting 'Sickness?' Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!"



The Trump administration took on Harvard after having its way with Columbia. Columbia caved to Trump's demands to get rid of antisemitism on campus through a variety of reforms, but Harvard has declined Trump's Joint Task Force's requirements.

The demand was that Harvard set about "reforming programs with egregious records of antisemitism or other bias" by August of this year, discontinue DEI "programs, offices, committees, positions, and initiatives under whatever name," reform student discipline and accountability, institute "governance and leadership reforms," as well as institute merit-based hiring and admissions. Trump's Department of Education demanded that Harvard review its international admissions to ensure that "students supportive of terrorism or anti-Semitism" are not admitted.

"The administration's prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government," university president Alan Garber said "It violated Harvard's First Amendment rights and exceeds the statutory limits of the government's authority under Title VI. And it threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge. No government— regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue." The school has a $53 billion endowment and is a recipient of federal funding.

"Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges," the Trump team said, "that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws. The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support."