On Memorial Day, U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his constant feud with Harvard University, once again vowing to remove billions in federal funding from the elite school.
Resorting to his social media outlet on Monday, Trump posted, "I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land," providing no additional explanation of the action.
He also expressed concern regarding international students enrolled at Harvard—a large part of the university's enrollment and fiscal model—telling that he is waiting for a list of those students.
Trump asserted that he needed the information "so that we can figure out, after an absurd amount of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS spent, how many radicalized lunatics, agitators all, are not permitted to return to our Country."
In spite of the scandal, he vowed supporters: "But fear not, the Government will, ultimately, WIN!"
Only a few days before, the Trump administration had tried to block Harvard's access to admitting foreign students, but a federal judge suspended the move pending further legal consideration scheduled for this week.
Trump's anger is rooted in Harvard's failure to submit to federal regulation in such matters as admissions and hiring policy—an issue he has consistently associated with what he characterizes as the institution's anti-Semitic bias and adoption of "woke" liberal ideology.
His wider campaign involves aimed not just at elite universities but at other historically liberal strongholds such as the media, as he tries to assert unprecedented executive authority.
Earlier, Trump warned to scrutinize $9 billion of public money attached to Harvard. He has already put an initial amount under freeze, which includes grants for $2.2 billion and federal contracts worth $60 million. In a connected action, his administration also launched deportation proceedings against a Harvard Medical School researcher.
Harvard, the oldest U.S. academic institution and the alma mater of 162 Nobel winners, has yet to issue a formal statement concerning the newest batch of charges and threats.
Read also| Donald Trump on Tariffs: ‘We’re Focused on Making Tanks, Not T-Shirts’
Read also| Russian Official Confirms Putin’s Helicopter Targeted by Ukrainian Drone Swarm
