President Donald Trump launched another blistering attack on Harvard University over the weekend, accusing the Ivy League titan of using taxpayer dollars to educate foreign students at the expense of hardworking Americans. In a Truth Social post just past midnight Sunday, Trump called out the school’s $52 billion endowment and suggested it should stop demanding federal funds while prioritizing international students.
“Other countries are taking advantage of us,” Trump wrote. “They pay nothing toward their student’s education, nor do they ever intend to.”
It’s the latest in what’s become a full-blown war between the Trump administration and Harvard. Trump has criticized the university for its cozy ties to the Chinese Communist Party, its refusal to crack down on antisemitism following the October 7 Hamas massacre, and its reliance on taxpayer grants despite charging sky-high tuition.
“Harvard has $52,000,000, use it, and stop asking for the federal government to continue granting money to you!” he posted bluntly.
Trump also fumed from the Oval Office on Friday: “Billions of dollars has been paid to Harvard. How ridiculous is that? Billions. They have $52 billion as an endowment.”
It’s not just Trump raising alarms. Harvard Law’s own Alan Dershowitz—himself a longtime Democrat—offered surprising agreement with the president. In a recent interview, Dershowitz said flatly, “There are too many foreign students in American universities.” He noted that when he began teaching at Harvard, only around 5% of the student body was international. Today, that number is nearly 28%.
“Every spot that is taken by a foreign student is denying an American student,” he said, backing Trump’s view that schools like Harvard are becoming elite institutions for foreign nationals funded by U.S. taxpayers.
Dershowitz cautioned against cutting critical medical research funds, but urged tighter scrutiny over which departments and student groups receive federal support. “They should be cutting back on research that is propagandistic, like at the Divinity School and the Public Health School,” he added.
The growing foreign student population at U.S. universities—especially elite ones—has long stirred debate, but Trump is now making it a central theme of his administration’s higher education policy. The tension between Harvard and the White House has only intensified after a series of high-profile scandals, including:
- Former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation over a plagiarism scandal and weak leadership during anti-Israel campus protests.
- The grotesque arrest and guilty plea of the university’s medical school morgue director, who was caught selling human body parts.
- Harvard’s refusal to cooperate with Trump’s efforts to reassess the status of international students on campus.
This isn’t just a personal spat—it’s shaping up to be a broader movement. Trump’s calls to strip funding from elite schools that don’t put America first are resonating with many Americans who are tired of subsidizing institutions that churn out radicals and privilege global elites over U.S. citizens.
And as Trump noted, it’s not just about education—it’s about national interest.
“We don’t want troublemakers here,” he said, pointing to pro-Hamas protesters and activists who enter the U.S. on student visas and then rail against the very country giving them shelter, freedom, and education.
Trump’s message to Harvard is simple: Stop taking American money if you’re not going to put Americans first. And stop hiding behind prestige while your policies sow division and exclusion on our own soil.
This clash is only beginning—and it’s one worth watching.
