Trump's Fight With Harvard Just Escalated

President Trump has sharply escalated his clash with Harvard University, saying his administration is now pursuing $1 billion in damages over the school's handling of antisemitism complaints. In a late-night post on Truth Social, Trump on Tuesday labeled Harvard "strongly antisemitic" and said President Alan Garber "has done a terrible job" addressing the issue, claiming the situation is harmful not only to the university but to the country. He also said his administration wants "nothing further to do" with Harvard in the future, without explaining the legal basis for the new damages figure, per the Guardian.

Harvard and the White House didn't immediately comment. Trump's announcement came shortly after the New York Times reported that his administration had quietly abandoned an earlier request for $200 million as part of settlement talks over similar allegations. Both Harvard and Trump officials told the Times the administration had recently signaled it no longer expected that payment. Trump responded on social media by accusing Harvard of feeding "nonsense" to the paper, noting that the institution "has been, for a long time, behaving very badly," and demanding that the Times "change their story, immediately."

The dispute is part of a broader confrontation between the Trump administration and elite universities. In Harvard's case, the administration has previously threatened to freeze roughly $9 billion in research funding for Harvard; pushed it to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; expanded reporting requirements for international students; and sought to limit their enrollment. Harvard sued last April, accusing the administration of trying to assert political control over academic decisions.

Garber, who's Jewish, rejected Trump's antisemitism claims at the time, saying Harvard "takes that work seriously" and calling the fight against antisemitism both a legal obligation and a "moral imperative." A federal judge later ruled that the administration had unlawfully canceled $2.2 billion in research grants, blocking the cuts; the administration has appealed that decision.