Trump Demands $1 Billion from ‘Strongly Antisemitic’ Harvard University

President Donald Trump has announced he is seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard University, accusing the institution of attempting to avoid a settlement through a job training proposal he described as “wholly inadequate” and alleging that its actions rise to the level of criminal misconduct.

Trump posted on Truth Social:

Strongly Antisemitic Harvard University has been feeding a lot of ‘nonsense’ to The Failing New York Times. Harvard has been, for a long time, behaving very badly! They wanted to do a convoluted job training concept, but it was turned down in that it was wholly inadequate and would not have been, in our opinion, successful. It was merely a way of Harvard getting out of a large cash settlement of more than 500 Million Dollars, a number that should be much higher for the serious and heinous illegalities that they have committed. This should be a Criminal, not Civil, event, and Harvard will have to live with the consequences of their wrongdoings. In any event, this case will continue until justice is served. Dr. Alan Garber, the President of Harvard, has done a terrible job of rectifying a very bad situation for his institution and, more importantly, America, itself. He was hired AFTER the antisemitism charges were brought – I wonder why??? We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University. As The Failing New York Times clearly stated, ‘Some connected to the University, however, think Harvard has no option but to eventually cut a deal. The Administration has repeatedly attempted to cut off research grants, which would be an untenable crises. Like many major research universities, Harvard relies on federal funding for its financial model.’ Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

The conflict between Trump and Harvard intensified in 2025 as the administration launched investigations into alleged antisemitism and ideological bias on campus. In response to Harvard’s refusal to implement proposed reforms, including changes to hiring and admissions practices, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal research funding and, in May, barred the university from enrolling students on foreign visas.

In September 2025, a federal judge reversed the funding freeze, ruling it violated constitutional free speech protections and federal law, while also claiming the administration had a legitimate interest in combating antisemitism and criticizing Harvard’s past tolerance of hateful behavior.

Trump’s administration has maintained that Harvard acted with “deliberate indifference” toward Jewish and Israeli students and has cited a series of incidents—including physical altercations during anti-Israel protests and the hiring of individuals previously involved in such events—as grounds for punitive action. The Department of Justice’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, led by Leo Terrell, has made campus antisemitism its primary focus and has conducted investigations at multiple universities, including Harvard.

Alan Garber, who assumed the Harvard presidency amid campus turmoil following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, has repeatedly discussed institutional failures in public statements and interviews. In a March 2025 letter to the Harvard community, Garber wrote that antisemitism “is present on our campus,” adding, “I have experienced antisemitism directly, even while serving as president.” 

In a January 2026 podcast appearance, Garber said the university “went wrong” by allowing faculty activism in classrooms, stating that such conduct “chilled free speech and debate on campus.” He has also acknowledged complaints about ideological imbalance, saying the administration has heard that “conservatives are too few on campus and their views are not welcome,” and conceding that, “insofar as that’s true, that’s a problem we really need to address.”

Despite those remarks, Garber has pushed back against the Trump administration’s methods. During an interview on NBC Nightly News, he stated:

What they are indicating is that they want to directly review who we hire on our faculty. That has implications for what kinds of views can be expressed on campus. They also want to be able to tell us who we need to fire and they also want to intervene in our admissions processes. That is what we are objecting to.

Harvard’s attorneys also issued a formal response to the administration’s demands, writing in a letter reported by Breitbart News:

“It is unfortunate, then, that your letter disregards Harvard’s efforts and instead presents demands that, in contravention for the First Amendment, invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court.”