Trump wants Harvard to apologize after denying the White House demands

Regarding the freezing of the transfer of $ 2.2 billion in federal funds to the institution, the White House said “do not make sense” the government pass this amount to Harvard “when the institution already has a billionaire reserve in banks.”

Harvard denied meeting a series of demands made by Trump, which included the end of diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The university said it will not give up its independence or its constitutional rights, and stressed that the impositions made by the government exceeded the limits of the federal executive.

In response, Trump froze the billionaire transfer to the university. The Republican also threatened to remove Harvard’s tax exemption status if the institution “continues to stimulate political, ideological and terrorist disease.”

Donald Trump accuses Harvard and other US universities of not doing enough to curb cases of anti -Semitism on their campuses. According to the White House, American Jewish students have been discriminated with since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023. Universities campuses have been places of pro-palestine manifestations amid Israeli military incursions in Gaza, which have already left tens of thousands of dead civilians.

Harvard is a private entity and is on the list of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world. The university has a heritage of more than US $ 50 billion (R $ 293.5 billion, in current values) and enjoys federal government tax exemption and one from the state of Massachusetts.

White House aims at other educational institutions besides Harvard. The US government has managed to impose its demands on Columbia University in New York to avoid losing $ 400 million in federal funds.