Trump threatens to take $3 billion grants from Harvard amid escalating clash

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to shift $3 billion in federal grants away from Harvard University and give those funds to trade schools across the United States, escalating his clash with the elite institution.

"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," Trump said in a post on social media. "What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!"

The Trump administration has already moved to freeze funding and block Harvard's ability to enroll international students in an intensifying battle over what the president has cast as a failure by the Ivy League university and others to crack down on antisemitism. 

The administration has already suspended more than $2.6 billion in federal research money for Harvard and said the school won't be able to receive new funding. 

Trump is using the "antisemitism" rationale to pressure schools to institute wide policy changes with Harvard at the forefront of his campaign.

Experts say Trump administration's hostility stems from a belief that these elite educational institutions are bastions of political liberalism and the administration also believes that under the guise of academic freedom, most universities are hostile to conservative ideas and are in the business of indoctrinating students.

Aside from revoking Harvard's certification of enrolling international students and freeze funds, Trump is also pressing the school to provide "foreign student lists." 

Writing on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump said his administration is "still waiting" for "foreign student lists" from Harvard University, which he said are needed to "determine ... how many radicalized lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country." He groused that the institution has been "very slow in the presentation of these documents, and probably for good reason."

Data made public by Harvard on its own website states that foreign students make up 27 percent of its total population, not the 31 percent claimed by Trump. It's also unclear why Harvard would need to provide the government with information on the identities of foreign students, given student visas must be processed and approved by the government before they can enter the country to begin or continue their studies.

For international students hoping to remain in the U.S., Trump's decision has plunged international students into fear and uncertainty. Many scrambled to understand what would happen next. Would they eventually have to leave the country? Were they now facing the threat of deportation? And if they returned home for the summer break, would they be allowed back into the U.S.?

The university had filed a lawsuit and criticized the administration's decision to bar international students as a "blatant violation" of the law and free speech rights. A judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump's plan to strip Harvard of its ability to enroll foreign students.

Experts argued that the Trump administration is politicizing the education sector and warned that by going after Harvard, Trump is undermining one of America's greatest assets – higher education.

Diao Daming, professor at the School of International Studies at Renmin University, told CMG that Trump administration's interference in universities will further polarize American society and deepen partisan strife. He warned that the act will erode the appeal of U.S. universities to international students, ultimately weakening the country's educational and technological competitiveness. 

"While these actions may seem aimed at hindering others, in reality, they are closing the door on America's own future development," said Diao.

(With input from agencies)