Trump Moves to Strip Harvard of Tax-Exempt Status Amid Antisemitism Uproar

President Donald Trump has announced that his administration will move to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status, declaring, "It’s what they deserve!"

The dramatic announcement follows recent steps by the administration, including a formal request to the Internal Revenue Service to revoke Harvard’s 501(c)(3) status. The cited reason? Harvard’s alleged failure to adequately address antisemitism on campus. If you thought the Ivy League drama couldn’t get any juicier, think again.

Harvard, unsurprisingly, fired back. A university spokesperson emphasized that tax-exempt status fuels scholarships, medical research, and innovation, stating, "There is no legal basis to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status." They warned that such a move would slash financial aid and threaten vital research—painting a picture of a university under siege, with students and scientists caught in the crossfire.

Trump, however, hasn’t minced words. He accused Harvard of hiring "woke, Radical Left, idiots and ‘birdbrains’" who teach nothing but "FAILURE." He even referenced the university’s embattled former president, who was recently accused of plagiarism, as an example of the school’s supposed decline. In Trump's words, Harvard is "a JOKE" and "should no longer receive Federal Funds." The man really doesn’t do subtlety, does he?

These threats are part of a wider crackdown on elite universities in the wake of last year’s pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel campus protests. The White House sent Harvard a letter in April, demanding reforms in governance, hiring, and admissions—plus a warning to keep out students "hostile" to American values or supporting terrorism and antisemitism. The message: change, or lose billions in federal funding.

Harvard’s administration refused to comply, with President Dr. Alan Garber stating, "no government… should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and areas of study and inquiry they can pursue." The standoff escalated with the administration freezing $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard and threatening to cut even more. Harvard has since filed a lawsuit, calling the budget cuts "unlawful."

Bottom line: the battle lines are drawn between political power and academic independence, with billions of dollars, campus culture, and the very idea of what a university should be on the line. Only in America could the fate of the world’s richest university hang on a presidential tweet.