Obama blasts Trump administration's 'unlawful' Harvard demands
Trump hinted the university should lose its tax-exempt status on Tuesday.
By Oren Oppenheim
April 15, 2025, 2:31 PM
Former President Barack Obama in a statement praised Harvard University for rejecting President Donald Trump's demands as the university faces a funding freeze for alleged inaction on antisemitism.
"Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions -- rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect," Obama posted on X late Monday. "Let's hope other institutions follow suit."
Obama's remark came after Harvard University said on Monday it was refusing to comply with a series of demands from the Trump administration. On Monday evening, the administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced a multibillion-dollar freeze on funding to the university. (Harvard University has said it is committed to fighting antisemitism and to making changes to create a welcoming environment.)
Obama, an alumnus of Harvard Law School, did not address the funding freeze.
In recent remarks at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Obama said he was concerned about the White House's moves against universities.
"I don't think what we just witnessed in terms of economic policy and tariffs is going to be good for America, but that's a specific policy. I'm more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don't give up students who are exercising their right to free speech," Obama said, according to a transcript of his remarks.
He had also called on universities not to give into what he framed as intimidation.
"If you are a university, you may have to figure out, are we in fact doing things right? Have we in fact violated our own values, our own code, violated the law in some fashion? If not and you're just being intimidated, well, you should be able to say, that's why we got this big endowment," Obama said, according to the transcript.
"We'll stand up for what we believe in and we'll pay our researchers for a while out of that endowment and we'll give up the extra wing or the fancy gymnasium -- that we can delay that for a couple of years because academic freedom might be a little more important," he added.
Trump, on Tuesday morning, called for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status after the university said it would not comply with the Trump administration's series of demands.
"Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting 'Sickness?' Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!" Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.
Harvard University is exempt from federal income tax because it is an educational institution. It is also exempt from Massachusetts state income tax, according to the university.
Asked during a press briefing on Tuesday how serious Trump is about his call for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president has been "quite clear they must follow federal law."
"He also wants to see Harvard apologize, and Harvard should apologize for the egregious antisemitism that took place on their college campus against Jewish American students," she said while deferring to the IRS for any updates on the tax-exempt status.
Leavitt also claimed the university has not taken the administration's demands seriously in response to a question on the funding freeze.
"All the president is asking don't break federal law, and then you can have your federal funding," she said.
ABC News' Kelsey Walsh, Peter Charalambous, Selina Wang and Arthur Jones II contributed to this report.
