Trump Calls For Harvard’s Tax-Exempt Status To Be Revoked Over Antisemitism Probe Standoff

US President Donald Trump has launched an attack on Harvard University, suggesting it should lose its tax-exempt status for what he described as promoting “political, ideological, and terrorist-inspired sickness.”

His remarks came after the prestigious Ivy League university rejected new federal conditions linked to antisemitism investigations on campus, Indian Express reported.

“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 on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Universities like Harvard typically enjoy federal tax exemption due to their designation as providers of a public good.

But the recent standoff has ignited a broader debate over federal authority and academic freedom.

The clash escalated after Harvard rebuffed demands from Trump’s multi-agency task force demands which the administration claims are aimed at tackling campus antisemitism. Harvard, however, characterised the move as a direct threat to university autonomy.

“No government – regardless of which party is in power – should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Harvard president Alan Garber stated.

In response, federal authorities froze $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contract funding, accusing Harvard of neglecting its civil rights responsibilities.

“Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges,” a federal agency said.

Former President Barack Obama praised Harvard for resisting what he called federal overreach, even as peer institutions like Columbia and Princeton accepted tighter regulations, including protest restrictions and curricular scrutiny.

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