President Donald Trump said he is seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard University, accusing the elite institution of failing to protect Jewish students and branding the school “strongly antisemitic.”
In a late-night post on Truth Social Monday, Trump sharply criticized the Ivy League university, arguing that Harvard should be facing criminal charges for what he described as its inability — or unwillingness — to control antisemitism on campus. The president said the matter should go far beyond a civil dispute, framing the situation as a serious legal and moral failure by the university.
Trump’s remarks came amid fresh media coverage of his ongoing clash with Harvard, including a report from The New York Times claiming that the administration had “backtracked” in its dispute with the school. According to the Times, Trump had dropped an alleged demand for a $200 million payment to the government in hopes of resolving the conflict.
Trump forcefully rejected that characterization, calling the report “completely wrong.” In a follow-up post, he unloaded on the Times, accusing the newspaper’s leadership of deliberately getting stories about him wrong. He referred to the paper as being run by “fraudsters” and demanded that it immediately change its reporting. Trump said the public would soon understand the paper’s conduct, pointing to his $15 billion lawsuit against the outlet.
Those comments came roughly 40 minutes after Trump launched an extensive attack on Harvard itself. He accused the university of “behaving very badly” and feeding what he called “nonsense” to the Times for an extended period. Trump said Harvard attempted to escape accountability by proposing minor changes aimed at combating antisemitism, efforts he said were wholly inadequate.
In a key section of his post, Trump argued that Harvard floated a convoluted job-training concept that was rejected because it would not have been effective. He said the proposal was merely an attempt by the university to avoid a large cash settlement that he claimed should exceed $500 million, given what he described as “serious and heinous illegalities.”
“This should be a Criminal, not Civil, event,” Trump wrote, adding that the case would continue until justice is served.
Trump also took aim at Alan Garber, Harvard’s president, saying he has done a terrible job addressing the situation. Trump noted that Garber was hired after antisemitism charges had already been raised against the university and questioned the circumstances surrounding his appointment.
The president said he is now seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard. He also quoted from the same Times report he criticized, highlighting language suggesting that many Harvard employees believe the school has “no option but to eventually cut a deal.”
Trump’s comments follow findings from a federal task force last year that accused Harvard of “deliberate indifference” and “willful participation” in antisemitic harassment targeting students and faculty. His administration said the university became a focal point for anti-Israel protests and antisemitism following the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023. A report released last June cited harassing speech, threats, intimidation, and acts of physical violence that allegedly denied Jewish and Israeli students fundamental educational opportunities.
The administration previously sought to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard over the allegations, but a federal judge blocked the move in September.
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