Obama praises Harvard for bucking Trump admin's demands amid funding-cut threats

Former President Barack Obama praised Harvard University on Tuesday after the university's president announced that it would not be complying with the Trump administration's demands regarding 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 wrote on X. "Let’s hope other institutions follow suit."

Harvard President Alan M. Garber sent a defiant letter to members of the university community on Monday, saying "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 Trump administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced later on Monday it is freezing over $2 billion in multi-year grants and contracts at Harvard.

"Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges – that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws," the task force said. "The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable."

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Garber's letter accused the Trump administration of wanting to regulate the "intellectual conditions" at the university.

"Late Friday night, the administration issued an updated and expanded list of demands, warning that Harvard must comply if we intend to ‘maintain [our] financial relationship with the federal government,’" Garber wrote. "It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner. Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard."

President Obama praised Harvard on Tuesday after the university announced it would not be complying with President Trump's demands regarding antisemitism.  (Left: (Photo by Debra L Rothenberg/WireImage), Right: (Photo by Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images))

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Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey also praised Harvard’s decision not to fold to the Trump administration. Healey thanked Harvard and Garber for their leadership in standing up for education and freedom by standing against what she called the administration's "brazen attempt to bully schools."

Fox News' Greg Wehner, CB Cotton, and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.