Barack Obama Applauds Harvard For Refusing To Bow To Pressure From Trump

Former President Barack Obama on Monday praised Harvard University for its decision to defy the demands made by the Trump administration for the institution to maintain federal funding, calling the government’s effort an “unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom.”

The changes ordered by the administration to be made by August 2025 included ending all diversity, equity and inclusion programs, limiting international student admissions, requiring “viewpoint” diversity in all programs, and closing departments and teaching units that cannot meet the administration’s demands.

Alan Garber, the president of Harvard, said the requirements set out by the administration in a five-page letter on Friday violate the university’s First Amendment rights and threaten “our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge.”

“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,” Garber said.

In a post on Bluesky, Obama lauded the university’s decision to not give in to pressure.

“Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions — rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect,” Obama wrote.

“Let’s hope others follow suit,” he added.

Obama is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

Following Harvard’s announcement, the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, under the Department of Education, announced it had frozen $2.2 billion in multi-year grants as well as $60 million in “multi-year contract value” to the university.

Earlier on Monday, Harvard’s lawyers William Burck and Robert Hur — both conservatives — said it was “unfortunate” that the government has ignored the efforts the university has made over the past 15 months to ensure it constitutes a supportive environment for all students.

“Harvard remains open to dialogue about what the university has done, and is planning to do, to improve the experience of every member of its community,” they wrote in a letter to Trump administration officials. “But Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration.”

Since his inauguration, Trump has taken aim at elite universities across the country under the pretext of combating antisemitism and DEI practices.

Last month, Columbia University agreed to make several changes ordered by the Trump administration to restore its frozen federal funding, including placing its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under “academic receivership” for at least five years.