Donald Trump's Biographer On Why US President Has A "Grudge" Against Harvard

NDTV

a day ago

Washington:
US President Donald Trump has intensified his war with Harvard recently, with social media users claiming that his hatred for the Ivy League university comes from his son, Barron Trump, not being accepted. But, the President's biographer, Michael Wolff, has suggested something else. According to him, it was Trump, not Barron, who was rejected by Harvard.
Wolff, the author of 'Fire and Fury', 'Siege: Trump under fire', and this year's 'All or nothing', presented his theory about the US President during a podcast with the The Daily Beast.
While the host, Joanna Coles, suggested that many people linked to Trump studied at Harvard, Wolff said, "It's important not to lend too much calculation and planning to anything he does."
"But the other thing is that, by the way, he didn't get into Harvard. So one of the Trump things is always holding a grudge against the Ivy League," he added.
Trump studied at Fordham University in 1964 after four years of attending the New York Military Academy. Two years later, he transferred to the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania - where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics. However, there is no official data available on whether the US President applied to Harvard, let alone he was rejected. No published biographies have also mentioned this claim.
A White House spokesperson hit out at Wolff and The Daily Beast for "peddling fake news", adding that Trump did not need to apply to an "overrated and corrupt" university like Harvard.
"They both peddle fake news for clickbait in a hopeless attempt to amount to something more than lying losers. The President didn't need to apply to an overrated, corrupt institution like Harvard to become a successful businessman and the most transformative President in history," Taylor Rogers said.
'The Trump show'
Wolff, additionally, suggested that apart from "holding the grudge", Trump's "TV star instincts as a producer" play a key role in his legal battle against Ivy League Universities - especially Harvard. According to the author, Trump needs an enemy.
"That's what makes the show great, the Trump show. He picks fantastic enemies. And Harvard, for all it represents, fits right into the Trump show. The president loves the drama. He's done what he set out to do - dominate the headline. What do you do? You go after Harvard in a way that is draconian, dramatic, and existential. It's threatening Harvard on that level," he told The Daily Beast.
According to him, this becomes another aspect of the "Trump show".
Trump-Harvard battle
Donald Trump's crackdown on Harvard has taken a more aggressive stance within a few months of the Republican leader taking office for the second term - saying that he is seeking to eliminate antisemitism on campuses. He had even accused his predecessor, Joe Biden, of letting some of the Ivy League universities off the hook. Harvard had first fallen prey to the crackdown last month when the White House put a $2.2 billion freeze on federal funding. Trump had put forth a few conditions to revoke the ban on federal funding, but refused to bend the knee.
Last week, the administration sent a letter to the university banning the Ivy League's ability to enroll international students amid an ongoing investigation into the university. It also mentioned said that Harvard could still reverse the government's ban and enroll foreign students - if they fulfill Trump's conditions within 72 hours. However, the university refused again.
Shortly after receiving the letter, Harvard slammed the Trump administration and called the move "unlawful".
Earlier this week, the Trump administration reportedly ordered all its consular missions overseas to begin additional vetting of visa applicants looking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose.