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New York Post
26-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Harvard is about to get its clock cleaned by no-nonsense Trump & Co.
Tariffs are consuming so many headlines that you might have missed how Harvard, the pinnacle of the Ivy League, is struggling to come to terms with a simple, undeniable reality: It's about to get its clock cleaned by Donald J. Trump. Trump & Co., are sick of the antics of the Ivies — their blatant disregard for the law by looking to consider race in admissions, the far left tilt of the professoriate, and of course their acceptance of blatant antisemitic protests that erupted in support of one of the most heinous crimes in history, the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis by Hamas. Trump wants all of the above to stop, and to make it happen he is now throttling federal funds, and threatening their tax-exempt status, while the GOP Congress takes aim at school endowments, those large piles of investable cash that go a long way in keeping their lights on. Advertisement 3 Demonstrators gather on Cambridge Common to protest Harvard's stance on the war in Gaza and show support for the Palestinian people, outside Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 25, 2025. AFP via Getty Images And if you understand the endowment system, along with the array of weapons Trump has at his disposal, you will also appreciate that Harvard has almost no choice in this battle but to capitulate just like Columbia, another hotbed of antisemitism after Oct. 7, which has announced a set of sweeping changes to campus life and curriculum. That's why it's a bit baffling that Harvard actually has the chutzpah to fight Trump. Its president, Alan Garber, has announced a lawsuit against the White House after Trump froze $2.2 billion in federal aid over its woke policies like DEI and its half-hearted attempts to root out all forms of antisemitism. Advertisement As you might expect, Garber was cheered on by the political left for his defiance; people like Barack Obama, Larry Summers — both Harvard grads; Summers once ran the place — framed it as a heroic attempt to defend academic freedom against intrusive government. This fails the logic test — Harvard can still practice its academic freedom but not at taxpayers' expense. 3 U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions from Ohio State University to the White House during a ceremony on the south lawn on April 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Getty Images It also fails the financial logic test. Put simply, based on the numbers this is a battle Harvard can't win if its goal is to maintain its size, scope and stature in elite academia. Advertisement Harvard's endowment is big; at $53 billion it's larger than most Wall Street hedge funds. But it funds a budget that is heavily reliant on federal aid. What court is going to say federal funds come with no strings attached? Dive deeper and you will fully understand why the endowment doesn't have the money to cover what Trump wants to cancel. First, much of the endowment is earmarked for specific needs based on conditions put forth by donors. Plus it's heavily invested in one of the more illiquid assets on Earth, private equity. 3 The Harvard University logo is displayed on a building at the school, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. AP PE comprises nearly 40% of its $53 billion portfolio. That means a $2 billion freeze of federal funds appears more like a $20 billion freeze because the money has to come from somewhere and that somewhere is tied up in stuff like investments in early-stage non-public companies and other illiquid assets. Only a few very specialized buyers exist and they are looking for bargains. Advertisement Compounding Harvard's problems: Trump is threatening the university's tax exempt status; donors wouldn't be able to deduct the money from their tax bills. On top of that, the GOP House and Senate are likely to consider legislation to ramp up a tax on endowment returns from a paltry 1.4% to as high as 35%. VP JD Vance once pushed for such a move and Trump won't be far behind. As first reported about 10 days ago by your humble correspondent, Harvard will be selling a chunk of its PE in a market pretty barren of buyers these days because of a freeze in public offerings of stock, and questions about valuation as we head into a possible recession. This past Thursday, news reports surfaced that the school hired bankers to begin shopping a $1 billion chunk, right on the heels of a similar fire sale by Yale. Yes, Harvard will pay a steep price for its defiance.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vance fumbles Ohio State's NCAA football championship trophy as Buckeyes visit the White House
Vice President JD Vance holds the top of the Ohio State University football team's championship trophy after it's base fell off as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions during an event on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Ohio State University football player TreVeyon Henderson, left, holds the top of the team's championship trophy as Vice President JD Vance reaches to pick up it's base after it fell off, as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions during an event on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Ohio State University football player TreVeyon Henderson, left, holds the top of the team's championship trophy as Vice President JD Vance reaches to catch it's base after it fell off, as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions during an event on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Ohio State University football player TreVeyon Henderson, left, holds the top of the team's championship trophy as Vice President JD Vance reaches to catch it's base after it fell off, as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions during an event on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Vice President JD Vance holds the top of the Ohio State University football team's championship trophy after it's base fell off as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions during an event on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Ohio State University football player TreVeyon Henderson, left, holds the top of the team's championship trophy as Vice President JD Vance reaches to pick up it's base after it fell off, as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions during an event on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Ohio State University football player TreVeyon Henderson, left, holds the top of the team's championship trophy as Vice President JD Vance reaches to catch it's base after it fell off, as President Donald Trump welcomes the 2025 College Football National Champions during an event on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance ended the Ohio State football team's visit to the White House on Monday by fumbling the team's national championship trophy. After laudatory speeches by President Donald Trump, Buckeye coach Ryan Day and Vance on the South Lawn, the vice president — an Ohio State graduate — tried to hoist aloft the trophy. Advertisement He didn't count on the trophy's golden top being designed to separate from its black base. After some struggling, the vice president lost his grip on the two pieces. OSU running back TreVeyon Henderson, standing behind Vance, grabbed the football-shaped top of the trophy. But the base fell to the ground, forcing Vance to grasp around as it rolled a short distance. Some of the players around the vice president winced. The United States Marine Corps Band, which performs at presidential events, had to compete with audible gasps from the players and crowd as it played 'We Are the Champions." Henderson and Day helped Vance reassemble the trophy, and the vice president later held just the top, cradling it in his arms while the players around him chuckled. As pictures and videos of Vance's fumble rocketed across the internet, the vice president tried to explain away the gaffe with self-deprecation: 'I didn't want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it,' he wrote on X. Advertisement Trump credited the Ohio State team with winning the 2024 college football championship despite 'adversity,' including the team's upset loss to unranked Michigan 13-10 at home in November. Trump said he hesitated to mention OSU's fourth consecutive defeat to "the team up north — we won't talk about it.' Before fumbling the trophy, Vance also used part of his speech to mention the Buckeyes' biggest rival — singling out an audience member in a Michigan hat. 'I don't know who let the guy over in the corner here, in a Michigan hat, into this celebration,' Vance said. "But I'm about to tell the Secret Service, 'You've got a dangerous weapon, sir.'"
