U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is facing ridicule online for chastising Harvard University in a letter critics describe as “a chaotic mess of bad grammar and illiterate rambling.”
The letter announced the removal of all federal funding to the acclaimed ivy league institution, accusing Harvard of violating federal law, mismanagement, a lack of “academic rigor” and hosting foreign students who “engage in violent behavior and show contempt for the United States of America.”
Online readers zeroed in on the numerous typos, awkward sentence structure and lack of evidence behind the letter’s numerous claims.
“Go back to being the CEO of WWE,” an X user wrote. “Harvard is laughing as they read this illiterate piece of garbage.”
Whoever wrote this has the IQ of an ostrich
— elgigi (@LGdanuT) May 5, 2025
“So the secretary of education writes like a 3rd grader…” said another, as one user said, “You shouldn’t be a secretary at an elementary school.”
Someone else chimed in: “You’re the Secretary of ‘Education’ and this is a chaotic mess of bad grammar and illiterate rambling.”
“There is a famous saying…keep your mouth shut and people think you are stupid…open your mouth and have it confirmed,” one comment read.
One account went to the trouble of editing the letter for McMahon, as several users questioned whether anyone attempted to do so before it was shared.
What’s with the random capitalization? did you not proofread this?
— Nithin (@01xNithin) May 7, 2025
McMahon has not commented on the backlash, and Harvard has not yet publicly responded to the letter.
Universities have been a focus of President Donald Trump’s efforts to exterminate “woke” culture and DEI initiatives. Trump previously described colleges campuses of being “infested with radicalism like never before,” threatening to pull funding for schools that allow protests and deport international students who engage in activism.
Columbia University, the first target of the administration, capitulated to Trump’s demands, but Harvard refused. The letter from McMahon is unlikely to surprise the university, which was already seeking the funding necessary to operate without the government’s support.
Originally published on Latin Times
