‘Salute Harvard’: Democrats, X Users Back University In Standoff With Trump Over Campus Activism

Democratic leaders have come out in support of Harvard after President Donald Trump froze over $2.2 billion in grants and threatened to revoke the Ivy League school‘s tax-exempt status — a move that has also sparked widespread backlash on social media.

The Trump administration‘s move to freeze grants came after Harvard rejected the former’s demands to crack down on campus activism.

Trump escalates Harvard scuffle

The administration had initially demanded that the elite university limit activism across the institution, calling for an overhaul of Harvard‘s governance, admissions processing, hiring practices, and more.

However, Harvard President Alan Garber vowed that the institution will defy the government and will not compromise “its independence or its constitutional rights.”

The U.S. president’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism immediately clapped back, announcing a freeze on $2.2 billion of multi-year grants. Some $60 million in government contracts involving Harvard have also been put on hold.

Trump fueled the fire further Tuesday by threatening to make Harvard “lose its Tax Exempt Status,” reiterating that the institution must be “taxed as a political entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and [a] terrorist inspired” environment.

Some users on Elon Musk-owned X agreed with how the Trump administration has been putting pressure on Harvard.

One user said that as long as the institution accepted government money from taxpayers, the government has “every right to dictate fair curriculum and hiring practices.”

Meanwhile, another user said Harvard had every right to teach what it wants to students, but it shouldn’t be allowed to use taxpayers’ money “while discriminating against Jews.”

Democratic leaders laud Harvard’s defiance

Democrats have since come out in support of Harvard, lauding its defiance even in the face of serious threats from the president himself.

Former President Barack Obama voiced support for Harvard on X, lauding the institute for setting an “example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom.”

“I salute Harvard and all those who are resisting Trump’s political blackmail and bullying,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen wrote Tuesday on X.

Hollen noted how Trump and Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), only values the First Amendment “for themselves.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is an independent politician but has had a close relationship with the Democratic Party over the years, congratulated Harvard “for refusing to relinquish its constitutional rights to Trump’s authoritarianism.”

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey thanked the university and Garber for “standing up for education and freedom by standing against the Trump administration’s brazen attempt to bully schools and weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice under the false pretext of civil rights.”

X users stand with Harvard

Amid the ongoing standoff between Trump and Harvard, X users have also joined in the conversation, with many expressing support for the elite school.

“Universities must remain sanctuaries of free thought not tools of political pressure or financial coercion,” said one user.

“I’m fine with Harvard losing its tax exempt status, as long as every church that endorses Trump does as well,” said another.

One user suggested that instead of Trump seeking to remove Harvard’s tax exempt status, he should focus on “getting religious ideologies out of politics, to comply with, ya know, separation of church and state.”

It remains to be seen how far Trump will take its battle with Harvard. So far, it appears the elite university will hold out until it can.