Trump Says Harvard Must Show List of Foreign Students (Full Q&A)

Video Description

President Donald Trump said Harvard University should cap foreign student enrollment at 15%, ratcheting up his effort to force policy changes at the elite institution. “I think they should have a cap of maybe around 15%, not 31%,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House. “We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools, they can’t get in because we have foreign students there.” Trump’s comments introduced a specific goal after he sought last week to block Harvard entirely from enrolling foreign students. It’s part of a broader push by his administration against Harvard and other academic institutions to force policy changes on everything from admissions to hiring, an effort officials have said is aimed at cracking down on antisemitism tied to protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. Harvard has emerged as a prime target for Trump, whose administration has frozen more than $2.6 billion in federal research funding for the school. He’s also waging a campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and what conservatives say is left-wing bias on US college campuses. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based school didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s goal for foreign-student enrollment. Harvard has sued the government over the funding cuts, and the school won a temporary court order blocking the government from enforcing the ban on foreign students. At Harvard, nearly 6,800 students — 27% of the entire student body — come from other countries, up from about 20% in 2006, according to university data. Harvard has said its international population on campus is comprised of more than 10,000 people, which includes fellows or others coming for non-degree programs and their dependents. “I want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country,” Trump said Wednesday. Foreign students are a key source of revenue for US universities including Harvard since they mostly pay full tuition, although Harvard offers financial aid for international undergraduates. The president has also repeatedly called for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, which would have serious financial implications for the university, even with a $53 billion endowment that makes it the richest US school. The administration is also moving to cancel all remaining federal contracts with the university. Trump on Wednesday compared Harvard unfavorably with another Ivy League institution, Columbia University, which he said was working with him on “finding a solution.” “Harvard has to understand the last thing I want to do is hurt them. They’re hurting themselves. They’re fighting,” Trump said, adding Columbia has been “very, very bad — what they’ve done, they’re very antisemitic and lots of other things — but they’re working with us on finding a solution.” “But Harvard wants to fight, they want to show how smart they are, and they’re getting their ass kicked,” he continued. -------- Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube Weekdays 7am-6pm ET WATCH HERE: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/BloombergRadio Subscribe to our Podcasts: Bloomberg Daybreak: http://bit.ly/3DWYoAN Bloomberg Surveillance: http://bit.ly/3OPtReI Bloomberg Intelligence: http://bit.ly/3YrBfOi Balance of Power: http://bit.ly/3OO8eLC Bloomberg Businessweek: http://bit.ly/3IPl60i Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app: Apple CarPlay: https://apple.co/486mghI Android Auto: https://bit.ly/49benZy Visit our YouTube channels: Bloomberg Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/bloombergpodcasts Bloomberg Television: https://www.youtube.com/@markets Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/bloomberg Quicktake: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergQuicktake