Karoline Leavitt Gives Wild Defense of Trump’s Attacks on Harvard
Karoline Leavitt is trying to claim Donald Trump’s attacks on Harvard are justified because the U.S. needs more trade workers.
The White House press secretary made the wild defense to Sean Hannity on Fox News Tuesday night, telling the conservative pundit that Trump is more interested in giving Harvard’s government funding “to trade schools, and programs, and state schools where they are promoting American values, but most importantly, educating the next generation based on skills that we need in our economy and our society.
“Apprenticeships, electricians, plumbers—we need more of those in our country, and less LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University, and that’s what this administration’s position is,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt: "Electricians, plumbers -- we need more of those in our country, and less LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University. And that's what this administration's position is." pic.twitter.com/IwSYVrZ1sJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 28, 2025
It’s insane that Leavitt thinks that the grants and contracts Trump has yanked away from Harvard are going to “LGBTQ graduate majors.” In reality, Harvard is losing stuff like $1 billion for health research, which could save a lot of lives. The president also tried to stop Harvard from enrolling international students, only to be blocked by a federal judge.
On Tuesday, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was “considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land. What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!”
But what would such a program even look like? The all-encompassing budget bill Trump is pushing to get passed doesn’t contain any new programs in that vein. In fact, the bill will restrict access to financial aid for working-class students going into all fields, including trade schools.
Trump is attacking foreign student enrollment at Harvard (and everywhere else) by claiming that Americans can now get those slots. But how will more Americans be able to attend with less financial aid? Meanwhile, Trump is also trying to eliminate the Department of Education, which will further hurt lower-income students trying to attend any form of higher education. All of the administration’s talk about supporting American students is a smokescreen. In reality, Trump is trying to force universities like Harvard to bow to him and conservative America.