Trump says ‘Harvard starting to behave’, signals progress in negotiations with university

Jun 05, 2025 10:36 PM IST

Trump’s remarks come after he suspended the entry of foreign students seeking to study at Harvard University through exchange programmes.

A day after barring the admission of foreign students in Harvard University, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the administration of the Ivy League university has “started to behave”.

Trump signals progress in talks with Harvard, says university “starting to behave”(Bloomberg)

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, the Republican leader said, “I think they’re starting to behave, actually, if you want to know the truth.”

As per Bloomberg, the US President added that all the administration wanted was the list of international students enrolled in the top university.

“Harvard didn’t want to give us the list. They’re going to be giving us the list,” Trump said during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

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Speaking to reporters, the US president added that the government wants foreign students to come, but would like to check and “vet” them first.

Trump instates ban on foreign students for Harvard

On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced that he has suspended the entry of foreign students seeking to study at Harvard University through exchange programmes.

The US president cited concerns regarding “national security” as he enforced the six-month ban.

“Considering these facts, I have determined that it is necessary to restrict the entry of foreign nationals who seek to enter the United States solely or principally to participate in a course of study at Harvard University,” said Trump.

Trump’s escalation comes as part of an ongoing legal row with Harvard University, which is one of the US’s most prestigious universities, after Harvard refused to hand over a list of international students enrolled in the university to the Trump administration.

The Trump administration has already revoked $2.5 million in funds for the Ivy League university and threatened to freeze more grants from federal agencies worth $450 million.

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