FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement about a trade deal with the U.K., in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
Sarah Burris is a long-time veteran of political campaigns, having worked as a fundraiser and media director across the United States. She transitioned into reporting while working for Rock the Vote, Future Majority and Wiretap Magazine, covering the Millennial Generation's perspective during the presidential elections. As a political writer, Burris has had bylines at CNN, Salon.com, BNR, and AlterNet and serves as a senior digital editor for RawStory.com.
As part of his ongoing attack on Harvard University, President Donald Trump attacked students admitted to the Ivy League school, saying that students there "can't add."
While signing an executive order on an unrelated matter, Trump criticized "billions of dollars" given to Harvard by the government. The U.S. funds medical research and more. Last week, the U.S. National Science Foundation listed 193 grants worth nearly $150 million that were being terminated. There are also 56 grants from the U.S. Department of Defense worth $105 million that were canceled.
A reporter asked Trump whether he intends to target international students at any other universities.
Trump replied, "We're looking at a lot of things. Billions of dollars have been given to Harvard. How ridiculous is that? Billions."
He also cited Harvard's $52 billion endowment fund while charging "student loans."
The Associated Press reported in March that Harvard announced that any student whose family makes less than $200,000 will receive free tuition.
When asked why Trump wouldn't want some of the best and brightest to come to the United States, Trump promised he did, but that "a lot of them need remedial math."
"Did you see that? Where these students can't add two and two and they go to Harvard," Trump claimed.
All students who attend Harvard must take the SAT or ACT tests, their website says. Both tests ask significantly more complicated questions than simple addition, practice tests show.
"They're going to teach remedial math at Harvard," Trump said. "Now, wait a minute. So, why would they get in? How can somebody that can't add or has very basic skills, how do they get into Harvard? Why are they there? Then you see those same people picketing and screaming at the United States or screaming at, you know, they're antisemitic or they're something. We don't want troublemakers here. But how do people that can't — when Harvard comes out with a statement that they're going to teach some of their students remedial math — that's basic math, uh, that's not the deal."
Remedial math is not "basic math," which is simple addition, a remedial contemporary math final exam test at Study.com showed.
Trump was not admitted to Harvard, rather, he went to the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The Washington Post’s Michael Kranish reported in 2019 that Trump was able to get an interview after his older brother made a call to the admissions office in 1966.
James Nolan, who recalled the interview with Trump to the Post, described Trump's dad, Fred Trump Sr., as seeking to "ingratiate" himself. He also said that Trump had a higher "acceptance score" based on his college experience. The acceptance rate in 1966 wasn't available on the school's website, but it showed that in 1980, the acceptance rate was "slightly greater than 40%." Trump bragged that getting into Penn was "super genius stuff." Nolan recounted, "it was not very difficult."
