The fallout from Trump's war on Harvard will long outlast his presidency

Donald Trump has had a busy seven days. On Monday, he threatened to redirect $3bn in Harvard research funding to vocational schools. On Tuesday, the White House sent a letter to federal agencies, instructing them to review the approximately $100m in contracts the government has awarded Harvard and "find alternative vendors" where possible. On Wednesday, he had more to say on the matter still.

"Harvard's got to behave themselves," he told reporters gathered in the Oval Office. "Harvard is treating our country with great disrespect, and all they're doing is getting in deeper and deeper and deeper."

When combined with other administration attempts – freezing more than $3bn in research grants and suspending foreign students from enrolling in Harvard – Trump's directives represent a frontal attack on one of America's most prestigious, and wealthy, institutions of higher education.

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