'Want those names & countries...': Trump fires salvo at Harvard, says 31% of university students are foreign

Hours after a federal judge halted his administration’s attempt to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students, former president Donald Trump doubled down. In a fiery post on Truth Social, Trump claimed nearly a third of Harvard’s students are foreigners — some from countries “not at all friendly” to the US — and accused the university of withholding key data despite receiving billions in federal funding.

A judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration's plan to strip Harvard University of its ability to enrol foreign students. The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by Harvard — marking a new flashpoint in its ongoing clash with Trump’s administration.

In a May 25 post, Trump wrote, “Why isn’t Harvard saying that almost 31% of their students are from FOREIGN LANDS, and yet those countries, some not at all friendly to the United States, pay NOTHING toward their student’s education, nor do they ever intend to. Nobody told us that! We want to know who those foreign students are, a reasonable request since we give Harvard BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but Harvard isn’t exactly forthcoming. We want those names and countries. Harvard has $52,000,000, use it, and stop asking for the Federal Government to continue GRANTING money to you!”

Just days earlier, on May 22, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had revoked Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, set to take effect in the 2025-2026 academic year. She accused the institution of “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party.”

The order would force over 6,000 international students at Harvard to transfer or risk losing their legal status, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The administration claims Harvard failed to address antisemitism on campus and has demanded sweeping changes — from dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs to cracking down on student protests and disclosing admissions data.

Earlier, the administration slashed $450 million in grants to the university, following a $2.2 billion federal funding cut in April that triggered Harvard’s initial legal action.