'I applied there, and didn’t get in': Journalist reveals why Trump is ‘beating up’ Harvard, US president responds

US President Donald Trump has responded angrily to claims by journalist and author Michael Wolff, who suggested Trump’s recent attacks on Harvard stem from a personal grudge over not being accepted to the Ivy League university.

In an episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, Wolff said, “He didn’t get into Harvard,” and implied that Trump’s aggressive stance against the university may be linked to that. “He needs an enemy. That’s what makes the show great. The Trump show. He picks fantastic enemies, actually. And Harvard, for all it represents, fits right into the Trump show,” Wolff added.

Trump slams Wolff and denies ever applying

Trump reacted furiously to the claim on his social media platform, Truth Social, dismissing Wolff as a “Third Rate Reporter.”

“Michael Wolff, a Third Rate Reporter, who is laughed at even by the scoundrels of the Fake News, recently stated that the only reason I’m ‘beating up’ on Harvard, is because I applied there, and didn’t get in,” Trump posted on Monday.

“That story is totally FALSE, I never applied to Harvard,” he continued. “I graduated from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania. He is upset because his book about me was a total ‘BOMB.’ Nobody wanted it, because his ‘reporting’ and reputation is so bad!” Trump added.

Trump’s time in university again under scrutiny

Trump has frequently highlighted his degree from Wharton, calling it one of the most difficult schools to get into. He has claimed he graduated at the top of his class, although there is no official confirmation of that.

He began his higher education at Fordham University in 1964 before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, graduating in 1968 with a degree in economics.

But his academic history has faced criticism and scrutiny over the years. His late sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, is said to have told her niece, Mary Trump, that she once drove him around New York to help him get into college and that someone else had taken his entrance exams for him. That claim was later denied by the widow of the man reportedly involved.

A 2019 Washington Post report said Trump’s father and brother also helped secure his place at the University of Pennsylvania through a personal connection.

Trump’s Harvard crackdown intensifies

Trump has recently escalated his criticism of Harvard, freezing its federal funding, challenging its tax-exempt status, and even trying to limit its ability to admit international students.

He has accused the university of “liberal bias” and antisemitism, using those arguments to justify his tough stance.

When asked whether the president had ever applied to Harvard, a White House spokesperson told USA Today that Trump “didn’t need to apply to an overrated, corrupt institution like Harvard to become a successful businessman and the most transformative President in history.”