It Looks Like Trump’s White House Lied to NYT About Harvard Deal

A new report from Harvard’s student newspaper suggests that Trump administration officials planted a lie in The New York Times about the university capitulating to the president.

The Times reported last Monday that Harvard has “signaled a willingness” to shell out up to $500 million to settle with the Trump administration, which accuses the university of being “run” by “antisemitism and DEI.” The story, based on “four people familiar with the negotiations,” seemingly detailed a prominent domino falling as Ivy League universities and other institutions increasingly submit to the president’s shakedowns.

But reporting by The Harvard Crimson cuts against the Times’ story and even suggests that it may have been based on misinformation propagated by Trump’s team.

Citing anonymous Harvard faculty members, the Crimson reported Sunday that President Alan Garber told others that it’s “false” that the university is considering a $500 million settlement, and a deal “is not imminent.” In fact, per the Crimson, the university is actively considering fighting the matter out in court rather than settling. The president also reportedly told a faculty member that the rumor about a hefty potential payment was leaked to the media by the Trump administration. (The Crimson notes that a Harvard spokesperson declined to provide comment but, after the story was published, “disputed the characterization of Garber’s remarks.”)

The Trump White House lying about its battle with Harvard to give a false impression of victory would certainly track with its strategy elsewhere; take, for example, its misleading braggadocio on tariffs and trade deals. It also underscores yet again how the claims of Trump officials warrant extreme suspicion.

This story has been updated.

Please, won’t somebody think of the billionaires?

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren defended mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers in order to make the city more affordable for working people during a CNBC interview Monday.

Journalist David Faber repeated a common talking point about wealthy New Yorkers and businesses being “chased out” of the city if they were to be taxed at a higher rate, and Warren was having none of it.

“The issue is affordability. Do you know how many working families are chased out of New York City every day?” she asked, resolute. “What Zohran is saying is, ‘I want people to be able to afford to live in New York City, that’s what keeps it a vibrant city.’”

Faber interjected: “Nobody disagrees with that, Senator, but raising taxes in order to do it?”

Voice dripping with faux-earnestness, Warren responded, “Oh my goodness! Oh dear! Are you worried that billionaires are going to go hungry?”

Mamdani’s affordability-centric message proved to be a winning one, landing him the New York City Democratic mayoral nomination by 12 points in ranked-choice voting, a margin that shocked the media ecosystem and Democratic establishment. Disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo had been seen as a shoo-in for the nomination, with most polls predicting his win up until the primary. But Mamdani’s simple, progressive goals, grassroots strategy, and infectious energy won the day.

The young assemblymember’s proposed tax hike of 2 percent for the top 1 percent of New Yorkers has sparked hysteria among some in the business community, and much has been written about the potential mass exodus of millionaires and billionaires in search of lower taxes.

But this billionaire bogeyman isn’t backed by convincing evidence, “according to copious research on taxes and their impact on migration,” reported USA Today. A 2023 study by the nonpartisan Fiscal Policy Institute found “no evidence of significant tax-motivated migration” from New York state after previous tax increases.

Meanwhile, one in four New Yorkers can’t afford essentials such as housing and food, according to a report from Columbia University and an anti-poverty nonprofit.

Our thin-skinned president went on yet another anti–Elizabeth Warren rant after the progressive Massachusetts senator offered some scathing critiques of his economic performance Monday morning on CNBC.

“Remember: Donald Trump ran for office saying he would lower costs on day one. Costs of groceries are up, cost of housing is up, cost of health care is up. He’s passing a signature bill to throw people off their health care so he can do tax cuts for billionaires,” Warren said, referring to Trump’s “big beautiful bill.” “Democrats are the people who say ‘billionaires actually should pay their fair share,’ and that we need to focus on affordability for American families. And that’s what we’re fighting for.”

Trump, who often keeps an eye on cable news, responded almost immediately on Truth Social.

“In just 6 months, I cut costs, especially Energy and Taxes, Tremendously. Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren, on CNBC, said costs have gone up,” Trump wrote, referring to Warren’s controversial past comments referring to herself as Native American. “She is just angry that I blew up her terrible Presidential Campaign. Call her out!!!

“Elizabeth Warren is a LOSER! She lies about everything, including the fact that she is an Indian. She’s NOT. She’s no Pocahontas!!!” he continued, before adding in another post, “Ask Pocahontas the real questions, CNBC!!!”

It’s clear that Warren struck a nerve, as the president is particularly sensitive to any negative talk about the economy at the moment. On Friday, Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer for simply reporting that his job numbers were poor.

Warren used the rest of her CNBC hit to defend New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani and his plans to raise taxes on billionaires, which she elaborated on in an article for Rolling Stone on Monday.

The president is stoking conspiracies in the wake of last week’s jobs report, apparently still writhing around in an attempt to find a beneficial angle on the abysmal economic figures.

“Last week’s Job’s Report was RIGGED, just like the numbers prior to the Presidential Election were Rigged,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “That’s why, in both cases, there was massive, record setting revisions, in favor of the Radical Left Democrats.

“Those big adjustments were made to cover up, and level out, the FAKE political numbers that were CONCOCTED in order to make a great Republican Success look less stellar!!!” the president added. “I will pick an exceptional replacement. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAGA!”

Trump abruptly fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday after the release of the report, claiming that the Biden-era appointee’s work analyzing the granular data of America’s economy was “faked” and could not be trusted.

At the core of Trump’s gripe with the July report was its revision of figures from the preceding months, which moved the three-month growth average to 35,000, a lag that hasn’t emerged since 2010 and that makes his first six months in office—and his controversial tariff overhaul—look particularly bad. The report’s downsizing also suggested that while some sectors, such as health care and social assistance, gained jobs, the vast majority of the market lost employment.

America’s most prominent economists suggested that the weak jobs report could be the first major indicator that a recession is on the horizon.

Trump’s favor toward the people producing the jobs report has been anything but consistent, apparently entirely dependent on whether the bureau helps him look good and feel good about his administration. In March, when the BLS released a better-than-expected report, Trump elevated and praised the department, claiming that the “great job numbers” were evidence that his trade policies were “already working.” But mere months later, Trump and his top allies are now insisting that the data is phony and can’t be trusted.

The president of the United States of America on Monday weighed in on the viral American Eagle advertisement featuring Sydney Sweeney. In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump expounded on Sweeney’s reported Republican Party membership, “woke” advertisements, and, bizarrely, his vehement dislike of pop star Taylor Swift.

“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying of [sic] the shelves.’ Go get ’em Sydney!” Trump wrote.

The day prior, the president had been informed that Sweeney is reportedly a card-carrying Republican. Then and there, he grew fond of her recent ad campaign. “If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic,” Trump said.

Last week, several Republican officials, including Vice President JD Vance, also commented on the recent ad campaign, which caused a stir as some netizens claimed the slogan “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” has eugenic undertones. Vance falsely conflated these random social media users with Democratic officials, suggesting that the party’s “actual strategy” is telling “everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi.”

Trump’s Monday Truth Social post went on to compare American Eagle’s advertising campaign with what he called a “disgraceful” ad from British car manufacturer Jaguar, which he said fell flat because it was “WOKE.” Trump also mentioned conservative backlash against Bud Light in 2023 for the beer band’s promotion with a transgender TikTok personality.

Trump then pivoted to attacking “Woke singer Taylor Swift.”

“Ever since I alerted the world as to what she was by saying on TRUTH that I can’t stand her (HATE!). She was booed out of the Super Bowl and became, NO LONGER HOT.”

Trump has a perennial fascination with Swift and her “hotness” or lack thereof. In a May post, he asked, “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer HOT?’” That post was referencing an all-caps, September 2024 post, which stated, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

Trump’s post concluded that conservatives enjoy increased influence over American culture: “The tide has seriously turned—Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be.”

Notably, this all-important communiqué from the commander in chief was actually a revised version of a post he shared, then deleted, earlier Monday morning. In the first version, the president had misspelled Sweeney’s first name, twice, as “Sidney.”