Trump Slams Harvard, Penn And MIT In Latest Campaign Promise: 'They Will Pay Us Billions And Billions Of Dollars For The Terror They Have Unleashed'

On Saturday, former President Donald Trump announced a controversial campaign pledge during a rally in Durham, N.H.

What Happened: Trump said he intends to eliminate tax breaks for universities he considers leaning toward the left. 

Speaking to supporters in New Hampshire, Trump expressed his determination to withdraw tax breaks from colleges that he accused of discriminating against conservative, Christian and Jewish viewpoints, as well as those he believes are suppressing free speech.

His campaign promise comes amid recent antisemitism-related controversies involving the heads of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania, reported Bloomberg.

Earlier this month, the presidents of the three institutions testified before Congress following a number of campus incidents related to the Israel-Hamas war. Donors distanced themselves from the schools after Penn's Liz Magill (who resigned on Dec. 9), Harvard's Claudine Gay and MIT's Sally Kornbluth refrained from providing explicit condemnations when questioned about whether advocating for the genocide of Jews breached school policy.

"They will pay us billions and billions of dollars for the terror they have unleashed into our once great country," Trump said. 

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If Trump were to follow through with his promise of ending tax exemptions, his move could lead to a significant financial impact on universities at the center of his ire and would ignite debates over academic freedom and political influence in education.

As the presidential race intensifies, the former president's education policies will likely remain a hot topic.

The New Hampshire primary is scheduled for Jan. 23, just eight days following the Iowa caucuses.

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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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