Heritage Foundation president tells Megyn Kelly how Harvard uses ‘public’s money against us’

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts told SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly on Tuesday that Harvard University has used public funds to push “DEI nonsense,” and he also called the school an “icon” of the “radical left.”

President Donald Trump announced Friday that the Ivy League school will lose its tax-exempt status, following his warning that the university failed to meet his administration’s demands to crack down on antisemitism and eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. On “The Megyn Kelly Show,” the SiriusXM host pointed to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s announcement that Harvard would no longer be eligible for new grants, asking Roberts for his reaction, given his background as a former college president.

“Well, first of all, let me start with that letter from Secretary McMahon, who, by the way, like every other cabinet secretary, is doing such a great job. It was hot fire,” Roberts said. “It’s so righteous on behalf of common sense toward an institution, Harvard, that used to be the pride and joy of this country, even for those of us who didn’t go there and never really wanted to. Instead, what Harvard has become is sort of the icon, the avatar for the radical left.”

“Having been a college president, Megyn, I will tell you that if I had been the president of Harvard and was receiving these missives from Donald Trump, I would have picked up the phone and said, ‘Mr. President, can I come meet with you for half an hour? Let’s talk about our shared goal, which is that we love this country,’” Roberts added. “We want to educate students. When we receive public money, we want to really treasure it and actually further science, further study, further American values.’ But he could not do that because Harvard doesn’t believe in those things.”

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In a letter sent to Harvard on Monday, McMahon accused the university of a “systemic pattern of violating federal law,” saying it is no longer eligible for future federal funding. She added that the school has “failed to abide” by the U.S. Supreme Court’s order to “end its racial preferencing” and continues to “engage in ugly racism in its undergraduate and graduate school.”

Roberts said he supports the administration’s pushback against universities like Harvard, saying the school’s academic standards are declining as it prioritizes progressive social issues.

“So the gig is up. Those of us, whether like me, an educator, or you, a very smart observer in journalism and news, understand that the Ivy Leagues and most four-year universities in this country have been using the public’s money against us by implementing all this DEI nonsense,” Roberts said.

“To say nothing of the very steady decline in educational attainment we’ve seen with four-year and six-year graduation rates,” Roberts said. “So of all the things I’m excited about that this administration has done in its first few months, it is this effort on education broadly, but on Harvard in particular, that I would put at the top of my list.”

In April, Harvard sued the Trump administration, claiming it was using the withholding of federal funding as “leverage to gain control over academic decision-making” at the Ivy League. Harvard said it would not allow itself to be “taken over by the federal government.”

The Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said on April 14 it would revoke $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in contract value from the university.

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