Harvard president Alan Garber's snarky shot at Trump gets standing ovation at graduation ceremony

Alan Garber’s address came as a federal judge blocked the Donald Trump administration from barring foreign students' admission at Harvard University
PUBLISHED JUN 1, 2025
Harvard president Alan Garber used his commencement ceremony address to take a thinly veiled jab at President Donald Trump amid the university's ongoing tensions with the federal government (@EdKrassen/X and Getty Images)
Harvard president Alan Garber used his commencement ceremony address to take a thinly veiled jab at President Donald Trump amid the university's ongoing tensions with the federal government (@EdKrassen/X and Getty Images)

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS: Harvard University’s president used his commencement ceremony address to take a thinly veiled jab at President Donald Trump amid the ongoing tension.

The commencement ceremony for the graduating Class of 2025 featured remarks from renowned students, illustrious keynote speakers, and faculty heads, all of whom addressed the conflicts between the university and the Trump administration.

President Alan Garber, however, received a notable 30-second standing ovation after he took a dig at the Trump administration's attempts to kick out all of the university's foreign students.



 

Harvard President Alan Garber’s dig at Donald Trump

Alan Garber began his commencement address by welcoming the 9,000 or so graduates at the historic Tercentenary Theatre in Harvard Yard on Thursday, May 29.

"To the class of 2025, from down the street, across the country, and around the world," he began, pausing for applause before repeating himself for emphasis. "Around the world, just as it should be."

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 29: Harvard President Alan Garber holds his hand to his heart in gratitude as he receives a standing ovation from the crowd gathered for commencement in Harvard Yard on May 29, 2025, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The joyous occasion unfolds amid escalating tensions between Harvard and the Trump administration, which has ordered the cancellation of federal contracts valued at approximately $100 million. (Photo by Libby O'Neill/Getty Images)
Harvard President Alan Garber holds his hand to his heart in gratitude as he receives a standing ovation from the crowd gathered for commencement in Harvard Yard on May 29, 2025, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The joyous occasion unfolds amid escalating tensions between Harvard and the Trump administration, which has ordered the cancellation of federal contracts valued at approximately $100 million (Libby O'Neill/Getty Images)

The moment Garber delivered the remark, the audience of 30,000 rose in a standing ovation that lasted more than 30 seconds, according to the Daily Beast.

Garber’s words were a direct attack on the Trump administration, which revoked Harvard's certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP), halting its ability to enroll new foreign students.

Keynote speaker Dr Abraham Verghese, a popular novelist and Stanford Medical School professor, also hailed Harvard and its students for "courageously defending the essential values of this university, and indeed of this nation."

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 29: Harvard President Alan Garber walks the Tercentenary Theatre processional through Harvard Yard on May 28, 2025 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The joyous occasion unfolds amid escalating tensions between Harvard and the Trump administration, which has ordered the cancellation of federal contracts valued at approximately $100 million. (Photo by Libby O'Neill/Getty Images)
Harvard President Alan Garber walks the Tercentenary Theatre processional through Harvard Yard on May 28, 2025, in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Libby O'Neill/Getty Images)

“No recent events can diminish what each of you have accomplished here,” he told the graduates at the ceremony, according to the People.

Judge blocks Donald Trump admin from barring foreign students at Harvard

Alan Garber’s address came as a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from barring foreign students' admission at Harvard.

On Wednesday, the US Department of Homeland Security issued a notice of intent to withdraw Harvard's certification under a federal program that allows non-US students to enroll.

In response, Harvard filed a lawsuit, alleging that the administration's decision to bar international students was a "blatant violation" of the law and free speech rights.

U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump announced that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, one of the largest manufacturers of semiconductor chips, plans to invest $100 billion in new manufacturing facilities in the United States. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 3, 2025, in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Following the court ruling, the White House reversed its prior order, stating that Harvard would now have 30 days to contest the withdrawal through a formal administrative process.

The order to ban foreign students was Trump’s latest attack against the Ivy League university. Earlier, he threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status and freeze over $3 billion in federal funds for the university.

The 78-year-old president has accused the university of liberal bias, failing to combat antisemitism, and failing to enroll enough Americans.

White House hits back at Alan Garber’s dig 

MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 12: U.S. President Donald Trump watch the Ultimate Fighting Championship with Elon Musk at the Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025 in Miami, Florida. The Trump administration issued a rule late Friday that spared smartphones, computers, semiconductors, and other electronics from some of the tariffs they have enacted. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump watches the Ultimate Fighting Championship with Elon Musk at the Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025, in Miami, Florida (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Deputy White House Press Secretary Harrison Fields fired back at Alan Garber’s dig, saying, “The real threat to higher education comes when places like Harvard let their students’ civil rights get trampled in a spineless attempt to coddle pro-Hamas activists.”

“President Trump is standing up for every student denied an education or safe campus because left-wing universities fail to protect their civil rights,” Fields wrote in a statement to the Daily Beast.

“Colleges are hooked on federal cash, and Mr Garber’s public outbursts only fuels the push to shut off the taxpayer money propping up their institution,” the statement added.

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