Trump slams 'third-rate reporter' Michael Wolff for saying he's targeting Harvard because he was rejected

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump slammed journalist Michael Wolff after he claimed that the 78-year-old hated Harvard because he "didn't get into" the Ivy League school. 

Wolff told The Daily Beast on May 30, "It’s important not to lend too much calculation and planning to anything he does. But the other thing is that, by the way, he didn’t get into Harvard. So one of the Trump things is always holding a grudge against the Ivy Leagues."

Donald Trump calls Michael Wolff's claims about his dislike for Harvard 'totally false'

Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Monday, June 2, to continue his long-running feud with Michael Wolff and refute the assertions.

The POTUS wrote, "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. That story is totally FALSE, I never applied to Harvard."

"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, possibly referring to Wolff's new book, 'All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America'. 

Moreover, the White House, which earlier called Wolff a "lying sack of s***," also trashed the claims.

According to the Daily Mail, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said, "The Daily Beast and Michael Wolff have lots in common — they both peddle fake news for clickbait in a hopeless attempt to amount to something more than lying losers."

"The president didn't need to apply to an overrated, corrupt institution like Harvard to become a successful businessman and the most transformative President in history," Rogers added.

Michael Wolff previously insinuated Barron Trump was rejected by Harvard

Interestingly, Michael Wolff earlier shared the rumor that Donald Trump had set his sights on destroying Harvard because his 19-year-old son Barron Trump was rejected by the school.

Around three weeks ago, Wolff took to Instagram and shared the "joke going around the White House this week."

He asked, "What do all the universities Trump is targeting have in common? Barron didn't get into them."

Barron is a freshman at New York University's Stern Business School, and the president has repeatedly said his son was accepted to several colleges but had his heart set on NYU, per the outlet.

However, Wolff did acknowledge that he wasn't sure if the rumor was true. 

He said, "I don't know if there is any truth to this, there very well might be, but within the White House, that is the joke. Because they're like, 'What is he doing?' This is, you know, this is crazy stuff."

"'Why would this be happening?' And then they tell the Barron joke," Wolff added.

First lady Melania Trump recently broke silence on the matter and said via her spokesperson that her son Barron “did not apply to Harvard, and any assertion that he, or that anyone on his behalf, applied is completely false.”⁠

In May, Trump announced that his administration would revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status while escalating his earlier threats against the Ivy League school, and expanding an ongoing legal battle, according to CNBC.

He wrote on Truth Social on May 2, "We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!"

Moreover, the POTUS has been campaigning against Harvard and other elite schools based on claims that they have fostered antisemitism and other forms of discrimination on their campuses.