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{shortcode-429a20a43b31c14ee603587b9f7215faac9b0e1d}ormer United States President Joe Biden celebrated Harvard’s decision to defy demands from the Trump administration at a private Institute of Politics seminar with senior advisor Mike Donilon on Wednesday afternoon.
The discussion with the Democratic Party’s de facto leader, planned weeks in advance of the University’s funding showdown, comes as Harvard’s confrontation with President Donald Trump escalates. After rebuffing Trump’s demands, Harvard is now facing possible revocation of its tax-exempt status on top of a $2.2 billion funding freeze — with layoffs expected and stop-work orders rolling in.
“Harvard stepped up in a way no one else has,” Biden said, according to two students who attended the off-the-record event. “You should be really thankful.”
When asked by a Crimson reporter after the event if Harvard should pursue legal action, Biden doubled down on his defense of the University — but refused to comment on whether Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 should take the White House to court.
“I think Harvard should just do what it’s doing — lifting everybody up,” Biden said after the event.
A Harvard Kennedy School spokesperson declined to comment on Biden’s remarks. A spokesperson for Biden also declined to comment.
Since leaving office in January, the former president has largely disappeared from public life. He made his first public remarks just one day before visiting Harvard at a Chicago conference of disability advocates on Tuesday.
Biden appeared at HKS at the invitation of Donilon, a spring resident fellow at the IOP. Biden did not meet with Garber during his brief Harvard visit, according to Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton.
Instead, Biden arrived at HKS shortly before 3 p.m. for a photo op with the IOP Student Advisory Committee before proceeding to the private discussion with Donilon and roughly 50 students, open only to invited IOP members and selected HKS students.
His appearance was marked by gaffes of the sort that became political lightning rods during the 2024 presidential race, including mistakenly referring to Ukraine as Iraq while discussing Russia’s invasion before Donilon corrected him.
And when Biden bit into an ice cream bar after the talk, the partially melted dessert fell to the floor.
The appearance was not publicized on the IOP website, and invited HKS students were not told who Donilon’s guest was ahead of time. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 and former Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III also attended the event, but neither gave extensive remarks.
Biden’s Wednesday comments — his first reported backing for Harvard after Garber’s statement on Monday — add to an outpouring of support from Democratic leadership.
Former United States President Barack Obama praised the University in a post on X, saying Harvard “set an example for other higher-ed institutions.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey ’92 have also publicly backed Harvard.
But support from powerful political figures has fallen squarely along political lines, and Republican retaliation from government agencies has been swift.
The Internal Revenue Service is making plans to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status, and the Department of Homeland Security threatened the University’s ability to enroll international students in a request for information Wednesday night, demanding international students disciplinary records and information about their participation in protests.
While Biden addressed the invited students, roughly a dozen protesters condemned Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza at a demonstration organized by Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine.
Protesters chanted “Biden, Biden, you can’t hide. You’re committing genocide” and attempted to disrupt the event by chanting, ringing bells, and hammering drums.
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“We are here to protest the arrival of yet another genocidaire onto our campus, particularly the president, who gave billions and billions of dollars of support to Israel,” Olivia G. Pasquerella ’26, a Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee group organizer, said.
“Harvard needs to stop inviting genocidaires to speak on campus,” Pasquerella added.
One event attendee said the protest was faint and indistinguishable inside the classroom, but still audible.
Inside, Biden also issued sweeping criticisms of the current White House, saying that the erosion of democratic institutions was threatening domestic and international stability.
“If America doesn’t lead the world, who does?” Biden said. “Someone has to stand up and unite the world.”
“We need you. Not hyperbole,” the former president said.
—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at elise.spenner@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @EliseSpenner.
—Staff writer Tanya J. Vidhun can be reached at tanya.vidhun@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tanyavidhun.
