In Escalating Trump’s War with Harvard, Education Secretary Linda McMahon Comes Off as Plain Stupid

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In Escalating Trump's War with Harvard, Education Secretary Linda McMahon Comes Off as Plain Stupid

Meet the muscle end of the business, folks.

www.esquire.com

In Escalating Trump’s War with Harvard, Education Secretary Linda McMahon Comes Off as Plain Stupid​

Meet the muscle end of the business, folks.

By Charles P. PiercePublished: May 07, 2025 10:37 AM EDT

Andrew Harnik//Getty Images

As was said during the last time around, so it must be said today. “Nothing but the best people” never will not be funny. From The Harvard Crimson:

The United States government will no longer award grants to Harvard, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced in a letter to University President Alan M. Garber ’76 on Monday. McMahon announced the move—a drastic escalation in an already intense standoff between Harvard and the White House—in a letter she posted to X early Monday evening.

In the three-page letter, McMahon alleged that Harvard had “engaged in a systemic pattern of violating federal law”—citing a flurry of decisions and Harvard affiliates who she accused of refusing to meaningfully address campus issues. She accused the University of flouting the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision overturning its use of race-based affirmative action in admissions. McMahon’s letter read as a laundry list of Harvard scandals—and right-wing grievances. She cited a new introductory math course, deriding it as “an embarrassing ‘remedial math’ program”; former University President Claudine Gay’s resignation amid plagiarism allegations; and accusations that the Harvard Law Review discriminated against white authors. “In every way, Harvard has failed to abide by its legal obligations, its ethical and fiduciary duties, its transparency responsibilities, and any semblance of academic rigor,” she wrote.

That we have a secretary of education whose only experience in education is teaching preadolescent boys to jump on each other’s heads, and that she now is the willing vehicle for a half-mad walking Newsmax talking point, are for the moment unsolvable problems. But I would call your attention to the letter itself. It is proof either that the secretary of education didn’t get anywhere near enough education or that she hired on some Artificial Intelligence that was Genuine Stupid.

“Receiving such taxpayer funds is a privilege, not a right. Yet instead of using these funds to advance the education of its students, Harvard is engaging in a systemic pattern of violating federal law. Where do many of these ‘students’ come from, who are they, how do they get into Harvard, or even into our country—and why is there so much HATE? These are questions that must be answered, among many more, but the biggest question of all is, why will Harvard not give straightforward answers to the American public?”

Next on Hannity!

“Harvard University has made a mockery of this country’s higher education system. It has invited foreign students, who engage in violent behavior and show contempt for the United States of America, to its campus. In every way, Harvard has failed to abide by its legal obligations, its ethical and fiduciary duties, its transparency responsibilities, and any semblance of academic rigor. It had scrapped standardized testing requirements and a normalized grading system. This year Harvard was forced to adopt an embarrassing ‘remedial math’ program for undergraduates. Why is it, we ask, that Harvard has to teach simple and basic mathematics, when it is supposedly so hard to get into this ‘acclaimed university’? Who is getting in under such a low standard when others, with fabulous grades and a great understanding of the highest levels of mathematics, are being rejected?

“The above concerns are only a fraction of the long list of Harvard’s consistent violations of its own legal duties. Given these and other concerning allegations, this letter is to inform you that Harvard should no longer seek GRANTS from the federal government, since none will be provided,” McMahon later wrote. “Harvard will cease to be a publicly funded institution and can instead operate as a privately-funded institution, drawing on its colossal endowment, and raising money from its large base of wealthy alumni.

“You have an approximately $53 billion head start, much of which was made possible by the fact that you are living within the walls of, and benefiting from, the prosperity secured by the United States of America and its free-market system you teach your students to despise.”

I know some former residents and business owners from certain areas of Cambridge and Allston—as well as some residents of far off California—who would testify that Harvard is quite fond of using the American free-market system as regards real estate acquisition, but that’s not the point, anyway. This is what a functionary of a shakedown crew masquerading as a presidential administration does. She’s the muscle end of the business. Maybe the next step is that she hits someone with a chair.

 

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Spoiler: full text & large images

1/11
@DougWahl1
HARVARD WON THIS ROUND!

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote a letter to Harvard. The university responded by marking up the letter for spelling and punctuation mistakes- and then shared it on social media.

Your thoughts?

2/11
@Maranakure
@grok is this real?



3/11
@grok
The letter from U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to Harvard, announcing a freeze on new federal grants, is real and reported by credible sources like The Harvard Crimson and The Washington Post. However, the claim that Harvard marked up the letter for spelling and punctuation errors and shared it on social media is not supported by any reliable evidence. No major news outlets or Harvard's official channels confirm this response, suggesting it is likely false or exaggerated.



4/11
@Bubblebathgirl
Nobody cares. Harvard is getting defunded. Let’s hope they shut down next.



5/11
@Roota_2DaToota




6/11
@ZoomOutBy
The basic grammatical errors and spelling errors in Linda McMahon's letter to Harvard University were extremely strange given her background (native English speaker, top student in liberal arts, senior official in the Ministry of Education) and the support of her team (professional homework, software support, and multiple proofreaders), and it is difficult to attribute them to negligence. Harvard did not respond to the content of the letter (criticism of management and values), but only marked grammatical errors in the form of "red pen comments" and posted it on social media, successfully diverting public attention from Harvard's problems, which seemed unusual. I suspect that this may be a case of collusion between Harvard (with its deep pockets) and Linda McMahon and her team, but I think this possibility is higher than negligence.



7/11
@dylN0chill
At least we know it’s not AI



8/11
@cesmithjr
This is less of a flex than many understand.



9/11
@ContemplatoX
Bogus.
hate



10/11
@Pop_Collapse
Of course Jasmine Crockett would share such a silly fake news story



11/11
@AaronRDay





To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196

 

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linda mcmahon is woefully unqualified to be secretary of education kinda like the rest of trump's cabinet.

 

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A Masai leader in the depths of the village knows who Ruby Bridges is

Spoiler: text

Posted on Fri Jun 6 02:06:54 2025 UTC

https://i.redd.it/vi1e89h5t75f1.jpeg

Spoiler: full text & large images

1/1
@jg_major
Ruby Bridges' experience is literally why something like the Dept of Education was created. So to lead the agency that enforces civil rights via education and not know who that is by itself is an indictment on her incompetence.

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The US Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, seemingly does not know about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre or Ruby Bridges:

“I will look into it and get back to you.”


https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1930299848437202945/vid/avc1/1280x720/xl2cbZIw6Wl7xW8s.mp4


To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196