Claudine Gay, Harvard’s former president, breaks silence over Trump-Harvard battle
Since stepping down as Harvard University's president in January 2024 , Claudine Gay has kept a low public profile. That changed this month when she publicly criticized the university, describing its current approach as one of "compliance."
She made these comments during a Q&A on Sept. 3, 2025, as part of an address she made at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study.
"This is distressing, not only for those of us who are on campus and facing the consequences directly, but also for all of those in higher ed who look to Harvard for leadership and guidance," Gay said.
Her comments were made around the time a federal judge sided with Harvard , restoring nearly $3 billion in federal funding to the university. Since then, the federal government has begun reinstating some of the funding . The fight between Harvard and the Trump administration has been ongoing since February.
While a potential $500 million deal has been in discussion, Gay emphasized her distrust in making a deal with the Trump administration during the Q&A.
"The number of $500 million is arbitrary, and it will solve nothing," Gay said. "There is no justification."
Gay made history as Harvard University's first Black and second female president — but also for the shortest tenure in the position.
She resigned after she and the presidents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania faced calls for their resignations following a Congressional hearing about on-campus antisemitism.
During the hearing, Gay equivocated over a question about whether students would be disciplined if they used language, such as "intifada" or "from the river to the sea", because they are antisemitic. Gay had said that it would depend on the context. She later apologized for how she handled her congressional testimony.
While she was president, she was also accused of plagiarizing earlier in her academic career.
During her Sept. 3 speech, Gay spoke of how donor power threatens university independence.
When Gay was president, several donors pulled their support from Harvard because of the university's response to the war in Gaza. At the time, one such donor was the Wexner Foundation, which withdrew $2 million in support .
She said, during her speech, that universities have fallen victim to catering to donors.
"The boundaries that had once protected institutional autonomy eroded as universities convinced themselves that the alternative — saying no— was simply too expensive," Gay said during her speech.
Universities now need to restore university independence and "find the courage to change," she said.
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