Trump Chides Harvard Over Plans for Online Courses: Taking ‘Easy Way Out… Ought to Be Ashamed’

Colleges and universities have started announcing plans for online courses in the upcoming academic year in response to continued concern about the coronavirus, including Harvard University.

As the Boston Herald reported this week, “Harvard University is allowing some students to live on campus this fall amid the coronavirus, but all classes will be taught online.” Harvard said in its statement that “students will learn remotely, whether or not they live on campus” and that tuition will remain as announced.

During a White House event Tuesday about reopening schools, President Donald Trump took a moment to chide Harvard for, as he put it, taking “the easy way out.”

“I see where Harvard announced that they’re closing for the season or for the year,” Trump said. “I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s an easy way out. And I think they ought to be ashamed of themselves, if you want to know the truth.”

“Probably others are doing that, that’s called the easy way out,” he added. “I don’t know if people are helping them — I guess their endowment’s plenty big. They don’t have any problem with that, but that’s not what we want to do.”