Trump tells Alabama grads they ‘will write the future’ one night before hitting Harvard where it hurts

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May 2, 2025

President Donald Trump told University of Alabama graduates Thursday night that they — not Ivy League elites — would define the future of America.

Less than 24 hours later, he followed up that message with his administration moving to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status.

“Graduates of the Alabama of 2025, standing here before you in this magnificent arena is clear to see the next chapter of the American story will not be written by the Harvard Crimson. It will be written by you the Crimson Tide,” Trump said. “That’s true. That’s true.”

The president then briefly mentioned the ongoing dispute between his administration and Harvard University.

“I thought that was rather clever,” he quipped. “If you look at what’s going on, you know, they get their $5 billion a year that is not going to be so forthcoming…Wasn’t that a clever one, though? Who would think of that? Because this is Alabama, and in Alabama, you fight, fight, fight, and you win, win, win. That’s what you know how to do. Congratulations to you all. Congratulations to this great class of champions.”

By Friday morning, the Trump administration made it official—announcing plans to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status over its DEI programs and failure to adequately address antisemitism on campus.

The Trump administration has already paused some funding to Harvard over the schools refusal to abolish some of their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, as well as not doing enough to confront anti-semitism of their campus.

Trump also took time during the speech to praise the University of Alabama’s winning spirit.

“I wanted to do this for the University of Alabama,” he said. “Good isn’t good enough. Tough isn’t tough enough, and great isn’t great enough. The Crimson Tide does not rest, does not quit and does not stop winning until it’s all time. You know, it’s all time, you’re always winning and you’re going to keep winning. That’s why the University of Alabama football team has won more games in the decade than any college football team in America.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

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