Trump says he wants foreign students who don't 'cause trouble,' slams Harvard for being 'a big shot'

Full press conference: President Trump gives Elon Musk a 'very special' gift as he departs DOGE

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk reflect on the growth of DOGE as Musk departs from his position in the department in wide-ranging press conference

President Donald Trump during a news conference in the Oval Office on Friday said he is in favor of allowing international students on U.S. college campuses, clarifying he is against welcoming students who are "causing trouble."

Singling out Harvard University, which has come under fire in both public opinion and the courts, Trump noted nearly 30% of its students are foreign.

"Our country has given $5 billion plus to Harvard over a short period of time," he said. "Nobody knew that. We found that out. I wouldn't say that was a [Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)] thing, but we found that out over a period of time, that was sort of a Trump thing."

Demonstrators gather on Cambridge Common to protest Harvard's stance on the war in Gaza and show support for the Palestinian people, outside Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 25, 2025.  (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

During ongoing litigation, which the president attributed to the university being "very anti-semitic," he said the administration found out that the government gave them more than $5 billion in funding.

"We're having it out with them, and let's see what happens," Trump said. "I think we have a very good, well, it's a very sad case. It's a case we win. We can't lose that case because we have the right to make grants. We're not going to make any grants like that."

He went on to say Harvard has not "been acting very nicely," and said other institutions like Columbia University in New York City "wants to get to the bottom of the problem." 

Israeli and American flags planted as part of a memorial display in honor of Oct. 7 victims were vandalized on the Harvard University campus. (Young America's Foundation)

"They've acted very well, and there are other institutions, too, that are acting, but Harvard's trying to be a big shot," Trump said. "And all that happens is every three days, we find another $100 million that was given."

Two days ago, the president said his administration had found an additional $200 million in grants given to Harvard.

"The money's given to them like gravy," he said.

Cambridge, MA - May 10: Harvard faculty and staff hold signs from inside Harvard Yard during a press conference by faculty supporters of the Harvard Out of Palestine coalition outside Harvard Yard.  (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Offering an alternative, Trump said he would like to see the money go toward creating the world's best trade school system.

"I'd like to see the money go to trade schools where people learn how to fix motors and engines, where people learn how to build rocket ships," he said. "Because, you know, somebody has to build those rocket ships."

"Yep," Elon Musk, who departed DOGE on Friday, chimed in from the side of Trump's desk.

"I'd like to see trade schools set up, because you could take $5 billion plus hundreds of billions more, which is what's spent, and you could have the greatest trade school system anywhere in the world, and that's what we need to build his rockets and robots and things that he's doing, and to build lots of other things."

He added he went to school with peers who could "fix the engine of a car better than anybody I've ever seen" and "take it apart blindfolded."

"They had an ability at that, and they did very well," Trump said. "They made a lot of money. You know, it's a very skilled job. … I'd like to see a lot of money going into trade schools. I've always felt that, and we probably found our pot of gold, and that's what's been wasted at places like Harvard."

Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.