Did Trump’s White House Feed Lies to New York Times Over Harvard Deal?

A new report from Harvard’s student newspaper suggests that Trump administration officials planted a lie in The New York Times about the university capitulating to the president.

The Times reported last Monday that Harvard has “signaled a willingness” to shell out up to $500 million to settle with the Trump administration, which accuses the university of being “run” by “antisemitism and DEI.” The story, based on “four people familiar with the negotiations,” seemingly detailed a prominent domino falling as Ivy League universities and other institutions increasingly submit to the president’s shakedowns.

But reporting by The Harvard Crimson cuts against the Times’ story and even suggests that it may have been based on misinformation propagated by Trump’s team.

Citing anonymous Harvard faculty members, the Crimson reported Sunday that President Alan Garber told others that it’s “false” that the university is considering a $500 million settlement, and a deal “is not imminent.” In fact, per the Crimson, the university is actively considering fighting the matter out in court rather than settling. The president also reportedly told a faculty member that the rumor about a hefty potential payment was leaked to the media by the Trump administration.

The Trump White House lying about its battle with Harvard to give a false impression of victory would certainly track with its strategy elsewhere; take, for example, its misleading braggadocio on tariffs and trade deals. It also underscores yet again how the claims of Trump officials warrant extreme suspicion.

Please, won’t somebody think of the billionaires?

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren defended mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers in order to make the city more affordable for working people during a CNBC interview Monday.

Journalist David Faber repeated a common talking point about wealthy New Yorkers and businesses being “chased out” of the city if they were to be taxed at a higher rate, and Warren was having none of it.

“The issue is affordability. Do you know how many working families are chased out of New York City every day?” she asked, resolute. “What Zohran is saying is, ‘I want people to be able to afford to live in New York City, that’s what keeps it a vibrant city.’”

Faber interjected: “Nobody disagrees with that, Senator, but raising taxes in order to do it?”

Voice dripping with faux-earnestness, Warren responded, “Oh my goodness! Oh dear! Are you worried that billionaires are going to go hungry?”

Mamdani’s affordability-centric message proved to be a winning one, landing him the New York City Democratic mayoral nomination by 12 points in ranked-choice voting, a margin that shocked the media ecosystem and Democratic establishment. Disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo had been seen as a shoo-in for the nomination, with most polls predicting his win up until the primary. But Mamdani’s simple, progressive goals, grassroots strategy, and infectious energy won the day.

The young assemblymember’s proposed tax hike of 2 percent for the top 1 percent of New Yorkers has sparked hysteria among some in the business community, and much has been written about the potential mass exodus of millionaires and billionaires in search of lower taxes.

But this billionaire bogeyman isn’t backed by convincing evidence, “according to copious research on taxes and their impact on migration,” reported USA Today. A 2023 study by the nonpartisan Fiscal Policy Institute found “no evidence of significant tax-motivated migration” from New York state after previous tax increases.

Meanwhile, one in four New Yorkers can’t afford essentials such as housing and food, according to a report from Columbia University and an anti-poverty nonprofit.

Our thin-skinned president went on yet another anti–Elizabeth Warren rant after the progressive Massachusetts senator offered some scathing critiques of his economic performance Monday morning on CNBC.

“Remember: Donald Trump ran for office saying he would lower costs on day one. Costs of groceries are up, cost of housing is up, cost of health care is up. He’s passing a signature bill to throw people off their health care so he can do tax cuts for billionaires,” Warren said, referring to Trump’s “big beautiful bill.” “Democrats are the people who say ‘billionaires actually should pay their fair share,’ and that we need to focus on affordability for American families. And that’s what we’re fighting for.”

Trump, who often keeps an eye on cable news, responded almost immediately on Truth Social.

“In just 6 months, I cut costs, especially Energy and Taxes, Tremendously. Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren, on CNBC, said costs have gone up,” Trump wrote, referring to Warren’s controversial past comments referring to herself as Native American. “She is just angry that I blew up her terrible Presidential Campaign. Call her out!!!

“Elizabeth Warren is a LOSER! She lies about everything, including the fact that she is an Indian. She’s NOT. She’s no Pocahontas!!!” he continued, before adding in another post, “Ask Pocahontas the real questions, CNBC!!!”

It’s clear that Warren struck a nerve, as the president is particularly sensitive to any negative talk about the economy at the moment. On Friday, Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer for simply reporting that his job numbers were poor.

Warren used the rest of her CNBC hit to defend New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani and his plans to raise taxes on billionaires, which she elaborated on in an article for Rolling Stone on Monday.

The president is stoking conspiracies in the wake of last week’s jobs report, apparently still writhing around in an attempt to find a beneficial angle on the abysmal economic figures.

“Last week’s Job’s Report was RIGGED, just like the numbers prior to the Presidential Election were Rigged,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “That’s why, in both cases, there was massive, record setting revisions, in favor of the Radical Left Democrats.

“Those big adjustments were made to cover up, and level out, the FAKE political numbers that were CONCOCTED in order to make a great Republican Success look less stellar!!!” the president added. “I will pick an exceptional replacement. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAGA!”

Trump abruptly fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday after the release of the report, claiming that the Biden-era appointee’s work analyzing the granular data of America’s economy was “faked” and could not be trusted.

At the core of Trump’s gripe with the July report was its revision of figures from the preceding months, which moved the three-month growth average to 35,000, a lag that hasn’t emerged since 2010 and that makes his first six months in office—and his controversial tariff overhaul—look particularly bad. The report’s downsizing also suggested that while some sectors, such as health care and social assistance, gained jobs, the vast majority of the market lost employment.

America’s most prominent economists suggested that the weak jobs report could be the first major indicator that a recession is on the horizon.

Trump’s favor toward the people producing the jobs report has been anything but consistent, apparently entirely dependent on whether the bureau helps him look good and feel good about his administration. In March, when the BLS released a better-than-expected report, Trump elevated and praised the department, claiming that the “great job numbers” were evidence that his trade policies were “already working.” But mere months later, Trump and his top allies are now insisting that the data is phony and can’t be trusted.

The president of the United States of America on Monday weighed in on the viral American Eagle advertisement featuring Sydney Sweeney. In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump expounded on Sweeney’s reported Republican Party membership, “woke” advertisements, and, bizarrely, his vehement dislike of pop star Taylor Swift.

“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying of [sic] the shelves.’ Go get ’em Sydney!” Trump wrote.

The day prior, the president had been informed that Sweeney is reportedly a card-carrying Republican. Then and there, he grew fond of her recent ad campaign. “If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic,” Trump said.

Last week, several Republican officials, including Vice President JD Vance, also commented on the recent ad campaign, which caused a stir as some netizens claimed the slogan “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” has eugenic undertones. Vance falsely conflated these random social media users with Democratic officials, suggesting that the party’s “actual strategy” is telling “everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi.”

Trump’s Monday Truth Social post went on to compare American Eagle’s advertising campaign with what he called a “disgraceful” ad from British car manufacturer Jaguar, which he said fell flat because it was “WOKE.” Trump also mentioned conservative backlash against Bud Light in 2023 for the beer band’s promotion with a transgender TikTok personality.

Trump then pivoted to attacking “Woke singer Taylor Swift.”

“Ever since I alerted the world as to what she was by saying on TRUTH that I can’t stand her (HATE!). She was booed out of the Super Bowl and became, NO LONGER HOT.”

Trump has a perennial fascination with Swift and her “hotness” or lack thereof. In a May post, he asked, “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer HOT?’” That post was referencing an all-caps, September 2024 post, which stated, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

Trump’s post concluded that conservatives enjoy increased influence over American culture: “The tide has seriously turned—Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be.”

Notably, this all-important communiqué from the commander in chief was actually a revised version of a post he shared, then deleted, earlier Monday morning. In the first version, the president had misspelled Sweeney’s first name, twice, as “Sidney.”

The extent of Donald Trump’s involvement with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein’s inner circle continues to deepen: The president reportedly had a vulgar conversation with Prince Andrew in 2000 in which he gave the royal a list of masseuses.

According to an excerpt from a new book by historian Andrew Lownie, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, Trump was seen hanging out with Prince Andrew at multiple events in 2000, where listeners overheard the two men talking about “pussy.”

Trump was quoted as saying about the prince, “He’s not pretentious. He’s a lot of fun to be with.” Trump denied knowing Prince Andrew in 2019, despite being photographed with him on numerous occasions.

Lownie continues in his description of Trump and Prince Andrew’s relationship: “Shortly afterwards and clearly good friends, Trump and Andrew were overheard at an event to discuss Trump’s plans for a golfing complex in Scotland, talking entirely about ‘p***y’, with the American producing a list of masseuses for the prince.”

Trump’s comfort with vulgar misogyny isn’t exactly a shock—the president’s infamous Access Hollywood tape caught him bragging in 2005 that he grabbed women “by the pussy”—but the comment about providing the prince with a list of masseuses is ominous.

Virginia Giuffre, a central figure in the Epstein case, was approached in 2000 by Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell and hired as a masseuse for the financier. She was then repeatedly sexually abused by Epstein and his network of wealthy friends, including Prince Andrew, Giuffre said. She accused the prince of sexually assaulting her three times while she was a minor, a case that Andrew settled in 2022.

And where did Maxwell meet Giuffre? At Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach club, where she worked as a spa attendant as a teenager.

In July, Trump told a reporter that Epstein “stole” Giuffre from him. The president has recently claimed that he fell out with “terrific guy” Epstein because the financier poached workers from his club.

When asked if one of the people in question was Giuffre, Trump responded: “I think so. I think that was one of the people. He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know. None whatsoever.”

Giuffre committed suicide in April. Her family was shocked by Trump’s disclosure, and demanded answers from the president. “It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey ‘likes women on the younger side … no doubt about it,’” Giuffre’s family told The Atlantic.

After watching Israel massacre innocents, demolish infrastructure, and incite famine in Gaza for almost two years, at least some congressional Democrats acknowledge it’s time to recognize Palestinian statehood. 

Axios has reported that over a dozen House Democrats have signed a letter calling on President Trump to recognize the state of Palestine. 

“This tragic moment has highlighted for the world the long overdue need to recognize Palestinian self-determination,” reads the letter addressed to Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “We encourage the governments of other countries that have yet to recognize Palestinian statehood, including the United States, to do so as well.” 

The United Kingdom, France, and Canada last week all moved to recognize Palestine as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza becomes undeniable. But in the United States, both Democratic and Republican leadership have remained staunch advocates of Israel, essentially signing blank check after blank check so that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can continue his indiscriminate assault on Gaza. This letter, although it’s unlikely to move the needle in any tangible way, is the most significant break from that course of action to date. Even Trump last week expressed mild displeasure at the carnage, claiming that he wants to find a way to end the starvation crisis. 

“The recognition would come by embracing the 22 state Arab League Plan just passed this week that calls for a Palestinian state and the recognition of Israel as a Jewish democratic state,” said Representative Ro Khanna, who is spearheading the effort. “We cannot be isolated from the rest of the free world.”

Progressive and vocal pro-Palestinian Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are surprisingly absent from the list of current signatories.  

The signers are as follows:

• Greg Casar 
• Lloyd Doggett 
• Veronica Escobar 
• Maxwell Frost 
• Al Green 
• Jared Huffman 
• Ro Khanna
• Jim McGovern
• Chellie Pingree
• Nydia Velazquez
• Mark Pocan 
• Bonnie Watson Coleman

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s ideology is making it difficult for federal authorities to actually meet his deportation quota.

The Justice Department is trying to distance itself from Miller and his expectations for federal agents to arrest 3,000 undocumented immigrants per day. In the midst of a lawsuit over ICE’s illegal sweeps in Los Angeles, the department informed federal judges that no such official quota existed.

“DHS has confirmed that neither ICE leadership nor its field offices have been directed to meet any numerical quota or target for arrests, detentions, removals, field encounters, or any other operational activities that ICE or its components undertake in the course of enforcing federal immigration law,” a Justice Department attorney reported to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

DOJ attorney Yaakov Roth attributed the number to “anonymous reports in the newspapers,” but that’s not true. Miller was recorded stating the goal in May, when he told Fox News unequivocally that the administration was “looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day and President Trump is going to keep pushing to get that number up higher each and every day.”

The discrepancy between what White House advisers are willing to say on live air versus in court could boil down to a growing “gulf” that “may be undermining the DOJ’s already strained credibility with judges,” reported Politico. Skeptical judges have pointed to the figure as grounds to question whether the Trump administration’s immigration objectives are even legal.

Yet a Justice Department spokesperson insisted to the publication that there was no divergence between the White House and the law enforcement agency regarding its immigration stats and orders.

“The entire Trump Administration is united in fully enforcing our nation’s immigration laws and the DOJ continues to play an important role in vigorously defending the President’s deportation agenda in court,” a DOJ spokesperson told Politico.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is threatening to expel any Democratic legislators who don’t show up to the Texas Capitol by Monday afternoon—after Democrats fled the state to stop a vote on Republicans’ obviously gerrymandered congressional maps.

Fifty-one Texas Democrats left the Lone Star State over the weekend, thus denying Republicans the two-thirds quorum needed for votes in the state’s 150-member legislature. They plan to stay away for the duration of the two-week special legislation in which the House is scheduled to vote on the GOP’s new congressional maps.

“We’re walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent,” said state Representative Gene Wu, who chairs the Texas House Democratic Caucus. “As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”

In a statement Sunday, Abbott fulminated against the Democrats. “This truancy ends now,” he wrote. “The derelict Democrat House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025.”

Citing a 2021 opinion by Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton—who, during this ongoing gerrymandering saga, has called Democrats “cowards” who ought to be “hunt[ed] down”—Abbott said he may treat quorum-breakers as having forfeited their offices, in which case they, purportedly, could be removed from office and “swiftly” replaced.

He also accused the Democratic lawmakers of possible felonies for receiving donations to offset daily $500 fines for their absence.

The Paxton opinion, however, does not say that lawmakers who break quorum can be removed, but rather that “this is a fact-specific question only resolvable by a court,” noted Politico’s Kyle Cheney. It also refrained from deciding on the constitutionality of breaking a quorum.

Texas Democrats replied to Abbott with a storied Texas battle cry, issuing a four-word statement: “Come and take it.”

The GOP’s official X page seems to have used a doctored photo of JD Vance in their birthday post for him, slimming the vice president down significantly.  

Users quickly pointed out that a post on Saturday celebrating the vice president’s 41st birthday did not in fact seem like the original photo.

“OMG. They heavily photoshopped JD Vance to make him look like he weighs 160 lbs. What a joke,” liberal commentator Chris D. Jackson commented on X. “Nothing is real with this administration. NOTHING. Original on the left. Doctored on the right. So embarrassing.”

Vance’s midsection looks much more rounded out and natural in the original, while the photo used in the post makes him look like he just started Ozempic. His left thumb also appears cut off in the photo, an obvious sign the photo was doctored.

While this is nowhere near their biggest issue, it’s clear that this administration is particularly concerned with keeping up appearances, to the point where they’ll engage in some casual internet deception. It’s just a bit harder to get away with when you’re the vice president of the United States. 

More than anything, this is a reminder to take the optics this administration puts out with a grain of salt. This is the same party that was justifying the strange, elderly bruises on President Trump’s hands by saying that he was just giving out too many handshakes. A JD Vance Ozempic edit is just par for the course.