Former President Joe Biden surprised Harvard University students during an exclusive seminar Wednesday afternoon.
Biden met with students during an off-the-record study group in a seminar course led by his longtime senior adviser, Mike Donilon, a spring resident fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.
“Select students from the Harvard Kennedy School were invited to the study group with Biden on Tuesday afternoon, but were not told the details of the event or who the guest was,” the Harvard Crimson reported. No details of the visit were advertised.
The former president praised Harvard for spurning the Trump administration’s demands to change its approach to combating antisemitism, per the outlet. After the school initially acquiesced to some of the administration’s requests, Harvard President Alan Garber’s lawyers sent a letter to the White House rejecting demands and alleging they violated the Ivy League institution’s First Amendment rights. One of the lawyers was Robert Hur, who wrote the report calling Biden a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The administration responded by pulling $2.2 billion in multiyear grants to Harvard.
“Harvard stepped up in a way no one else has,” Biden said, according to two students who attended the HKS event. “You should be really thankful.”
The former president declined to comment on whether he believed Garber should sue the Trump administration over allegations that the White House’s demands are unlawful.
“I think Harvard should just do what it’s doing — lifting everybody up,” Biden said when pressed on the matter after the event.
Security was tight at the invite-only event, with the outlet reporting that a university spokesperson would not confirm Biden’s presence and that the former president’s spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
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Biden appeared at the Kennedy School at the invitation of Donilon, the chief strategist for his 2020 campaign. Donilon was a senior White House adviser to the former president and was also involved in his 2024 reelection campaign.
The former president’s appearance at the Ivy League institution followed a speech on Social Security Tuesday evening, which marked his first major address since leaving the White House. The appearances come after Biden largely stayed out of the public eye after his departure from the White House in January.