The battle between Donald Trump and elite universities has reached a boiling point.
Now a prominent business figure is weighing in with surprising advice.
And Kevin O’Leary exposed one ugly truth about Harvard that left university leaders red-faced.
Shark Tank star delivers blunt message to Harvard leadership
Kevin O’Leary, the celebrity investor known as “Mr. Wonderful” on Shark Tank, stunned observers when he offered his take on the escalating conflict between President Trump and Harvard University.
The businessman delivered a harsh reality check to university leadership about their current strategy.
“Harvard cannot win the battle by suing the president of the United States,” O’Leary stated bluntly. “The president of Harvard has to get together with the president of the United States and work out whatever they’re going to work out.”
Before criticizing the institution, O’Leary made sure to reveal his extensive connections to Harvard.
He serves as an executive fellow there and regularly teaches students in entrepreneurship programs across multiple levels – from undergraduates to MBA candidates to international scholars.
The investor also disclosed that his engineer son received acceptance letters from both Harvard and MIT this year, ultimately deciding on Harvard.
O’Leary defended the university against charges of antisemitism, pointing out key facts that critics often ignore.
“The president of Harvard, who, by the way, is Jewish,” O’Leary noted, adding “he doesn’t have a single antisemitic bone in his body.”
But despite his personal ties, the Shark Tank star had harsh words for how the situation is being handled.
O’Leary exposes America’s brain drain disaster
The celebrity investor then shifted focus to what he considers a catastrophic policy failure that’s hurting America’s competitiveness.
O’Leary painted a picture of Harvard as an institution that carefully selects the world’s brightest minds through a rigorous process.
The university “curates a remarkable cohort every year” by remaining “agnostic to religion, to race, to geography,” he explained.
Their goal is simple: “They find the very best of the very best of the very best worldwide.”
This approach has made Harvard a global research powerhouse, O’Leary revealed.
When it comes to research spending worldwide, “Number one in the world is in Beijing. Number two is Harvard,” he stated.
The implications are serious for American competitiveness, according to the businessman.
“America should understand we’re in a race on research because this is where the science comes from,” O’Leary warned.
Then came his most damning criticism of current immigration policies.
O’Leary revealed that international students make up 37 percent of Harvard’s student body – representing some of the most brilliant minds on the planet.
But here’s the kicker: America forces these intellectual superstars to leave the country just 24 months after graduation.
“Why would we train 37 percent of the smartest people on Earth at Harvard and then kick them out of the country 24 months later?” O’Leary asked incredulously. “How stupid is that?”
The investor’s personal experience teaching these students made his frustration even more apparent.
“I teach these students. They don’t hate America. They want to stay here,” he emphasized. “They’re the smartest of the smartest people on Earth I have ever worked with. They’re young. They’re incredible individuals.”
Business mogul proposes game-changing solution
Rather than just complaining about the problem, O’Leary offered a concrete fix that could benefit everyone involved.
His proposal centers on creating a pathway for exceptional international students to remain in America permanently.
“If we curate these people, and they come to America and they check out, their background checks have checked out, why don’t we offer them the ability to stay here and advance here, to grow their businesses here?” he reasoned.
The Shark Tank star sees the current Trump-Harvard negotiations as the perfect opportunity to implement his idea.
“Why don’t we fix this now in this negotiation?” he suggested. “Create a program and offer it to every single educational institution in America.”
The program wouldn’t be limited to Ivy League schools, according to O’Leary’s vision.
Any qualified international student who gains admission to American universities could potentially benefit.
“If you’re willing to make the pass, if you get actually invited, if you make the cut and you’re invited to Harvard or to MIT or to Temple or to Notre Dame, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter which one,” he explained.
Security wouldn’t be compromised under his plan.
Students would need to pass extensive screening before being granted permanent status.
“And you’re willing to go through the scrutiny of background check, and we approve you, we will give you the golden ticket to stay here,” O’Leary said.
The businessman’s economic argument for the change is compelling.
Under current policies, America essentially trains its future competitors by forcing brilliant minds to return home where they’ll eventually build businesses that compete with American companies.
“Why in the world would you want to kick them out of here to go back to even a competing economy that decades later they build businesses to compete with us?” O’Leary asked. “How stupid is that?”
His intervention represents a rare voice of practical business sense in what has become a highly politicized battle.
By focusing on America’s economic interests rather than partisan talking points, O’Leary may have identified a path forward that benefits both the Trump administration and institutions like Harvard.
The question now is whether leadership on both sides will heed his advice and come to the negotiating table.
24/7 Politics will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
