President Donald Trump ripped USA TODAY journalist Michael Wolff after the latter claimed the president was targeting Harvard University because he was rejected by the Ivy League school in a post shared on his Truth Social account Monday (June 2) night.

"Michael Wolff, a Third Rate Reporter, who is laughed at even by the scoundrels of the Fake News, recently stated that the only reason I’m 'beating up' on Harvard, is because I applied there, and didn’t get in. That story is totally FALSE, I never applied to Harvard. I graduated from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania. He is upset because his book about me was a total 'BOMB.' Nobody wanted it, because his 'reporting' and reputation is so bad!" Trump wrote.

Wolff, who wrote the book Fire & Fury about Trump's first of two non-consecutive terms, told the Daily Beast Podcast that the president had a "grudge" against Harvard because he'd been rejected years prior.

“He needs an enemy,” Wolff claimed of the chief executive. “That’s what makes the show great. The Trump show. He picks fantastic enemies, actually. And Harvard, for all it represents, fits right into the Trump show.”

“It’s important not to lend too much calculation and planning to anything he does," he added when asked if he thought Trump's hatred of Harvard was odd given many of his allies graduated from Ivy League schools.

“But the other thing is that, by the way, he didn’t get into Harvard,” he continued. “So one of the Trump things is always holding a grudge against the Ivy Leagues.”

Last week, Trump's administration cut all remaining federal contracts with Harvard University estimated to be about $100 million. A letter signed by the U.S. General Services Administration ordered agencies to give a list of contracts with Harvard that will be canceled and instruct them to “seek alternative vendors for future services where you had previously considered Harvard.”

Trump had previously said that he wanted to pull $3 billion in federal grants from Harvard, which he called "very antisemitic" due to its handling of foreign students' protesting of Israel, in a post shared on his Truth Social account Monday (May 26).

“I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land,” he said on Truth Social.

“What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!”

Last month, Harvard filed a lawsuit against Trump's administration over its decision to prohibit it from enrolling foreign students, the Associated Press reported. The lawsuit, which was filed in a Boston federal court, claims that the government violated the First Amendment by implementing the ban, which it said would have “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.”

“With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,” Harvard said in the lawsuit.

Lucy Chapman