Harvard and Trump lawyers to face off in court in foreign student case

In public statements and social media posts, President Donald Trump has threatened Harvard University financially, calling it a “threat to democracy” and referring to its professors as “birdbrains.”

Now, Harvard lawyers are trying to use the president’s words against him in their legal fight against his administration.

On Thursday, Harvard and Trump administration attorneys will make their first in-person arguments in a Boston federal courtroom, in a case involving the administration’s attempt to ban the university from enrolling international students.

The Trump administration has argued that Harvard has given up the right to host international students on campus, citing what it says are civil rights violations, including allowing antisemitic behavior. The university’s president, A