‘Your reputation is more important than your pay-check’.
When politics collides with prestige, public relations takes centre stage. In its ongoing feud with Donald Trump, Harvard University has faced lawsuits, funding threats, sensational headlines and relentless public scrutiny — yet it just reported a record-breaking $57 billion endowment, a $600 million surge in donations, and its highest-ever 11.9% return on investments.
Harvard, the world’s most prestigious university, demonstrates that thriving under fire requires more than financial strength — it’s a masterclass in public relations, crisis communication, brand trust, and message control.
Here are seven powerful lessons every business and public relations professional can learn from Harvard University in the Harvard vs. Trump showdown.
Brand equity is your ultimate shield
A centuries-old brand carries a weight of authority that few corporations or individuals can match. When facing an external attack — whether from a political figure or an activist group—institutional longevity and prestige act as the ultimate defense.
The PR lesson: While a single crisis can temporarily tarnish a reputation, a PR strategy built on decades of consistent achievement creates a deep reservoir of goodwill. Invest in the core value proposition of your organization; it’s what allows you to weather the inevitable political and cultural storms.
Money isn’t just a metric; it’s a message
For PR professionals, that’s a crucial reminder: Financial strength is a story — tell it well. Financial resilience communicates stability, credibility, and confidence — the very qualities that neutralize narratives of weakness or dependency.
Harvard’s ability to raise $600 million in unrestricted gifts during a political storm isn’t just a fundraising milestone — it’s a signal of trust. It tells the world that even under pressure, powerful stakeholders still believe in its mission and future.
The PR lesson: Always look for ways to translate dry financial metrics into compelling PR stories. Don’t just report success; frame it strategically. Harvard’s record fundraising essentially tells stakeholders: ‘The world’s most sophisticated donors believe in our mission more than ever before’.
Master the art of the long game
Great PR is both a sprint and a marathon. Harvard’s financial fortitude and brand equity, is the result of relationships cultivated over decades. Donors don’t hand over millions based on a single press release; they invest in a legacy of consistent communication, value demonstration, and trust.
The PR lesson: PR is not about quick wins; it’s about building lasting relationships. Every communication piece, every event, and every public statement is a deposit into a long-term reputation bank. Your loyalty and success are directly tied to the consistency of your message over time.
Know your adversary, but practice strategic silence
In political and corporate spats, the temptation is to engage in a tit-for-tat with every critic. Harvard often practices strategic silence or issues measured, high-level responses that avoid validating the critics’ spectacle or humiliate the “enemy”. Instead, they focus their energy on communicating directly with their key stakeholders: alumni, donors, faculty, and future students.
The PR lesson: When under political fire, choose your battles wisely. Your primary goal is to maintain credibility with your core audience, not to win a screaming match with your loudest detractors. Direct your messaging toward those who fund your mission and perpetuate your legacy.
Leverage crisis as an opportunity to reframe and educate
Some commentators observed that Harvard’s response was turning the crisis into a chance to ‘educate people about what they do, what they don’t do, and what they stand for. That’s a smart PR move: a crisis forces attention; use it to highlight core work (e.g. research, social benefits) that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Think of past crisis faced by some huge brands in the likes of Coca-Cola, Cadbury’s, GTB bank, Shell, MTN and others. Did they leverage their crisis intelligently?
If your brand or institution does valuable work behind the scenes, a crisis can provide a platform to amplify that message. But you must do so genuinely and credibly — overusing it can feel opportunistic.
The PR lesson: Don’t let crises be purely negative. Within your messaging strategy, build in narrative pivots to what you stand for, what you deliver, and what you aspire to. Use the heightened attention to reset or reinforce your brand story.
Groom your community and core target audience
Love thy community and internal public as thyself! The record level of donations proves that Harvard’s most powerful PR asset is its loyal community. The alumni network, faculty, and students act as thousands of active brand advocates who defend the institution on social media, in private conversations, and, critically, with their checkbooks.
The PR lesson: Your customers and personnel are your best evangelists. PR must involve more than media relations; it must actively cultivate and mobilize your community so they become the most authentic voice defending and promoting your brand.
Own your narrative early and aggressively
When the Trump administration began publicly attacking Harvard — threatening to cut funding and demanding sweeping reforms — Harvard did not retreat into silence. Rather, President Alan Garber and university spokespeople engaged actively with media, giving interviews, writing statements, and making the case to the public about academic freedom and the value of university research.
By contrast, institutions that wait until pressure mounts often find themselves reacting rather than shaping the conversation. Harvard flipped that by leaning in.
The PR lesson: In a crisis, your “default” with key media should be to speak, not hide. Get ahead of frames before they calcify. Use spokespeople credibly, consistently, and repeatedly to steer perceptions.
Final PR takeaway
Substance beats spin — Every time
Ultimately, what sustains Harvard through every political cycle and PR firestorm
is the undeniable value of its core product: elite education, groundbreaking research, and influential graduates. While critics focus on fleeting controversies, the university continues to produce tangible, world-changing results.
Public Relations can only amplify what is already true. The most powerful communications strategy in the world is to simply be good at what you do. Consistent quality of product or service will always be the most effective counter-narrative to any negative press. Excellence Is the ultimate PR strategy.
