The push comes as the White House regroups after a federal judge blocked its move to bar Harvard from enrolling international students.

Cleo Carney, who grew up in London while her father was Governor of the Bank of England, just finished her freshman year at the prestigious Cambridge university.

It all started with a White House joke about Barron Trump's supposed Harvard rejection, a casual remark that inexplicably exploded into a widespread rumour.

America's oldest and wealthiest school, Harvard University, held its commencement Thursday. The ceremony, attended by thousands of people, came as the university takes the lead on defying the White House in federal court to defend higher education.

The notion rocketed across social media then jumped to the White House. Harvard says it doesn’t add up. (See if you can answer questions from the course.)

Since regaining the White House, President Trump has been fixated on making an example of those who push back against him.

Trump’s comments come after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's effort to bar the university from enrolling international students.

Trump’s biographer, Michael Wolff, has claimed that the US president’s anger towards Ivy League colleges, especially Harvard, comes from the fact that he failed to make it to the prestigious college.

In its fight with Harvard, the Trump administration has focused on international students, who are critical to universities’ bottom lines and campus life.