Donald Trump began answering a question about Harvard University by speaking about Harlem, a neighbourhood in New York City, as he joined a NewsNation town hall via phone on Wednesday night (30 April).

When asked by Stephen A. Smith to explain his administration’s threat to withhold funding from the university, the president started talking about an entirely different location.

“We had riots in Harlem, in Harlem, and frankly, if you look at what’s gone on, and people from Harlem went up and they protested, Stephen. And they protested very strongly against Harvard. They happened to be on my side,” Mr Trump told Mr Smith.