Harvard's storied satirical magazine pulled an elaborate prank on Donald Trump

(Image credit: screenshot/twitter)

published 3 August 2015

A rivalry between two Harvard University student publications hilariously escalated this summer, to the point where one group not only pranked the other in epic fashion, but also Donald Trump.

It all started when staffers from the humor publication Harvard Lampoon stole The Harvard Crimson's treasured president's chair. The group's president asked for it back, but the pranksters had bigger plans underway. Weeks later, they published a parody Crimson editorial endorsing Donald Trump for president, complete with a photo of Trump sitting in the chair, surrounded by Lampoon staffers purporting to work for The Crimson.

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An article, emblazoned with the headline "Crimson Endorses Trump for President" and signed "The Crimson Staff," cropped up online, claiming to tout the newspaper's support for the billionaire Republican primary candidate's bid for the presidency in 2016. Among other points, it dubbed him "a celebrity above all" and "the most formidable and competitive candidate on the Republican side." It also espoused his job creation record—specifically the supposed good work of The Celebrity Apprentice a reality show Trump has hosted. The editorial reasoned that the show helped "inactive or troubled" celebrities regain their fame and thus created jobs. [The Harvard Crimson]

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.