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President Donald Trump is facing scrutiny after doubling down on his administration’s plan to allow hundreds of thousands of Chinese students to study at American universities. In August, Trump said he would welcome 600,000 Chinese students in the United States — despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing earlier in the year that the administration would implement stricter vetting of new applicants and revoke visas for students tied to the Chinese Communist Party. Some of his staunchest supporters, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and far-right activist Laura Loomer, condemned the sudden reversal at the time. But now, criticism is again mounting, after Trump was pressed on whether the move should be viewed as a “pro-MAGA position” during an interview on Fox News released late Monday. “We do have a lot of people coming in from China. We always have, China and other countries,” Trump said on “The Ingraham Angle.” “We also have a massive system of colleges and universities, and if we were to cut that in half, which perhaps makes some people happy, you would have half the colleges in the United States go out of business.” Trump added: “I actually think it’s good to have outside countries. Look, I want to be able to get along with the world.” “They’re not the French. They’re the Chinese. They spy on us. They steal our intellectual property,” host Laura Ingraham responded, to which Trump asked, “Do you think the French are better?” He also said the United States is taking “taking trillions of dollars from students” in tuition, adding, “I want to see our school system thrive.” Trump went on to say that “MAGA was my idea. MAGA was nobody else’s idea. I know what MAGA wants better than anybody else.” The president’s comments, however, were quickly met with renewed backlash from conservatives on social media. “Anyone starting to get the idea we’ve been sold out?” one user posted on X. Gen. Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser at the start of the first Trump administration, apologized to the president before criticizing the decision. “We simply don’t need to help the Chinese anymore with their plans to be the sole superpower this century,” Flynn wrote. “Let’s not give the Chinese anymore leverage than they already have. They’ve been ripping us off for years.” Conservative social media influencer Kangmin Lee said he does not regret voting for Trump in 2024, but “man, this is disappointing.” “He’s taking out-of-touch to new levels,” former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash added.
