Trump doubles down on plan for 600,000 Chinese student visas despite MAGA backlash

Fox News' Laura Ingraham pressed Trump during an interview on "The Ingraham Angle," questioning how the proposal was "pro-MAGA" if it crowded out spots for American students and whether universities were "getting rich" from Chinese money.

"We do have a lot of people coming in from China. We always have, China and other countries. 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 would go out of business," he said.

"I actually think it's good to have outside, countries. Look, I want to be able to get along with the world, not the French, though," he added.

"The Chinese, they spy on us, they steal our intellectual property," Ingraham shot back.

"Do you think the French are better?" Trump said.

"I'm not so sure," Trump said, citing French tariffs.

Trump continued to frame the issue in economic terms, saying Chinese students pay far more in tuition than Americans and help sustain the system.

"It's not that I want them, but I view it as a business," he said. "One thing you don't want to cut half of the people, half of the students from all over the world that are coming into our country, destroy our entire university and college system. I don't want to do that."

Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea last week, saying the two leaders reached agreement on "almost everything." Following the meeting, China reportedly held off on some of its toughest export restrictions for critical minerals, while the U.S. delayed plans to impose triple-digit tariffs.

The remarks mark a reversal from earlier this year, when the Trump administration said it would "aggressively revoke" Chinese student visas amid espionage concerns. In August, Trump changed course and announced plans to expand the program dramatically.

More than 277,000 Chinese students studied in the U.S. during the 2023-2024 school year, according to the Institute of International Education - the second-largest foreign student population after India. That figure is down from a peak of over 372,000 in 2019-2020.

The comments come as the State Department has intensified its visa crackdown, revoking more than 80,000 nonimmigrant visas - including about 8,000 student visas - since the start of Trump's term. Officials say many were revoked over criminal activity or participation in rallies against U.S. support for Israel.

"We simply don't need to help the Chinese anymore with their plans to be the sole superpower this century," Flynn added. "They've been ripping us off for years. Because of that they have significant advantages over us now-and they have zero desire nor intent to make America great again."

China's 2017 National Intelligence Law requires all citizens to cooperate with Chinese Communist Party intelligence efforts in the name of national security.

China expert Gordon Chang, whose father fled Mao Zedong's communist government after earning a master's degree in the U.S., called the visa proposal "wrong-headed."

"Taking away spots in schools from Americans and giving them to future Chinese Communists is wrong, and admitting students who have been weaponized by the CCP to commit acts of espionage is extraordinarily dangerous," Chang told Fox News Digital. "American presidents for decades have allowed China's regime to maintain in our country organizations and extensive networks of agents and diplomats that surveil, intimidate, and coerce Chinese and other students."