President Donald Trump has defended his decision to approve 600,000 student visas for Chinese nationals, despite criticism from within his own party.
Speaking to the Daily Caller on Sunday, Trump said it would be “insulting” to block Chinese students and argued that the move would help smaller U.S. universities. He also said Chinese students contribute financially to the U.S. economy and that rejecting them would damage relations with Beijing.
“I have a very good relationship with President Xi,” Trump said. “I think it’s very insulting to a country when you say you’re not going to take your students. China’s paying us a lot of money right now. They’re paying us hundreds of millions of dollars.”
The decision marks a reversal from the Trump administration’s earlier hardline stance. Just months ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to “aggressively” revoke visas for Chinese students, particularly those linked to the Communist Party or studying in sensitive fields.
Some of Trump’s allies in the Republican Party’s MAGA wing expressed frustration. Fox News host Laura Ingraham said, “Those are 600,000 spots that American kids won’t get.” Conservative activist Laura Loomer added on X: “Nobody, I repeat nobody, wants 600,000 more Chinese ‘students’ aka Communist spies in the United States.”
The White House clarified that the visas will be issued over the next two years, consistent with past levels. Trump insisted the move was not part of a broader trade deal with China, which remains locked in a fragile tariffs truce with Washington.
“No, I just think it’s the right thing to do,” Trump said. “It’s good to get along with countries, not bad—especially nuclear-powered countries.”
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