Fox News host Laura Ingraham pressed President Donald Trump on Monday over his decision to allow 600,000 Chinese students to study at American colleges and universities — a move that has drawn criticism from conservatives concerned about national security and fairness to American students.
During an interview on The Ingraham Angle, Ingraham questioned how admitting such a large number of students from China could be considered consistent with Trump’s “America First” or “MAGA” principles. “Why, sir, is that a pro-MAGA position,” she asked, “when so many American kids want to go to school and there are places not for them, and these universities are getting rich off Chinese money?”
Trump defended the policy, describing it as a practical decision meant to sustain American universities and maintain diplomatic stability with Beijing. “We do have a lot of people coming in from China,” he said. “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 go out of business.”
Ingraham, skeptical of the rationale, reminded Trump that the Chinese Communist Party has a record of spying on Americans and stealing U.S. intellectual property. She suggested that allowing hundreds of thousands of Chinese students into American classrooms could further compromise U.S. interests.
Trump acknowledged the risks but framed the issue as a matter of balance. “I know you and I disagree. We’re never going to agree on it, but that’s OK,” he said. “It’s not that I want them, but I view it as a business. We have millions and millions of people. Also, I want to get along with countries if possible… But 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 concluded by emphasizing his ownership of the “MAGA” brand. “Don’t forget, MAGA was my idea. MAGA was nobody else’s idea,” he added.
The exchange came after the Trump administration reached an agreement in June allowing Chinese students to continue attending American schools, following a brief suspension of Harvard University’s authority to admit foreign nationals on June 5. That suspension cited national security concerns and antisemitism on college campuses as justification for tightening restrictions on international students.
In June, Trump himself had warned that Chinese students could pose risks to U.S. security, saying “you have to watch” students from the nation governed by the Chinese Communist Party.
For now, Trump’s comments suggest he views the issue less through a national security lens and more as a question of economic pragmatism — a stance that puts him at odds with many conservatives who see China not as a trading partner, but as America’s most dangerous rival.
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