Row erupts inside MAGA base after Trump says US needs 600,000 Chinese students in its universities: ‘We don’t want spies’

Donald Trump is facing pushback from his own MAGA base after arguing that the United States needs up to 600,000 Chinese students to keep its universities working.

The comments were made during an interview on Fox News, and Republicans were not happy as they argued the idea goes against the conservative movement’s long-held views on China and national security.


The debate took place on Monday when Fox News host Laura Ingraham confronted Trump about remarks he made in August during trade talks with Beijing, where he said the US would allow hundreds of thousands of Chinese students to enter the country to study.


Ingraham told him this was not a “pro-MAGA position” and pointed out that many supporters believe Chinese students “spy on us” and “steal our intellectual property.”

However, Trump defended his stance, arguing that foreign students are essential for universities to survive. “We do have a lot of people coming in from China, and we always have, China and other countries,” he said. “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.”

When Ingraham responded with “So? So what?”, Trump insisted it was “a big deal” and said high-paying international students helped keep universities running.

He continued: “We’re taking trillions of dollars from students. You know, the students pay more than double when they come in from most foreign countries. I want to see our school system thrive.”

The remarks stirred a row among MAGA-aligned commentators.

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn condemned the idea, posting on X that allowing “600K Chinese spies” would not help American universities and warning that Beijing already had more than enough leverage. “They’ve been ripping us off for years,” Flynn said. “They have significant advantages over us now and they have zero desire nor intent to make America great again.”

Other MAGA figures have also recently questioned Trump’s foreign policy decisions, including his $40 billion bailout for Argentina, urging him to prioritise domestic issues instead.





The White House has signalled that around 600,000 student visas for Chinese nationals will likely be issued over the next two years, a move that would set a new record while still following trends seen under previous administrations.