【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】

Under the hype of some American media and politicians, "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) strongly believes in rumors such as "Chinese students taking American students' enrollment spots" and "national security threats". Therefore, after the Trump administration announced in August that it would approve 600,000 Chinese students to study in the United States, MAGA supporters were "in doubt", beginning to oppose President Trump.

On November 11 local time, Trump gave an interview with Fox News to explain the plan. Trump pointed out that foreign students, especially those from China, are crucial for maintaining the financial stability of American universities.

He added that if the number of Chinese students is halved, it would paralyze the entire U.S. higher education system.

When asked about his view on MAGA's "lack of enthusiasm", Trump replied that he was the creator of the term "MAGA" and "knows better than anyone" what MAGA's ideas are and what they really want.

Trump interviewed on Chinese students, screenshot

In the interview, Fox News host Laura Ingram questioned how this proposal aligned with MAGA principles. She told Trump, "So many American kids want to go to school, but some places don't accept them... Many MAGA people aren't excited about this plan."

Trump said, "We do have a lot of people from China. It has always been like that with China and other countries. We also have a large university system. If we cut it in half, it might make some people happy, but half of the American universities will collapse."

He added, "I actually think it's good to bring in foreign students. I hope to get along well with all countries, except France."

Ingallam countered Trump by bringing up old clichés to smear Chinese students, such as "intellectual property theft" and "eavesdropping".

Trump asked, "Do you think the French are better?"

Ingallam answered, "Yes."

"I'm not sure," Trump turned his attention to France, "we have many problems with the French. Our technology is taxed, which is very unfair. They tax American products at 25%."

Trump continued to elaborate on the issue from an economic perspective, stating that foreign students pay much higher tuition fees than American students, which helps maintain the operation of the higher education system. He stated frankly, "I don't want them, but I see it as a business. You don't want to cut the number of students from around the world in half, which would destroy our entire university and college system. I don't want to do that."

Trump also refuted the claim that the plan divided MAGA, stating that he was the originator of MAGA.

"Don't forget that MAGA was my idea," Trump told Ingallam, "MAGA isn't someone else's idea. I know better than anyone what MAGA wants, and MAGA wants to see our country thrive."

Trump debated with Fox host on the student plan, screenshot

According to the Institute for International Education, there were over 277,000 Chinese students studying in the United States during the 2023-2024 academic year, making them the second-largest group of foreign students after India. This number is lower than the peak of 372,000 in the 2019-2020 academic year.

Media outlets such as Fox News and The Huffington Post mentioned that Trump's latest statements contradict his stance earlier this year.

After the Trump administration came into power, it began to significantly tighten visa policies, including student visas. In May, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio announced plans to "severely revoke" Chinese student visas. Data shows that since the beginning of this year, the U.S. government has revoked more than 80,000 non-immigrant visas, including approximately 8,000 student visas.

Rubio threatened to revoke Chinese student visas in May, U.S. Department of State

However, in August this year, the Trump administration changed its approach and announced that it would approve 600,000 Chinese students to study in the United States.

At that time, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jia Kun responded, saying that educational exchanges and cooperation help enhance communication and understanding between people of various countries. "We hope that the U.S. will implement President Trump's statement welcoming Chinese students to study in the U.S., stop unjustified harassment, inspections, and deportations of Chinese students, and effectively protect their legitimate rights and interests."

Meanwhile, this plan faced criticism within the Trump supporters.

In August, Florida Governor DeSantis strongly criticized the Trump plan to increase Chinese student visas, claiming that "many Chinese students have contact with the government," and said, "Why should we import foreigners when we have our own people to take care of?"

Trump's ally, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, posted on social media criticizing the plan and implying that Chinese students would "replace the opportunities of our American students."

According to a report by the Newsweek, even after Trump made his latest comments on the plan on November 11, many MAGA people still held opposing views.

Former U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn wrote on X, saying that Trump's move would "help China achieve its plan to become the only superpower in this century," while repeating the smear allegations that "Chinese students steal intellectual property."

On X, a user who called herself a social psychologist and "loyal MAGA" named Hoodina MacMillan spread the sentiment, saying, "I can only speak for myself. But as a loyal MAGA and social scientist, I don't want America to have any Chinese students. Reject new Chinese students and expel those already in the U.S. Other MAGA people - agree or disagree?"

The report also mentioned that there are groups in the U.S. that welcome foreign students. Researchers from the Cato Institute recently issued a statement, saying that Trump's plan could have a "direct financial impact of $3.21 billion" and pointing out that "the concerns about espionage have been exaggerated."

A recent study in the U.S. also showed that the increase in the number of Chinese students in the U.S. brought more educational resources for American students.

Earlier in November, the non-profit organization the National Bureau of Economic Research published a study showing that the large-scale expansion of Chinese universities not only brought a large number of students abroad but also had a measurable impact on American universities.

The study results showed that among every 100 Chinese university graduates, approximately 3 to 4 went to the U.S. for further studies, most of whom pursued master's degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), which led to the expansion of related courses in American universities. The study found that for every 100 additional Chinese master's students, an American university would add about one STEM master's program.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported that the results of this study contradict some American politicians' claims, where a typical baseless statement is that Chinese students are "crowding out" the enrollment opportunities of American students.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Net. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7571631807998542377/

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