Trump Opens US Doors To 6 Lakh Chinese Students, Faces MAGA Backlash

US President Donald Trump has opened the doors of American universities to six lakh Chinese students, even as his administration continues its crackdown on International students. The American leader stressed that Washington and Beijing shared a "very important relationship", signalling a dramatic shift from his administration's "America first" policy. Previously, the Trump administration has vowed to "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields." 

"We're going to allow their students to come in. It's very important, 600,000 students. It's very important. But we're going to get along with China," Trump told reporters from the Oval Office.

The American President, however, warned Beijing to ensure Washington access to rare earth magnets or face 200 per cent tariffs. But he assured that trade tensions between the world's two largest economies who not affect Chinese students and they would still be allowed to study in the US.

Trump's tariffs have threatened to deteriorate US-China relations over the past year, with Washington raising duties on Chinese imports as high as 145 per cent in April. But later, Washington and Beijing reached a trade truce. Even as Trump's punitive tariffs again rattled the global economy earlier this month, the two nations on August 12 decided to extend their trade truce for another 90 days, giving negotiators more time to find common ground. 

Remarks Stir Row

Trump's remarks soon invited criticism - from his staunchest MAGA (Make America Great Again) supporters - who labelled his move as a betrayal of the America First agenda.

MAGA loyalist Laura Loomer slammed Trump's decision as she branded Chinese students "CCP spies."

Taking to X, she wrote, "I didn't vote for more Muslims and Chinese people to be imported to my country. Sorry but these immigrants from communist countries and Sharia shitholes where child rape is legalised don't make America great. Please don't Make America China. MAGA doesn't want more immigrants."

"When did any China man or Muslim Make America Great?" she asked in another post. 

"Now that we are importing 600,000 CCP spies, what's the point of American students going into STEM?" Loomer added.

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, another Trump supporter, also opposed Team Trump's move and said, "We should not let in 600,000 CHINESE students to attend American colleges and universities that may be loyal to the CCP."

"If refusing to allow these Chinese students to attend our schools causes 15% of them to fail then these schools should fail anyways because they are being propped up by the CCP. Why are we allowing 600,000 students from China to replace our American student's opportunities?" she wrote on X. 

Team Trump Backs The President 

When grilled over President Trump's mega Chinese push, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended the President's move. Speaking to Fox News, he said, without allowing the Chinese students, "the bottom 15 per cent of universities would go out of business in America. President Trump's taking a rational economic view."

Trump's America First Policy

President Trump's new announcement is in clear contrast to his administration's May visa policy, outlining his administration's intentions of putting America first

"Under President Trump's leadership, the US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields. We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong," Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said at the time.