Trump opens doors to 600,000 Chinese students, drawing fierce backlash from MAGA supporters

US President Donald Trump’s Monday announcement to allow 600,000 Chinese students to study in the US has opened the floodgates of criticism from his staunchest supporters. The decision marks a sharp U-turn from his administration’s earlier vow to “aggressively revoke” visas for Chinese nationals, particularly those linked to the Communist Party or sensitive research 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 said.

This move comes amid delicate trade talks between the US and China, where both sides are engaged in finding common ground on tariffs and key resources like rare earth supplies, critical to American industries. Washington also seeks to resolve China’s access to US-made AI chips.

Criticism from MAGA supporters

However, the decision has been met with fierce opposition from Trump’s loyalists, who see the policy shift as a betrayal of the "America First" agenda. Conservative commentator Laura Loomer, a vocal Trump supporter, expressed her outrage on X, calling Chinese students "CCP spies" and criticising the move for undercutting the President’s stance on immigration.

"I didn’t vote for more Muslims and Chinese people to be imported to my country... Please don’t Make America China. MAGA doesn’t want more immigrants," Loomer wrote.

In another post, she tagged White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, stating, "Nobody, I repeat nobody, wants 600,000 more Chinese ‘students’ aka Communist spies in the United States. China murdered 1.2 million Americans. Now they get to replace us? This cannot happen."

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene echoed the sentiment, denouncing the influx of Chinese students: "We should not let in 600,000 CHINESE students to attend American colleges and universities that may be loyal to the CCP... Why are we allowing 600,000 students from China to replace our American students' opportunities? We should never allow that."

Despite the MAGA backlash, Trump seems determined to maintain the facade of wanting to “get along” with China. A prolonged trade war with Beijing is something Trump can ill-afford, especially considering China remains one of America’s largest creditors and its third-largest trading partner. In May 2025, US-China trade in goods topped $28 billion, including $19 billion in imports.

Beijing has already shown its ability to strike back politically. During previous tariff battles, China quietly restricted US exports of beef, poultry, and natural gas, squeezing American farmers and energy producers, who make up a significant portion of Trump’s support base.