Overview
- Laura Ingraham framed Chinese students as espionage risks, prompting Trump to respond that the French are not better and that the U.S. has had “a lot of problems with the French.”
- Trump accused France of unfairly taxing U.S. technology companies and claimed France imposed 25% taxes on American products.
- Reporters noted that France’s digital services tax is 3% and was recently voted to rise to 6% pending budget approval, which does not match Trump’s 25% figure.
- Coverage highlighted that 25% corresponds more closely to U.S. tariffs previously applied to some European goods, including steel and autos.
- Trump reaffirmed support for admitting about 600,000 Chinese students and argued that halving foreign enrollments would bankrupt many U.S. universities, underscoring divisions within the MAGA movement.