Overview

• Interviewed by the Daily Caller, the president called the policy the “right thing to do” and said refusing students would be insulting to China, citing his relationship with President Xi.
• He said the total would be spread across two years and insisted he wants nothing in return, reiterating that entrants must not pose national security risks.
• The president argued U.S. higher education would suffer without Chinese enrollment, saying the absence would hit lesser-known colleges more than elite schools.
• The stance follows May actions to tighten student visa screening and statements about aggressively revoking visas for some Chinese students.
• Prominent MAGA-aligned figures criticized the decision, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended it as necessary for sustaining U.S. universities.