WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump seemingly caught his loyal conservative base off-guard and sparked backlash by saying he would allow 600,000 Chinese students into American universities.
That would be a departure for the Trump administration after it added new vetting for student visas, moved to block foreign enrollment at Harvard and expanded the grounds for terminating international students’ ability to study in the United States.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has singled out China, the second highest source of international students in the U.S., saying in May that the State Department would revoke visas for students tied to the Chinese Communist Party and boost vetting of new applicants.
Trump’s announcement Monday adds to the confusion about the administration’s restrictive visa policies and its approach to China as the superpowers tussle over trade and intensifying tech competition. It also marks another divide with figures in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base, who tout an “America First” agenda and had contested the U.S. inserting itself in the recent Israel-Iran war.
Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters — from U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to former adviser Steve Bannon and far-right activist Laura Loomer — rejected the idea of welcoming more Chinese students.