He told the Daily Caller on Sunday that it would be "insulting" to ban them, and said his move would benefit smaller universities. The president is reversing the hard line his administration has taken on this for months, as trade talks with China continue. Some of his allies in the Maga wing of Trump's Republican Party have expressed anger and confusion. "I just don't understand it for the life of me," said Fox News host Laura Ingraham. "Those are 600,000 spots that American kids won't get."

On X, Trump ally Laura Loomer wrote: "Nobody, I repeat nobody, wants 600,000 more Chinese 'students' aka Communist spies in the United States." Trump has defended that position by arguing that Chinese students bring money to the US economy and that denying them visas would weaken relations between the two countries. "I have a very good relationship with [Chinese] President Xi. I think it's very insulting to a country when you say you're not going to take your students," Trump told the Daily Caller, a right-wing news outlet. (BBC)