President Donald Trump joins ‘Hannity’ to unpack his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
President Donald Trump split with immigration hawks by defending Chinese students in the U.S. while also softening on Chinese-owned farmland — creating friction inside MAGA and unexpected overlap with moderate Democrats.
Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked Trump in a recent interview from Beijing about concerns surrounding Chinese nationals attending school in the U.S. and China-linked entities purchasing farmland, including in sensitive areas like neara North Dakota military basethat raised eyebrows earlier this decade.
Republicans have long warned that Chinese student visa programs could expose U.S. research and state secrets to the Chinese Communist Party, while GOP officials likeFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantisandNebraska Sen. Deb Fischerhave pushed for tougher restrictions on Chinese ownership of American farmland.
"It’s not that I love it. You want to see farm prices drop; you want to see farmers lose a lot of money just take. out of the market. But they've had a lot of land for a long time. Obama did nothing about it," Trump said.
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President Donald Trump. Chinese leader Xi Jinping listened to each other on Taiwan, but Trump stressed he did not give in to Xi's claims of control over Taiwan, declining to assure Xi the U.S. would not defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion.(Brendan Smialowski - Pool/Getty Images)
Trump also defendedallowing Chinese students to studyin the U.S., calling them "good students". arguing that banning them would unnecessarily inflame tensions with Beijing.
"I frankly think that it's good that people come from other countries. they learn our culture and many of them want to stay here," Trump said, while admitting that it "doesn’t sound like a very conservative position – and I’m a conservative… commonsense guy. I think MAGA is ‘common sense,'" he said.
The comments triggeredbacklash from the right wingof the MAGA movement, with former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene disputing, "No — that’s not commonsense."
"Trump says it’s insulting to tell China their students can’t go to our universities, imagine being an American student. receiving a rejection letter while 500,000 Chinese students get in," Greene said, according to the left-wingNew Republic. "And no – it’s not OK for China to buy our farmland."
Some Democrats, however, appeared heartened by Trump’s more moderate stance on a major sticking point in the immigration field.
Fox News Digital reached out to top Democrats on the moderate New Democrat Coalition’sBorder SecurityWorking Group.
Chairman Gabe Vasquez ofNew Mexicotold Fox News Digital that while he disagrees with Trump "on a lot" regarding immigration enforcement. he will continue to support efforts to bring new blood into the American economy.
"I have long supported building America’s workforce by encouraging the best. brightest across the world to come study in the U.S. and build their careers and families here," said Vasquez.
"Congress should expand more legal pathways for students to stay here. start businesses, grow the American economy, and help our country fill critical needs in key industries like healthcare,manufacturing, quantum AI and engineering."
A Vasquez spokesperson added that the lawmaker. however, agrees with conservatives on one point where Trump differed — that Chinese nationals should not be permitted to purchase U.S. farmland.
"Food security isnational security," the spokesperson said.
Speaking to Hannity. Trump added: "I could tell [Xi], I don't want any students, it’s a very insulting thing to say to a country. They would then immediately go out and start building universities all over China."
Trump argued that without the influx of Chinese students, middling and lower-tier universities would begin dying on the vine financially.
Lora Ries, former counsel for the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee. a 30-year policy expert now with the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that universities have grown too dependent on foreign students because they often pay "full freight" — and made the case for scrutinizing the education system rather than keeping it propped up with foreign tuition.
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"It is no longer a level playing field for American students to get into these universities. We also know many of these universities are producing degrees that don't have a great return on investment: gender studies. et cetera. So why on earth do we want to keep universities that depend on those sorts of degrees afloat?" Ries said.
"We shouldn't justify continuing to bring in high levels of foreign students to keep so many universities in business when the Big-Ed model is absolutely upside-down."
According to Ries, Chinese. other foreign student blocs exacerbate the difficulty American students face getting into colleges — while native students are also not finding meaningful jobs after graduation.
Ries said the issue is "right up Trump’s alley," but not in the way the president posited on "Hannity." She said Trump could shake up "Big-Ed" by incentivizing quality degrees. disincentivizing ones that leave American graduates occupationally stranded.
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When it comes to the adage about jobs Americans supposedly won’t do. she pointed to the medical field, which has seen an influx of foreign students.
"You can't say medicine is a job that Americans won't do, so what's going on?" she said.
She also noted that Chinese nationals cannot come to live in America without the knowledge of —. often information-sharing with — the CCP, which itself poses a risk.
"Also, Chairman Xi can say, ‘Well, America is in decline,’ as he just did in this summit."
When asked for comment, aWhite House spokespersondirected Fox News Digital to the president’s remarks to Hannity.
Trump’s comments set up a new potential divergence between presidential policy. conservativepoliticsamong some of his current and former most ardent supporters, including Greene.
It also, however, potentially opens up a rare immigration dialogue with Democrats like Vasquez. his coalition of moderates, who have been trying to advance their own fixes to the broken system.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles coversmedia,politicsand culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
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