Trump’s Controversial Plan to Allow 500,000 Chinese Students and Farmland Ownership Sparks MAGA Backlash

President Donald Trump has proposed allowing 500,000 Chinese students to enroll in U.S. universities and permitting China to purchase American farmland, sparking outrage among his staunchest supporters in the MAGA movement.

During a May 15, 2026 interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump defended the plan, stating:

“But if you don’t have those students—good students, by the way—if you don’t … if they’re good and they want to stay in America, we won’t give them a green card and things like that. Frankly, I think that it’s good that people come from other countries and they learn our culture, and many of them want to stay here. I think it’s a good thing. Not everybody agrees with me, and it doesn’t sound like a very conservative position. And I’m as conservative—I’m a conservative guy. I’m really a common sense guy, I think, more than a conservative.”

Hannity raised concerns about potential security risks posed by Chinese students, to which Trump responded:

“People would argue they worry about whether they have nefarious intentions. Sure, I know, and we worry about that, and honestly, you know, they do things to us, and we do things to them. It’s a very fine line, the whole thing with students.”

The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from prominent MAGA figures, including Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, who vowed to raise tuition to $1,000,000 per year for Chinese students attending state colleges.

MAGA influencer Robby Starbuck argued that Chinese students are legally required to act as spies for China, stating:

“Actually, no, those 500,000 students are by law required to act as spies for China. If removing them sinks some schools, then they deserve to sink. The only Chinese students we should invite are the top 0.001% who we should invite to defect to America.”

Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene condemned the plan, tweeting:

“Trump says it’s insulting to tell China their students can’t go to our universities, imagine being an American student and receiving a rejection letter while 500,000 Chinese students get in! And NO it is not ok for China to buy our farmland!!! And no that’s not common sense!!!”

The controversy highlights a growing divide within the MAGA movement over Trump’s policies, which critics argue contradict core “America First” principles.