Trump defends plan for 600,000 Chinese student visas amid criticism

President Donald Trump on Monday defended his administration’s plan to offer 600,000 visas to Chinese students — a move that has drawn criticism from within conservative circles.

Fox News’ Laura Ingraham pressed Trump during an interview on The Ingraham Angle, questioning how the proposal was “pro-MAGA” if it crowded out spots for American students and whether universities were “getting rich” from Chinese money.

Trump argued that foreign students — particularly from China — are vital to keeping U.S. universities financially stable, adding that cutting the number of Chinese students in half would cripple the system.

“We do have a lot of people coming in from China. We always have, China and other countries. We also have a massive system of colleges and universities. And if we were to cut that in half, which perhaps makes some people happy, you would have half the colleges in the United States would go out of business,” he said.

SURVIVOR OF CHINA’S CULTURAL REVOLUTION WARNS AGAINST LETTING 600,000 CHINESE STUDENTS STUDY AT US COLLEGES

“I actually think it’s good to have outside, countries. Look, I want to be able to get along with the world, not the French, though,” he added.

“The Chinese, they spy on us, they steal our intellectual property,” Ingraham shot back.

“Do you think the French are better?” Trump said.

“Yeah,” Ingraham replied.

“I’m not so sure,” Trump said, citing French tariffs.

Trump continued to frame the issue in economic terms, saying Chinese students pay far more in tuition than Americans and help sustain the system.

TRUMP IGNITES CONSERVATIVE BACKLASH AFTER OPENING DOOR TO 600,000 CHINESE STUDENTS: ‘WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?’

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2017 law requires Chinese nationals to…