President Donald Trump has lost the support of staunch allies Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and political commentator Laura Loomer over his plan to import 600,000 Chinese college students through the visa program, the UK Daily Mail reported. The issue came up on Monday during an Oval Office meeting with South Korea's leader.
Amid his immigration crackdown, Trump seemed to support the idea of expanding the student visa program to flood America's institutions of higher learning with Chinese nationals. "We’re going to allow their students to come in. It’s very important - 600,000 students," Trump told the press.
Trump is focused on making concessions to Bejing, including student visas, in an effort to broker a deal as the two nations are locked in a tariff war. Additionally, the president asserts that American universities require the influx of foreign students and their financial support to thrive.
Both Greene and Loomer share the belief that this expansion is a grave misstep. This shared opinion comes as a shock, considering the pair were trading insults with each other on social media weeks ago in a public feud.
The Georgia Republican took to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday to challenge Trump's proposal. "We should not let in 600,000 CHINESE students to attend American colleges and universities that may be loyal to the CCP," Greene wrote.
"If refusing to allow these Chinese students to attend our schools causes 15% of them to fail, then these schools should fail anyway because they are being propped up by the CCP. Why are we allowing 600,000 students from China to replace our American students’ opportunities?" Greene continued.
"We should never allow that. And we need more trade school graduates. Trade schools are a GREAT alternative and produce the essential education and training for the most needed jobs in America with very high starting pay," Greene concluded.
We should not let in 600,000 CHINESE students to attend American colleges and universities that may be loyal to the CCP.
If refusing to allow these Chinese students to attend our schools causes 15% of them to fail then these schools should fail anyways because they are being…
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 26, 2025
Greene's worries are well-founded, as American students could be edged out of enrollment at top institutions by foreign students with these visas. She's also correct that institutions that must rely on foreign students to stay in business shouldn't be open at all. Despite their many differences, Loomer agrees with this take.
Trump is floating the plan as an olive branch as he attempts to diffuse a tariff war with China that has currently levied a 125% on American exports. This came after Trump slapped Chinese goods with a 145% tariff, an opening move that has put the nations at odds, even as tariffs are suspended pending negotiations.
Loomer pointed out that this approach of using student visas as a bargaining chip is antithetical to Trump's agenda of undoing the immigration mess created by his predecessor, former President Joe Biden. The conservative firebrand also noted that it poses a danger to national security.
"If we are only mass deporting 1,000 illegals each day but allowing 600,000 Chinese spies to come to our country, how can we call them mass deportations? Do the math," Loomer posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. "We will never get rid of the millions who came in under Biden. It’s basic math," Loomer charged.
The fact that Greene and Loomer are in lockstep on this issue comes as a surprise, given the vitriol between the two. Loomer called Green a "lying fake Christian wh---" and accused her of attempting to "steal the Trump movement." Greene retaliated with a rebuke of Loomer for her criticism of a Medal of Honor recipient.
Regardless of the feud between these women, the truth is that they are both right about Trump's new plan to expand student visas. It is short-sighted and potentially destructive, but hopefully, this is just another Trump bargaining move that is only a point for negotiation and not a reality.