MTG fires back at Trump over Chinese students in US universities and farmland

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) on Friday, May 15, criticized President Donald Trump over his remarks defending Chinese students studying in the United States and his comments on Chinese ownership of American farmland.

Greene argued that US college admissions and agricultural land should prioritize Americans, pushing back against Trump’s position during his ongoing diplomatic visit to China. 

Trump, meanwhile, defended the economic benefits of foreign students and framed Chinese farmland purchases as a broader market issue.

MTG criticizes Trump's comments on Chinese students in US 

Greene objected after Trump defended the presence of hundreds of thousands of Chinese students at American colleges and universities.

Speaking with Fox News, Trump said Chinese students help sustain universities financially and contribute to cultural exchange.

“It’s 500,000 students that come, good students,” Trump said. “I frankly think that it’s good that people come from other countries and they learn our culture,” continuing, “It’s a very insulting thing to tell a country, ‘we don’t want your people in our schools.’”

Greene responded critically on X, writing: “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!”

Florida Republican mayoral candidate James Fishback also criticized Trump’s position, posting on X: “I respect President Trump, but if he brings 500,000 Chinese students to Florida colleges, I will raise tuition on them to $1,000,000/year.” 

Fishback added, “As Governor, I refuse to let the limited admission spots at our taxpayer-funded colleges be stolen by foreigners.”

Trump has defended the policy on economic grounds in previous interviews as well.

In an interview last year, he argued that universities benefit heavily from international student tuition payments. “We’re taking trillions of dollars from students,” Trump said at the time. “I want to see our school system thrive.”  

Trump defends Chinese farmland ownership as restrictions tighten

Trump also drew attention after defending Chinese nationals purchasing US farmland, while acknowledging he does not “love it.”

During the Hannity interview from Beijing, he framed the issue as tied to market conditions and property values. “Look, 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 that out of the market,” Trump said.

He also argued that Chinese investors had acquired land for years under previous administrations. 

“But they’ve had a lot of land for a long time. (Barack) Obama did nothing about it. They bought a lot of it during the Obama administration. He did nothing about it,” Trump added.

The comments stood in contrast with positions Trump has taken previously on the campaign trail and in office. During a Pennsylvania campaign stop in September 2024, Trump warned against Chinese land acquisitions, saying: “We don’t want you buying our land.”

After returning to office, Trump signed a national security memorandum in February 2025 targeting investments by China and other foreign adversaries in sectors including agriculture.

In July, the Department of Agriculture unveiled a 'National Farm Security Action Plan' aimed at restricting farmland purchases by Chinese nationals and other foreign adversaries.