Trump’s latest assertion that Chinese students are critical to the success of HBCUs has prompted jokes and backlash from the Black side of social media.
Trump went on conservative outlet Fox News to speak with Laura Ingraham about how he views Chinese students. Recently, Trump has been vocal about allowing student and H-1B Visas, particularly from those hailing from the East Asian country.
“We do have a lot of people coming in from China,” he began. “We also have a massive system of colleges and universities, and if we were to cut that in half… You would have half the colleges in the United States go out of business.”
Trump says that HBCUs would be “all be out of business” if fewer Chinese students were allowed to go to American universities pic.twitter.com/QWCtipwVcH
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 11, 2025
However, his particular note about HBCUs struck the wrong chord with many in the Black community.
The president claimed, “You would have the historically Black colleges and universities would all be out of business.”
Trump’s audacious claim had Black X users perplexed, leading them to inquire when Chinese students began to put HBCUs on their backs.
Since when did HBCUs rely on Chinese students ??? FBA would be having wall
To wall spaces if Biden said we need immigrant students … https://t.co/4BbQQvc1xN— CJ G (@cjgproduxions) November 11, 2025
“Since when did HBCUs rely on Chinese students,” questioned one commenter. “FBA would be having wall to wall spaces if Biden said we need immigrant student…”
Bruh really can’t make a decent talking point without making black ppl either the villain or the scapegoat. https://t.co/u98XAABcdr
— Uncle P. 🤝🏾 (@IamDwayneWayne) November 12, 2025
The X user wrote, “Bruh really can’t make a decent talking point without making black ppl either the villain or the scapegoat.
Another, however, apparently debunked Trump’s idea that Chinese students kept HBCUs afloat.
I was curious so I ran the IPEDS data for fall 2023. Approximately 3000 students listed as Asian attended HBCUs, or 1%. So based on the numbers and my experience as a president, this scenario won’t impact HBCUs. https://t.co/LCGmHNY0U1
— Walter M. Kimbrough (@HipHopPrez) November 11, 2025
“I was curious, so I ran the IPEDS data for fall 2023,” wrote Walter M. Kimbrough, a three-time HBCU president. “Approximately 3,000 students listed as Asian attended HBCUs, or 1%. So based on the numbers and my experience as a president, this scenario won’t impact HBCUs.”
Black Information Network also obtained data from the Institute of Education Sciences. The outlet confirmed that international students account for only 2.5% of total enrollment at HBCUs.
However, Trump’s evolving policy views toward immigration have caused friction with his”MAGA” base. Despite this, he defended his stance on the importance of allowing Chinese people to work and study in the United States.
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