United we stand: US’s next steps as Trump retakes the White House

After a gripping presidential race, yesterday former Republican president Donald Trump won a second term in the White House from the clutches of incumbent vice-president Kamala Harris.

As the world woke up to the news, the international education sector reignited its calls for study abroad opportunities and expressed concerns about how the US’s foreign policy could fare under its chaotic new leader.

For whatever your view on Trump, it’s undeniable that he is – to say the least – unpredictable. It’s a quality that has endeared him to his supporters and baffled his detractors – so what happens now to international education in the country is anyone’s guess.

For example, will he make good on a pre-election pledge to offer green cards to all overseas US college graduates, a promise made seemingly off the cuff on the All-In podcast back in June? It’s anyone’s guess but given his espousal of anti-immigration rhetoric, it seems unlikely.

So how is the US sector, as well as colleagues around the world, supposed to plan ahead when it seems impossible to predict what the incoming president might do next?

Well, in the face of so much uncertainty, the trick will be to form a strong, united front to help extoll the virtues of internationalization. As stakeholders have pointed out, the US has much to gain from taking an outward-looking approach.

NAFSA’s president Fanta Aw has already advocated for this approach, advising stakeholders to “redouble [their] efforts” and offering reassurance that international education will become more important than ever in the coming months.

Organizations and individuals alike will need to work hard to make the case that a global outlook benefits not only international students, but also domestic students from the US.

In any case it’s unlikely that the US will be knocked from its perch as one of the ‘big four’ study destinations. After all, research before the election took place suggested that international students were largely “indifferent” about who won the US election, with most prospective students reporting less concern in the vote’s outcome than in 2020.

So for now at least, the outlook for international education in the US remains as bright as Trump’s somewhat perma-tanned complexion. It’s now up to all of us to stand together and make sure that doesn’t change.