Trump yields to Musk on H-1B visa issue despite strong MAGA opposition
President-elect Donald Trump weighed in Saturday on the immigration issue that has been roiling some of his highest-profile supporters online, telling The New York Post that he has “always been in favor” of H-1B visas.
It is not exactly true: Trump has waffled on his support for the H-1B program over the years, going so far as to suspend it late in his first term while his administration planned harsh new restrictions for workers seeking the visas. Denial rates also soared during Trump’s first term, while they plummeted after President Joe Biden took office.
The program is designed as a pathway for highly skilled foreigners to legally work in the United States, often in fields related to science and technology.
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties,” Trump told the Post.
“I’ve been a believer in H-1B,” he added. “I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”
His support comes as his billionaire ally Elon Musk has been going to bat for H-1Bs on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which he owns.
To many people, the H-1B program represents American meritocracy, helping the U.S. reward the best and brightest workers of any background. Some entrepreneurs see it as key to staffing their businesses to fuel growth. Anti-immigration hardliners, though, consider the program to be harmful to native-born American workers, and some want to abolish it completely.
Trump’s hardline anti-immigration rhetoric helped power him to a second term in office — but there appears to be growing disagreement within his base over which groups of people should be excluded. [Continue reading…]
Just before midnight Friday, Musk once again defended the H-1B program in vulgar, all-caps terms, saying the program was the key to the success of his (and other big American) companies.
- “Take a big step back and F–K YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend,” Musk wrote.
- In a separate post, he pledged to “fight to my last drop of blood” to keep America a meritocracy.
What they’re saying: As with Musk’s previous posts defending Ramaswamy and condemning his opponents, Trump supporters did not react well to Musk’s promise to defend the H-1B program.
- “May God bless and protect President Trump from these people,” outspoken right-wing commentator Laura Loomer wrote, after accusing Musk of trying to censor her.