‘We need a lot of people coming in’: Trump reverses anti-immigrant rhetoric and supports H-1B visas
MAGA is currently in a Civil War, and Donald Trump just picked a side.
Donald Trump recently announced his support for H-1B visas, which are granted to foreigners applying for temporary positions in the American workforce. His comments come on the heels of an all out inter-MAGA conflict between the tech industry and immigration hardliners. “We need a lot of people coming in” said Trump of foreign workers, which appears to be complete 180 from his oft-touted position to crack down on the immigrant population in the United States.
The conflict began when Vivek Ramaswamy, co-chair of the government agency to-be DOGE, posted a lengthy tweet on X criticizing American work culture. He claimed that the United States prioritizes “mediocrity over excellence” and that Americans tend to value “the jock over the valedictorian,” and choose “hanging out at the mall” over “weekend science competitions.” He claims that these aspects of American culture are the reason why tech companies hire “foreign-born and first generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans.”
The backlash was swift. Former Trump presidential rival Nikki Haley shot back at Ramaswamy on X response, writing that there is “nothing wrong” with American workers and culture, and said that the nation should be “investing and prioritizing in Americans” over foreign workers.
A fire was started, and Vivek Ramaswamy’s DOGE co-chair Elon Musk decided to quell it with gasoline. Musk agreed with statement made by an X user that called American workers “r*tarded” and unfit for jobs in the tech sector. Musk’s subsequent comments soon drew the ire of immigration hardliner Steve Bannon, who told Musk that he and his MAGA allies were going to “rip your face off” if Musk didn’t stop campaigning to give foreign workers jobs over American ones. In response to his numerous right-wing detractors, Elon Musk wrote “F*CK YOURSELF IN THE FACE” and threatened to “go to war” on the issue.
According to Republicans, the whole ordeal was a “sh*tshow,” and evidently became such an embarrassment for the GOP that Donald Trump had to step in and attempt to put the issue to bed. “We need competent people,” Trump said in a statement to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, “we need smart people running the country.” Evidently these “smart people” are the very same that Trump threatened to deport.
During the lead up to the 2024 presidential election, anti-immigrant rhetoric became the mainstay of the Trump campaign. Trump used increasingly xenophobic and violent language towards immigrants, calling them “animals” that were “poisoning the blood” of the country. His anti-migrant offensive culminated in the unveiling of a “mass deportation” plan to forcibly remove millions of undocumented immigrants from U.S. soil through potential military intervention.
Trump’s comments sparked outrage in his base, many of whom were caught up in Trump’s promises to “Make America Great Again” by expelling foreigners. One user wrote that Trump’s “flip-flopping” on immigration was “breaking my heart.”
Others claim that Elon Musk is to blame, echoing the claim that Musk himself is a “Shadow President” to whom Trump is subservient.
While Trump is publicly siding with Musk, the billionaire’s antics reportedly have Trump fuming behind the scenes. According to a Trump campaign insider, the president elect is “100% annoyed” with Musk. Musk’s explosive internet behavior has once again caused Trump to lose face in front of his political base, forcing him to publicly acknowledge his support for immigration to the chagrin of the anti-immigrant voters courted by his xenophobia. Trump has always been a hypocrite, and now that fact is made plain for even MAGA die-hards to see.
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