Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been vocal proponents of the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump and their proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) office along with their stances on H-1B visas. After feeling the wrath of the MAGA faithful, Elon Musk shifted his tone while Donald Trump showed support for the visa program for foreign workers which has angered the many figures within the GOP and the wider base.
On Christmas Day, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy made their case for the support of
H-1B visas with the suggestion that the program allows business leaders to find the best engineering minds possible. Ramaswamy found himself in the thick of it when he casually suggested that Americans and the media they consume might be contributing to their lack of engineering or intellectual excellence. Musk, a recipient of an H-1B visa himself, likened the recruitment of the foreign workforce to selecting the best players of the NBA, which too has several foreign-born players who are near the top of their class.
Over the weekend, Trump joined the fray and expressed his approval of the aforementioned visa program.
“I’ve always liked the (H1-B) visas, I have always been in favor of the visas, that’s why we have them,” Trump said in an interview with the New York Post. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”
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This comment from Trump was an exaggeration of facts as reports came forth that many Trump staffers who work at his properties on visas did so through the H-2B visa program, which gives companies the ability to recruit foreign workers for temporary jobs such as hospitality work. According to a
CNN report, Trump last used the H-1B visa program in 2022 in order to hire a data analyst for the Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.
This has sparked right-wing infighting with key figures such as former Trump strategist Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer aiming at both Trump and Musk for walking back the campaign promises of the so-called America First agenda that focused on mass deportation and the hiring of more American workers at some of the top companies.
Elonn Musk has been defiant in his unique way and issued a profane reply on X towards Christian conservative Steven Mackey, who criticized Musk’s endorsement of the H-1B visa program.
“The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B. Take a big step back and F*CK YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend,” Trump wrote to Mackey.
The Tesla founder has since softened his rhetoric, writing on his X platform, “Please post a bit more positive, beautiful or informative content on this platform” which garnered several passionate and colorful responses. This also sparked a still unproven rumor that Musk is using X under the “Adrian Dittman” alias.
We’ve got X comments regarding Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, H-1B visas, and the MAGA kerfuffle below.
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Photo: Getty
