{"id":120666,"date":"2024-12-29T19:41:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-29T19:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-sides-with-musk-over-h-1b-visas-in-growing-maga-rift-on-immigration-live-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2024-12-29T19:41:41","modified_gmt":"2024-12-29T19:41:41","slug":"trump-sides-with-musk-over-h-1b-visas-in-growing-maga-rift-on-immigration-live-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-sides-with-musk-over-h-1b-visas-in-growing-maga-rift-on-immigration-live-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump sides with Musk over H-1B visas in growing MAGA rift on immigration: Live – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Trump sides with Elon Musk as top lieutenant clashes with anti-immigration MAGA supporters over H-1B visa program for skilled workers
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Donald Trump<\/a> has hailed the H-1B visa program for skilled workers as \u201cgreat\u201d<\/a> claiming to have always been in favor of it.
Speaking to The New York Post<\/em>, the president-elect sided with Elon Musk<\/a> and Vivek Ramaswamy<\/a>, after they both defended the need for hiring overseas workers in tech, engineering, and other sectors.
Ramaswamy, who will lead the outside commission known as the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Musk, said on X <\/a>that US culture instilled the wrong values in its young: \u201cA culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.\u201d
\u201cThere is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,\u201d Musk wrote<\/a> on Wednesday on X. \u201cIt is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.\u201d
Their statements triggered pushback from \u201cAmerica First\u201d hardliners, including Steve Bannon<\/a>. They want strict immigration control and a furious war of words erupted on social media.
In a post on Gettr<\/a>, Bannon told Fox News it needed to pick a side in the feud: \u201cEither stand with American citizen workers or with globalist elitist tech oligarchs who feast on foreign indentured servants.\u201d
Joe Biden<\/a> still regrets pulling out of the 2024 presidential race and believes<\/a> he could have beaten Donald Trump<\/a> for the White House<\/a>, according to a report<\/a>.
The outgoing president backed out of the race over the summer following a disastrous first debate against his Republican<\/a> rival, low approval numbers, and dwindling donations.
But Biden recently told people that despite the issues his campaign faced he is confident he could have defeated Trump in November, sources familiar with the conversations told The Washington Post<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>
Graeme Massie <\/strong>reports.
Biden also admitted to aides that he had made other mistakes, including the selection of Merrick Garland as attorney general
Will Gore <\/em><\/strong>writes: <\/em>
In the Chinese zodiac, 2025 is the year of the snake. Rather fittingly, it is also the year that Donald Trump<\/a> will slither his way back into the White House<\/a> (which may prove venomous for the whole world).
Since the US election result<\/a> was called, back in November, there has not been the same sense of profound shock that accompanied Trump\u2019s first presidential win. Then, it seemed impossible that a man with no political experience \u2013 and who seemed so patently objectionable on almost every level \u2013 could win the White House. This time, for all the late hope that Kamala Harris brought<\/a> to the Democratic Party ticket, a Trump win felt inevitable.
If you are a progressively-minded individual living in the US, there is an immediate and visceral materiality to deal with, as \u201cThe Donald\u2019s\u201d inauguration approaches<\/a>. For those of us living across the pond, the thought of Trump in the presidential hotseat may not be less gruesome, but its impact is not quite so direct. Either way, how should we best handle the nagging fear of what might be to come<\/a>?
Continue reading…<\/em>
Sure, \u2018The Donald\u2019 has said he wants to purchase Greenland, turn Canada into the 51st state and that Chinese soldiers are \u2018operating the Panama Canal\u2019 \u2013 but it\u2019s not all doom and gloom… right? writes Will Gore
Steve Bannon railed against Fox News this morning following the efforts of the Fox & Friends Weekend <\/em>co-hosts to \u201ctip-toe\u201d through the minefield that is legal immigration in MAGA world amid the feud that erupted this week.
Reposting Mediaite<\/em>\u2019s report<\/a> on the segment, the former Trump adviser wrote on Gettr<\/a>: \u201cStop with the \u2018Tip-Toe\u2019\u2026\u201d
\u201cChoose a Side: Either Stand with American Citizen Workers or with Globalist Elitist Tech Oligarchs Who Feast on Foreign Indentured Servants \u2026Simple.\u201d
Over on Fox News this morning, the co-hosts of Fox & Friends Weekend <\/em>were faced with the tricky job of navigating the feud that has broken out in MAGA world over H-1B visas for highly skilled immigrants.
\u201cAmerica First\u201d acolytes on the far-right want strict draconian immigration measures when Donald Trump takes office in January for both illegal and legal migrants.
In contrast, the Silicon Valley \u201ctech bro\u201d contingent led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy that backed his election wants better legal immigration routes such as the H-1B program to fill skills gaps.
Yesterday afternoon, President-elect Donald Trump came out in support of Musk and the latter option.
Per Mediaite<\/em><\/a>:
Rachel Campos-Duffy claimed that Trump coming out in favor of the H-1B visa program on Saturday when he had previously been against it, \u201cleft a lot of people confused\u201d.<\/em>
Charlie Hurt remarked, \u201cThe idea of having a program that allows an Elon Musk to come into the country, I don\u2019t think anybody has a problem with that, and certainly Donald Trump doesn\u2019t have a problem with that. The problem with the program is that it\u2019s been so abused and turned into a system where it is designed for big tech employers to get, maybe not cheap labor, but cheaper labor.\u201d<\/em>
Later in the segment, Will Cain attempted to put a human face on the issue by adding, \u201cWe\u2019re not an algorithm. We\u2019re not a company. We are a country. We\u2019re a nation. We are a people. And that purpose of that nation is to serve Americans.\u201d <\/em>
Campos-Duffy then suggested that tech CEOs such as Musk might have to pay American tech workers a more attractive wage and pay themselves a little less…
If you limit those visas and only bring in the Elon Musks and the really exceptional people, what you\u2019re going to see is that there\u2019s a tighter market and the wages will have to be \u2014 you\u2019ll have to pay wages that young math students like my son-in-law, who is married and has to support a family, would want to be part of. And that may mean, guys, guess what? Fox News alert! It may mean that big tech bosses make a little less money and they have to pay their workers a little better. I think all of us would be okay with that.<\/em>
She added that the federal government should invest in educational opportunities in underserved communities to train the next generation to take the jobs currently being filled by skilled immigrants.
Donald Trump<\/a> has sided with Elon Musk<\/a> in the feud over H-1B skilled worker visas that has split the American political right over the past few days<\/a>.
Speaking by phone with The New York Post<\/em><\/a> on Saturday, the president-elect said: \u201cI\u2019ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That\u2019s why we have them.\u201d
He added: \u201cI have many H-1B visas on my properties. I\u2019ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It\u2019s a great program.\u201d
Read on…<\/em>
President-elect says he has always liked H-1B visas, despite moving to restrict them in first term in office, as \u2018America First\u2019 rages against immigration
\u201cWe need immigration … we need a system focused on our economic needs.\u201d
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk<\/a> caused uproar after backing Germany\u2019s far-right party<\/a> in a major newspaper ahead of key parliamentary elections in the Western European country, leading to the resignation of the paper\u2019s opinion editor in protest.
Germany is to vote in an early election on Feb. 23 after Chancellor Olaf Schol<\/a>z\u2019s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalize the country\u2019s stagnant economy.
Continue reading…<\/em>
It is the second time this month that the tech mogul has voiced support for the far-right party
Former National Security Adviser Robert O\u2019Brien appeared on Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News today to explain the rationale for President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s interest in Greenland.
He argues that Denmark is now on the frontline of the confrontation with Russia given the strategic importance of the Arctic territory.
O\u2019Brien goes on to suggest that Greenland can become part of Alaska.
One reason for Greenland\u2019s increasingly important strategic location is apparently… climate change.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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