In Musk vs MAGA civil war, Trump sides with Tesla CEO over H-1B visa debate

After days of bitter-in-fighting among his supporters, US President-elect Donald Trump finally gave his take on the ongoing debate about the H-1B visas. On Saturday, the president-elect sided with his billionaire ally Elon Musk in a raging public dispute. Trump insisted that he fully backs the program which opens doors for foreign tech workers, despite the initiative being opposed by some of his supporters.

The remarks from the Republican firebrand came following a series of back-and-forth tweets between Musk and the supporters of Trump’s Make America Great Again (Maga) initiative. Late Friday, the Tesla CEO escalated the fight after he vowed to go to “war” to defend the visa program. While speaking to the New York Post, Trump said he has nothing against the initiative.

“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,” he told the American news outlet. Interestingly, Trump moved to limit the visa’s use during his first term stint in the White House. The matter is quite close to Musk since he was born in South Africa and held an H-1B visa before becoming an American citizen. Not only this, Tesla obtained 724 of the visas this year.

Musk vs Maga: The New Civil War

It is pertinent to note that the H-1B visas are typically given for three years and the holders can extend them or apply for green cards after it expires. The altercation between Musk and Maga supporters kicked off after Trump appointed India-born Sriram Krishnan as the White House advisor on Artificial Intelligence.

The appointment of the venture capitalist did not sit well with several far-right activists, including Maga supporters Laura Loomer and Matt Gaetz. Loomer rose to fame during the 2024 presidential race when she encouraged Trump to spread false information about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Ohio.

While Loomer called Krishnan’s appointment “deeply disturbing," several far-right activists argued that he might influence Trump’s immigration policies. It is pertinent to note that Krishnan has been an ardent supporter of extending H-1B visa provisions.

On Friday, Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump confidante, critiqued “big tech oligarchs” for supporting the H-1B program and cast immigration as a threat to Western civilization. In response, Musk and many other tech billionaires drew a line between what they view as legal immigration and illegal immigration. Musk’s assertion was also supported by biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy whose parents were Indian immigrants.

During his 2024 bid to the White House, Trump pledged to deport all immigrants who are in the US illegally, deploy tariffs to help create more jobs for American citizens and severely restrict immigration. However, the US tech industries rely heavily on the government’s H-1B visa program to hire foreign skilled workers to help run its companies, a labour force that critics say undercuts wages for American citizens. The far-right activists who were clashing with Musk over the issue are yet to comment on Trump’s remarks.

With inputs from Reuters.