Tech billionaire Elon Musk is continuing to go back and forth with MAGA supporters over their thoughts on visas for highly skilled workers, going as far as to call some of them “contemptible fools.”
Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency partner Vivek Ramaswamy have found themselves at the center of a Trump supporter civil war, as some of the president-elect’s base continue to push for anti-immigration policies, even if it’s done legally, as Musk and Ramaswamy are calling for.
The debate involves the H-1B visa program, which is an employer-sponsored visa created to bring high-skilled professionals to the US to work in tech and computer-related roles. Some within the MAGA base have said this takes opportunities from American workers.
Ramaswamy brought the issue forward on Thursday when he argued that the lack of US-born engineers in the field was due to American culture that “has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.”
This message sparked conflict among Republicans and even earned Ramaswamy a clapback from former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
“There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture,” Haley wrote in a post on X. “All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers.”
On Friday, Scott Adams, the right-leaning “Dilbert” cartoonist, said on X that “MAGA is taking a page from Democrats on how to lose elections while feeling good about themselves” in defense of Ramaswamy.
Musk, who often defends foreign-born engineers and backed his DOGE partner, said in response to Adams that “those contemptible fools must be removed from the Republican Party, root and stem.”
He went on to say that “the ‘contemptible fools’ I’m referring to are those in the Republican Party who are hateful, unrepentant racists. They will absolutely be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are not removed.”
The president-elect has also backed up his DOGE appointees, saying as much during an interview with the New York Post that was published Saturday.
“I’ve always liked the visas. I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump said.
“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 continued.
Musk pledged on Friday to “go to war” over the issue in a post on X.
“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,” Musk wrote.
“I will go to war on this issue, the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend,” he added.