Trump weighs in on debate among supporters to back H-1B visa program

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to step into a raging debate among his supporters over visas for skilled workers on the side of Elon Musk, telling the New York Post he has “always liked the visas.”

The comments came as Trump loyalists have been fulminating against each other online for days over the H-1B visas. Immigration hard-liners, including Trump backers like Laura Loomer and Stephen K. Bannon, subscribe to an “America first” agenda focused on creating more jobs for American citizens.

But Musk, who is the world’s richest man, and other tech titans have long supported the H-1B visa program, which allows businesses to hire skilled workers from foreign countries. They have argued, as Musk posted earlier this week, that “there is a dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America.”

In another post late Saturday night, Musk added: “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.” He added: “Take a big step back and [f—] YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.”

In response, Bannon, who served as Trump’s chief strategist, called Musk “a toddler” on the social media platform Gettr, posting: “Someone please notify Child Protective Services–need to do a ‘wellness check; on this toddler” and linking to Musk’s tweet. Bannon has been back in the political whirl since being released from federal prison in October, where he served four months on contempt charges for refusing to comply with a subpoena about the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

It was shortly after this point that Trump got on the phone with Jon Levine of the New York Post and told him: “I’ve always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them.”

Trump added that he has “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.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what properties Trump was referring to that rely on the H-1B program. His golf courses and clubs, including Mar-a-Lago, have long relied on foreign workers coming to the United States under the H-2B program to work as housekeepers and cooks. The H-2B visa program allows employers to import unskilled workers from abroad for temporary jobs if no qualified U.S. workers want the jobs.

Late Saturday morning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom waded into the debate as well, posting on X that Musk “is right” about needing to recruit top talent. “The same principle should apply to supporting our farmworkers, construction, and trades workers who build and feed our country. Top talent is top talent.”

The governor, who supports a pathway to legalization and citizenship for people who have labored in the state for years, tagged Musk as well as the California Farm Bureau, the California Building Industry Assn. and other groups.