Elon Musk vs. Trump supporters over Indian immigrants

New Delhi:

Supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump have clashed with Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and their tech allies. At the heart of the conflict is a polarizing issue: immigration. On one side are Mr. Musk and his allies in Silicon Valley, who are pushing for merit-based immigration reforms. On the other hand, die-hard Trump supporters committed to an anti-immigrant stance view Mr. Musk’s positions as a betrayal of their populist ideals.

Divisions within the MAGA camp emerged after the appointment of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-born venture capitalist and Musk ally, to lead artificial intelligence policy in the new Trump administration. Mr. Krishnan’s previous comments supporting lifting country caps on green cards for skilled immigrants were dredged up by Trump supporters and sparked a firestorm on social media.

Laura Loomer, a far-right social media commentator, called Mr. Krishnan’s appointment “deeply disturbing.” Their criticism, amplified by verified accounts on Mr Musk’s social media platform X, set the stage for a confrontation between the two factions.

Musk and the vision of Silicon Valley

Musk, who himself immigrated to the United States on an H-1B visa, has always championed the idea of ​​attracting top global talent. He argues that America’s technological and economic dominance depends on its ability to recruit the world’s best minds. “If you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be,” Mr. Musk posted on X.

Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump’s newly appointed co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, echoed Mr. Musk’s sentiments. Mr. Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants, argued that U.S. culture has long valued mediocrity over excellence. “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math Olympian… will not produce the best engineers,” he wrote on X.

The reason top tech companies often hire first-generation, foreign-born engineers instead of “Native Americans” is not an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy and false explanation). A significant part of this depends on the C word: culture. Difficult questions require tricky answers and when…

– Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 26, 2024

MAGA’s populist backlash

However, these positions have sparked a backlash from Trump’s most loyal supporters. Loomer accused Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy, along with far-right figures like Ann Coulter and former congressman Matt Gaetz, of undermining American workers. A viral post on

Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also weighed in on the fray, insisting that the U.S. should prioritize investment in American talent. “There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture,” she posted, contradicting Mr. Ramaswamy’s criticism.

Adding to the confusion is Trump’s own inconsistent stance on immigration. While his first administration imposed significant restrictions on H-1B visas, his most recent comments signaled a softer approach. During a podcast interview earlier this year, Trump expressed his support for granting green cards to foreign graduates of U.S. universities. This shift has left many of his supporters uncertain about the future direction of his immigration policy.