A rift has opened between the ‘tech Right’, which wants to import skilled workers to the U.S., and ‘America first’ MAGA loyalists. Which side will Trump take? The Telegraph has more.
To glance at Donald Trump’s feed on his Truth Social platform this weekend, you would be forgiven for thinking all was well in MAGA world.
The soon-to-be 47th president has been serving up his normal diet of provocation and self-promotion: railing against the Democrats’ alleged financing of celebrity endorsements, for example; reposting a dig at Joe Biden’s fitness for office; plugging a Newsmax interview with his wife Melania. All fairly standard Trumpian fare.
Zoom out to the wider Republican sphere, however, and the picture is somewhat different, with a row taking place so vocal and bitter that it threatens to rip apart the coalition that swept Mr. Trump to power only eight weeks ago.
The question of visas for skilled tech workers may seem relatively arcane as a political issue.
However, over the past few days it has brutally exposed a fissure at the heart of contemporary Trumpism.
In essence, it is a rupture between Mr. Trump’s longstanding base, the traditional MAGA right, and the loosely described ‘tech Right’, headed by Elon Musk, which, despite being late to the party, proved so consequential in the run-up to November.
For the latter, the issue is simple: the U.S. does not produce enough of the highest quality tech workers, meaning that to stay competitive and prevent China taking a lead, the country must import them from abroad.
For the longer-standing MAGA loyalists, however, the issue is equally simple, but in the opposite direction.
‘America first’, the philosophical driving force of Mr. Trump’s original White House bid, means just that: the jobs, where possible, should go to Americans.
The disagreement has prompted a nasty war of words, including accusations of censorship and some pretty flagrant racism.
For several days, Mr. Trump stayed out of it. But on Saturday night, he apparently felt he could no longer stay on the sidelines and backed Mr. Musk, telling the New York Post he “likes” the H-1B visa at issue, and has many people employed on them on his properties.
With his belated intervention, Mr. Trump may hope to end the debate. But the fissures revealed between the man who bankrolled his election victory and the anti-immigrant section of his coalition threaten to overshadow the 47th (and 49th) president’s inauguration next month.
Worth reading in full.
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