Elon Musk’s praise for immigrants enrages Trump’s far-right

Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and members of President-elect Donald Trump’s Silicon Valley coalition are clashing with the hard-line anti-immigrant wing of the MAGA movement, which has prompted Musk to take the badge of approval from far-right critics at X. It is known to have been taken away.

The conflict has centered on Musk and Ramaswami’s recent praise for foreign tech workers, starting shortly after Indian immigrant Sriram Krishnan joined Trump’s AI and cryptocurrency czar David Sacks’ team. there is. In particular, it has expanded into racist rhetoric against Indian-Americans, pitting Trump’s class of tech mogul donors against his old network of far-right influencers, such as activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer. The ugly and extreme online battle between America’s far-right influence networks has parallels with the immigration debate currently playing out more quietly in Washington.

Anti-immigrant rhetoric was a cornerstone of Trump’s pitch to voters. He is expected to revive the H-1B visa crackdown he implemented during his first term, in addition to promoting false and racist rumors about immigrants and mass deportations that could destabilize the U.S. economy. At the same time, Trump is relying heavily on support from parts of Silicon Valley that rely on the H-1B program for engineers and other skilled workers. Both of these positions are represented in Trump’s inner circle. Trump’s homeland security adviser, for example, will be immigration crackdown proponent Stephen Miller, while Sacks will shape technology policy and Musk and Ramaswamy will head the unofficial “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE).

The underlying tension became clear when Sacks began coming under attack from popular pro-Trump voices after announcing the appointment of Krishnan to X. Loomer, who joined Trump on the campaign trail, pointed to Krishnan’s post calling on DOGE to “unlock skilled immigration” and called that choice “very disturbing.” Another user’s response, highlighted by Sacks, asked, “Did any of you vote for this Indian to run America?” “Sriram has been a U.S. citizen for 10 years,” Sacks said. He is not ‘running America’. … These attacks have become crude and not in the holiday spirit.”

Musk and Ramaswamy intervened and inflamed the conflict by praising migrant workers. (Musk himself, of course, moved from South Africa to the United States under supposedly illegal circumstances.) Musk wrote a tacit endorsement to I uploaded it. Same channel as the H-1B program. Musk said he “of course” prefers hiring Americans rather than going through the “painful and slow” work visa process, but that “there is a serious shortage of highly talented and motivated engineers in the United States.”

Ramaswamy subscribed to the theory that American pop culture is like 90s sitcoms. family problems “I worshiped mediocrity over excellence.” One Engineer

Conversely, figures like Loomer began criticizing Musk. He questioned Musk’s claims that foreign workers are needed, criticized Tesla’s H-1B pay, and called Musk a “Trump transition saboteur.” “I try to be on Trump’s side,” he said.

Over the past day, the debate has turned to new questions. Whether Musk has banned his critics from X’s paid verification system, contradicting his frequent claims that he has freed X from the ‘censorship’ of moderation. Loomer and others have reported losing their verified status on the platform and having their monetization options blocked. (It’s unclear whether Loomer will once again be handcuffed to the company’s headquarters in protest.) And Musk told /Notify if blocked” posted. “If someone likes your post, your reach will be significantly reduced.” It’s a not-so-subtle reminder that X, despite Musk’s promises of freedom, is a private platform controlled by some pretty thin people.

None of the issues here, including anti-India sentiments, are new. Usha Vance, the Indian-American wife of Trump’s running mate JD Vance, faced racist attacks on the campaign trail. But these issues have taken on new relevance as Trump prepares to take office and decides which faction’s concerns he will prioritize.

Figures like Musk and Loomer once found common cause in attacking non-conservative “Big Tech” figures, and relics of that alliance can be found in this debate. Parag Agrawal and Vijaya Gadde, Indian-born former Twitter executives targeted by Musk during his takeover, include Dinesh D’Souza, an Indian-American conservative commentator and Trump pardon beneficiary; ) was called an example of a “bad Indian.” (“I’m definitely one of the good guys,” D’Souza said.) Basically, both sides are still hostile to immigration except for a select group of exceptions. Musk has even gone so far as to promote the false and anti-Semitic “replacement” theory.

But in 2024, Big Tech CEOs have sent overwhelming signals that they will not antagonize Trump, who could not only crack down on immigration but also eliminate parts of the tech industry with tariffs. X, where the MAGA right tends to hang out online, has lost non-conservative users to platforms like Threads and Bluesky. Trump’s high-profile supporters have successfully purged or silenced most of his opponents. Now they are keeping score with each other.