Trump sides with Musk in right-wing row over worker visas

President-elect Donald Trump defended the H1-B visa program Thursday, calling it essential for attracting skilled foreign workers, even as a heated debate within his Republican base exposed deep divisions over immigration policy.

"I've always liked the visas; I have always been in favor of the visas, that's why we have them," Trump told the New York Post. His comments come amid a fiery dispute between Silicon Valley’s Elon Musk and Trump’s anti-immigration supporters.

Musk, the Tesla CEO and a vocal advocate for the H1-B program, took to his social media platform X to argue that importing elite talent is "essential for America to keep winning." He pledged to "go to war" over the issue, inflaming tensions with Trump loyalists who favor tighter immigration controls.

Adding to the discord, Vivek Ramaswamy, a tech entrepreneur and co-chair of Trump’s cost-cutting panel, criticized what he called a "culture of mediocrity" in the U.S., warning that China could surpass America without skilled foreign labor.

Prominent Trump allies like Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon lambasted Musk and Ramaswamy, accusing them of undermining Trump’s campaign promise to prioritize American workers. Bannon went so far as to call Musk a "toddler" and the visa program a system of "indentured servitude."

The dispute underscores a growing rift in the Republican Party as Trump prepares to take office in January. The party remains divided between Trump’s anti-immigration base and tech-driven donors who see skilled immigration as vital to economic growth.