Trump shocks MAGA by backing Elon Musk in ‘civil war’ over controversial immigration policy

Donald Trump shocked MAGA faithful by siding with Elon Musk and other tech titans after a fierce debate over immigration visas sent his supporters into meltdown.

Musk threatened to “go to war” with MAGA Republicans this week after defending visas for skilled foreigners over American-born workers.

The Tesla founder and billionaire, who was recruited by Trump to co-lead his new Department of Government Efficiency, has expressed support for the H-1B visa, which allows highly skilled immigrants to work in the US for up to six years.

On Saturday, the president-elect praised the use of visas to bring skilled foreign workers to the US. The issue has become a flashpoint among his conservative base.

‘I’ve always liked the visas, I’ve always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump told the newspaper New York Post.

Trump has even criticized the H-1B visas in the past, calling them “very bad” and “unfair” for American workers.

During his first term as president, he unveiled a “Hire American” policy that drove changes to the program to try to ensure that the visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most skilled applicants.

Despite his criticism of them and efforts to restrict their use, he has used the visas at his companies in the past, something he acknowledged in his interview on Saturday.

“I have a lot of H-1B visas on my properties. I believed in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” Trump told the newspaper.

He did not appear to answer questions about whether he would seek changes to the number or use of the visas once he takes power on January 20.

Trump’s tough immigration policies, which focused mainly on immigrants in the country illegally, were a cornerstone of his presidential campaign and a priority for his supporters.

But in recent days his coalition has fractured in a public debate taking place largely online over the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers.

Far-right members of Trump’s movement have accused Musk and others in Trump’s new flank of tech supporters of pursuing policies that run counter to Trump’s “America First” vision.

Software engineers and others in the technology industry have used H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers, saying they are a crucial tool for hard-to-fill positions.

But critics have said they undermine American citizens who could take on these jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be abolished.

Musk’s comments on the immigrant visa came after pharma entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who will co-lead the DOGE with Musk, said this week that American culture was responsible for the need to hire foreign workers.

‘A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the Math Olympiad champion, or the jock over the valedictorian [the top student in a class]will not produce the best engineers,” he said on X.

Musk responded in a tweet that has since been deleted: ‘That about sums it up. This was an eye-opener’.

The billionaire’s comments have angered several Republicans who have an anti-immigration stance – which has been a key feature of Trump’s election campaign.

However, Musk has clapped back, promising in an X post to kick “hateful, unrepentant racists” out of the Republican Party.

He also tweeted that “the reason I am 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.

‘Take a big step back and F*** yourself in the face. I will wage war over an issue you cannot possibly understand.”

In a separate tweet, he said: “America rose to greatness over the past 150 years because it was a meritocracy more than anywhere else in the world.

“I will fight to my last drop of blood to ensure that this land of freedom and opportunity remains.”

Former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon responded to one of Musk’s tweets by saying, “Someone please notify Child Protective Services – we need to do a welfare check on this toddler.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said: “There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture…

“All you have to do is look at the border and see how many people want what we have. We need to invest and prioritize Americans, not foreign workers.”

At least fourteen Republican X account holders have since claimed that their blue checkmark verification has been removed, meaning they no longer have access to monetizing their profiles.

Musk was born in South Africa and became an American citizen in 2002.

He has made it clear that he wants exceptions to MAGA’s anti-immigration policy for the top 0.1% of foreign engineering talent, because he says it is “essential for America to keep winning.”

America is made up mostly of Americans, he said, which he considers “renewed.”

The feud is the first in the coalition Trump assembled, which brought together Republican voters and the tech giant that helped fuel his second presidential victory.