Donald Trump has sided with Elon Musk in a public dispute over the H-1B visa programme for foreign tech workers, saying he fully supports it. The remarks follow a series of social media posts from the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who vowed to go to 'war' to defend the scheme.
Trump, who moved to limit the visa's use during his first presidency, told the New York Post on Saturday that he has used the programme many times on his properties. 'I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It's a great program,' he said.
The altercation was triggered by far-right activists criticising Trump's selection of Indian American venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as an AI adviser. Musk's tweet was directed at immigration hard-liners pushing for the visa to be scrapped. Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump confidante, critiqued 'big tech oligarchs' for supporting the programme.
Musk, a naturalised US citizen born in South Africa, has held an H-1B visa, and Tesla obtained 724 such visas this year. The US tech industry relies on the programme to hire foreign skilled workers, a labour force that critics say undercuts wages for American citizens.
