President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday that he shares the same views on H-1B visas as Elon Musk amid intense debate online about the use of the program.

“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. “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.”

Controversy over the subject slowly began at the start of the week after Trump named Sriram Krishnan to serve as Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Krishnan, who was born in India, came to the United States on an L-1 visa and became a citizen in 2016. He has held senior roles at several major U.S. tech companies.

The backlash to the appointment was relatively small with some expressing problems with Krishnan’s pro-immigration views while a small, fringe segment made racist remarks targeting Indians.

“Sriram sure didn’t deserve all this!” Musk posted on X. “He’s such a great guy. I hope this ultimately pie[r]ces the boil of hidden racism and leads to a better America.”

Musk said that “hateful, unrepentant racists” needed to be kicked out of the GOP or else “they will absolutely be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are not removed.”

The controversy did not fully erupt until Vivek Ramaswamy said American culture was to blame in a post on Thursday that has been viewed 100 million times on X. In it, Ramaswamy said that “top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans” because Americans are often mediocre because of how they are raised.

The post ignited intense backlash from many of Trump’s biggest supporters, some of whom had previously supported Ramaswamy.

Musk, who came to the United States from South Africa, said that the entire reason he came to America and became an American was because of the H-1B visa program, which he added has been critical to growing America’s top companies.

“Anyone – of any race, creed or nationality – who came to America and worked like hell to contribute to this country will forever have my respect,” Musk posted on X. “America is the land of freedom and opportunity. Fight with every fiber of your being to keep it that way!”

Musk said that America’s rise to greatness over the last 150 years happened “because it was a meritocracy more than anywhere else on Earth.”

“I will fight to my last drop of blood to ensure that it remains that land of freedom and opportunity,” he added.

Musk repeatedly pushed back against false information online about what his views were about the H-1B visa program as some accounts posted fake screenshots of posts that appeared to be from Musk but, in reality, were fraudulent.

Musk said that the H-1B visa program should be reserved only for people who fill a void that is not being met domestic expertise while acknowledging that the system is being abused and the fraud needs to be cut out.

“There is some degree of fraud and considerable incompetence in every government program and H1-B is no exception,” he said. “That fraud and incompetence need to be fixed throughout the government.”

Musk said the U.S. needs to bring-in “the top ~0.1% of engineering talent” that is “essential for America to keep winning.”

“This is like bringing in the Jokic’s or Wemby’s of the world to help your whole team (which is mostly Americans!) win the NBA,” he said. “Thinking of America as a pro sports team that has been winning for a long time and wants to keep winning is the right mental construct.”

Musk said that he supports the views of Trump’s top immigration adviser from his first term in office, hardliner Stephen Miller, who will serve as White House deputy chief of staff for policy in Trump’s upcoming term.

“Miller is just saying that H1B’s should be granted on the basis of merit, not randomly or to get cheap labor,” Musk posted on X in response to an account that posted a screenshot of a previous post from Miller. “What’s wrong with that?”

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President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday that he shares the same views on H-1B visas as Elon Musk amid intense debate online about the use of the program.

“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. “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.”

Controversy over the subject slowly began at the start of the week after Trump named Sriram Krishnan to serve as Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Krishnan, who was born in India, came to the United States on an L-1 visa and became a citizen in 2016. He has held senior roles at several major U.S. tech companies.

The backlash to the appointment was relatively small with some expressing problems with Krishnan’s pro-immigration views while a small, fringe segment made racist remarks targeting Indians.

“Sriram sure didn’t deserve all this!” Musk posted on X. “He’s such a great guy. I hope this ultimately pie[r]ces the boil of hidden racism and leads to a better America.”

Musk said that “hateful, unrepentant racists” needed to be kicked out of the GOP or else “they will absolutely be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are not removed.”

The controversy did not fully erupt until Vivek Ramaswamy said American culture was to blame in a post on Thursday that has been viewed 100 million times on X. In it, Ramaswamy said that “top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans” because Americans are often mediocre because of how they are raised.

The post ignited intense backlash from many of Trump’s biggest supporters, some of whom had previously supported Ramaswamy.

Musk, who came to the United States from South Africa, said that the entire reason he came to America and became an American was because of the H-1B visa program, which he added has been critical to growing America’s top companies.

“Anyone – of any race, creed or nationality – who came to America and worked like hell to contribute to this country will forever have my respect,” Musk posted on X. “America is the land of freedom and opportunity. Fight with every fiber of your being to keep it that way!”

Musk said that America’s rise to greatness over the last 150 years happened “because it was a meritocracy more than anywhere else on Earth.”

“I will fight to my last drop of blood to ensure that it remains that land of freedom and opportunity,” he added.

Musk repeatedly pushed back against false information online about what his views were about the H-1B visa program as some accounts posted fake screenshots of posts that appeared to be from Musk but, in reality, were fraudulent.

Musk said that the H-1B visa program should be reserved only for people who fill a void that is not being met domestic expertise while acknowledging that the system is being abused and the fraud needs to be cut out.

“There is some degree of fraud and considerable incompetence in every government program and H1-B is no exception,” he said. “That fraud and incompetence need to be fixed throughout the government.”

Musk said the U.S. needs to bring-in “the top ~0.1% of engineering talent” that is “essential for America to keep winning.”

“This is like bringing in the Jokic’s or Wemby’s of the world to help your whole team (which is mostly Americans!) win the NBA,” he said. “Thinking of America as a pro sports team that has been winning for a long time and wants to keep winning is the right mental construct.”

Musk said that he supports the views of Trump’s top immigration adviser from his first term in office, hardliner Stephen Miller, who will serve as White House deputy chief of staff for policy in Trump’s upcoming term.

“Miller is just saying that H1B’s should be granted on the basis of merit, not randomly or to get cheap labor,” Musk posted on X in response to an account that posted a screenshot of a previous post from Miller. “What’s wrong with that?”

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