When California Gov. Gavin Newsom sees a political opportunity, he seizes it—a good sign that Democratic leadership is recalibrating to be at the forefront of the battle against Donald Trump in the years ahead.
Over the weekend, Newsom chimed in on the infighting among MAGA hardliners and DOGE bros Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
As the governor of the nation’s most populous state—and one of its bluest—Newsom aligned himself with Elon Musk on the topic of H-1B visas in a series of posts on X highlighting the fractures among the conservative base.
“.@ElonMusk is right when he said: ‘you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be.’ The same principle should apply to supporting our farmworkers, construction, and trades workers who build and feed our country. Top talent is top talent,” Newsom wrote on X.
“Good to see Trump embrace Elon’s position,” he wrote in another post. “Hardworking immigrants should continue to be part of our great nation. From Silicon Valley to the Central Valley, we are better off when we have competition and top talent–from farmworkers, construction workers, CEOs, and beyond.”
Good to see Trump embrace Elon’s position. Hardworking immigrants should continue to be part of our great nation. From Silicon Valley to the Central Valley, we are better off when we have competition and top talent – from farmworkers, construction workers, CEOs, and beyond. pic.twitter.com/PGDPP40dbv— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) December 28, 2024
Unsurprisingly, MAGA was displeased—and delusional as ever. One user commented, “We will make him change that position soon, Gavin.”
Another wrote, “Lol, When Gavin Newsom supports it, you’re definitely doing something wrong.”
Ramaswamy, who was born to immigrant parents and whose father is still a citizen of India, started the online feud on Dec. 26.
“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” Ramaswamy posted on X, adding some pretty outdated examples of American pop culture. “A culture that venerates Cory from ‘Boy Meets World,’ or Zach & Slater over Screech in ‘Saved by the Bell,’ or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters,’ will not produce the best engineers.”
A day later, a “pure satire” user on X posted an interview with Ramaswamy with the caption, “The Indian impulse to scam.”
Trump’s recent praise of the H-1B visa reflects a pattern of flip-flopping on the issue. In 2016, he supported the visa in a debate on Fox News—a change from his stance stated on his campaign website.
“We need highly skilled people in this country. If we can’t do it, we will get them in. And we do need in Silicon Valley, we absolutely have to have. So we do need highly skilled [workers],” he said.
When asked if he’s moved away from his previous stance, which was that “[t]oo many visas, like the H-1B, have no such requirement” to hire American workers first, he said that he’s “changing it, and I’m softening the position because we have to have talented people in this country.”
As AP reported, just three months into his first term, Trump issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, which directed his administration to reform H-1B visas to be awarded only to the highest-paid or most skilled applicants to protect American workers.
California, which shares a border with Mexico, has the highest number of immigrants of any state in the country—making up one-fifth of the state’s population in recent years. And more than half of workers in the state are first- or second-generation immigrants.
Newsom has long been considered a leader in the Democratic Party’s resistance to Trump, and he’s even being considered a potential presidential candidate for the 2028 election. Immigration—something Newsom knows well—was a key issue that brought voters to the polls in November, and Newsom appears to be taking advantage of this favorable political moment.
Meanwhile, Ramaswamy and Musk are facing a crumbling MAGA bromance as they navigate the minefield of racism and bigotry. Who’s going to tell them that’s exactly what they signed up for when they hitched their wagon to Trump?
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