By Oliver Willis
Daily Kos Staff
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By Oliver Willis Daily Kos Staff Billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk appears to be trying to calm tension in the MAGA world just days after calling for a “war.”
The controversy kicked off after conservative activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer criticized Donald Trump’s decision to name Sriram Krishnan AI adviser in his upcoming administration.
Loomer drew attention to a post of Krishnan’s calling for an increase in H1-B visas, which allows immigrant workers to come to the United States for work. The tech industry has been a big advocate of such visas, while many within the MAGA coalition have spent years opposing immigration programs.
Musk, who spent at least $250 million to help elect Trump—and apparently didn’t notice the years and years Trump supporters spent cheering for immigration restrictions—struck back. He characterized those with an opposing point of view as having an “upside-down and backwards” understanding of the issue.
The multibillionaire continued to escalate his rhetoric. Responding to a post that called the anti-immigrant faction “retarded,” Musk replied, “That pretty much sums it up. This was eye-opening.”
But he didn’t stop there.
Musk—who is worth more than $429 billion and spends untold hours every day on social media—jumped into the replies of another person disagreeing with him.
“Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend,” he wrote.
He also wrote that “those contemptible fools must be removed from the Republican Party, root and stem.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Democrat of Texas, had fun ribbing the division within the MAGA world.
“I won’t have enough tea to sip nor popcorn to eat over the next 4 years! I’ve done countless interviews explaining that we need immigrants and that they contribute to our economy! Businesses blow us up about needing workers. And what do ya know?! MAGA got played,” she wrote.
After days of controversy, Trump finally weighed in on the issue, siding with financial backer Musk.
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties,” Trump said. “I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”
Like many of Trump’s claims, this is a lie. Trump has long opposed H-1B visas. During his first term, he tried to push policies and regulations that would limit the number of visas awarded.
Musk later deleted the tweet agreeing with the “retarded” comment and issued a request for more positivity on X.
“Please post a bit more positive, beautiful or informative content on this platform,” he wrote.
He followed up the edict with a series of posts unrelated to the visa controversy, including praise for tech-related ideas that he has endorsed.
The firestorm has exposed early cracks in Trump coalition’s, with Trump himself betraying his anti-immigrant base in favor of the more recent MAGA convert Musk.
But the anti-immigrant sentiment has been so central to the MAGA identity over the past decade that it’s unlikely that Musk’s request for “beautiful” posts will come to fruition.
