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Donald Trump has hailed the H-1B visa program for skilled workers as “great” claiming to have always been in favor of it.
Speaking to The New York Post, the president-elect sided with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, after they both defended the need for hiring overseas workers in tech, engineering, and other sectors.
Ramaswamy, who will lead the outside commission known as the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Musk, said on X that US culture instilled the wrong values in its young: “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.”
“There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” Musk wrote on Wednesday on X. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.”
Their statements triggered pushback from “America First” hardliners, including Steve Bannon. They want strict immigration control and a furious war of words erupted on social media.
In a post on Gettr, Bannon told Fox News it needed to pick a side in the feud: “Either stand with American citizen workers or with globalist elitist tech oligarchs who feast on foreign indentured servants.”
Conversations around H-1B visas have divided Donald Trump’s party, with his Department of Government Efficiency heads Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on one side and other allies like Laura Loomer on the other. The Space X founder escalated the feud on Friday night when he called for some “contemptible fools” in the GOP to be removed.
Musk made the statement in response to a post on X by Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden’s director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council.
Kelly Rissman has the details.
Oliver O’Connell29 December 2024 22:10
President-elect Donald Trump has paid tribute to former President Jimmy Carter saying that Americans “owe him a debt of gratitude.”
Here’s the full statement posted on Truth Social:
I just heard of the news about the passing of President Jimmy Carter. Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History.
The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.
Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter Family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers.
Oliver O’Connell29 December 2024 22:09
As Musk doubled down on his support for H-1B work visas and criticism of American workers, Bannon posted on the social media platform Gettr: “Someone please notify ‘Child Protective Services’— need to do a ‘wellness check’ on this toddler.”
The former Trump adviser and War Room podcast host made the post in reaction to Musk telling a critic of his stance on immigration to “f*** yourself in the face.”
Oliver O’Connell29 December 2024 21:40
James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr, a naval officer, Nobel Peace Prize winner and peanut farm operator who became governor of Georgia and later the 39th president of the United States, has died.
Carter, who was the longest-living former American president, died on Sunday, December 29, his son announced.
He served as president for one term from 1977 to 1981, but is just as well-known for his humanitarian service after leaving Washington, DC, working for Habitat for Humanity and negotiating peace deals.
Follow here for the latest updates:
Oliver O’Connell29 December 2024 21:21
Shri Thanedar of Illinois wrote in a Twitter post on Thursday that sex workers should be able to come to law enforcement when they are victims of abuse, adding that decriminalizing sex work would aid in efforts to prevent children from being trafficked and otherwise exploited.
Oliver O’Connell29 December 2024 21:10
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to implement the “toughest” anti-U.S. policy, state media reported Sunday, less than a month before Donald Trump takes office as U.S. president.
Trump’s return to the White House raises prospects for high-profile diplomacy with North Korea. During his first term, Trump met Kim three times for talks on the North’s nuclear program. Many experts however say a quick resumption of Kim-Trump summitry is unlikely as Trump would first focus on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. North Korea’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine also poses a challenge to efforts to revive diplomacy, experts say.
During a five-day plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party that ended Friday, Kim called the U.S. “the most reactionary state that regards anti-communism as its invariable state policy.” Kim said that the U.S.-South Korea-Japan security partnership is expanding into “a nuclear military bloc for aggression.”
“This reality clearly shows to which direction we should advance and what we should do and how,” Kim said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
It said Kim’s speech “clarified the strategy for the toughest anti-U.S. counteraction to be launched aggressively” by North Korea for its long-term national interests and security.
KCNA didn’t elaborate on the anti-U.S. strategy. But it said Kim set forth tasks to bolster military capability through defense technology advancements and stressed the need to improve the mental toughness of North Korean soldiers.
The previous meetings between Trump and Kim had not only put an end to their exchanges of fiery rhetoric and threats of destruction, but they developed personal connections. Trump once famously said he and Kim “fell in love.” But their talks eventually collapsed in 2019, as they wrangled over U.S.-led sanctions on the North.
Oliver O’Connell29 December 2024 20:55
Sununu, a moderate Republican, said on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday morning that he does not imagine someone will take Trump’s place as leader of the GOP after his term is over.
“Trump is Trump. There’s no ‘Trump-lite.’ There’s no ‘Trump 2.0’ coming up,” he said. “I always say that Trump is who he is because he’s built up himself in the American psyche for 40 years. I mean, really since the 80s.”
Andrea Cavallier has the story.
Oliver O’Connell29 December 2024 20:40
Oliver O’Connell29 December 2024 20:25
From an outside glance, the two electoral events had little in common; not least because Sir Keir Starmer and President-elect Donald Trump are far apart in most aspects of their character.
In both cases, the incumbent government was voted out, in no uncertain terms.
Indeed, these elections shared some key similarities which may point to trends in the future of global politics, particularly in the digital age.
Alicja Hagopian29 December 2024 20:10