Elon, Vivek and how to insult an entire country – the H-1b Visa kerfuffle

(image: ideogram.io)

It was all bound to unravel. Over the past week or so, to gasps of delight and unbridled told-you-sos from the Democrats, an ugly fracture within the GOP (both in its leadership and its base) has become yawning, and probably unbridgeable. Elon Musk took a cudgel to Republican unity, and the whole party now looks a bit like Humpty Dumpty, post plummet.

It all began as a kerfuffle about a special visa, previously unknown to most Americans and affecting less than 85,000 people per year. It is called the H-1B and it has been around in some form since 1952. If you are a foreigner and can show that you are highly skilled or educated in some critical area of expertise (which changes periodically), you can come to the US and work legally for 6 years. Then you can re-apply. The upshot is that about 500,000 people are currently employed under this law; some have renewed their visas for decades.

None of this has been particularly controversial - there are many countries that offer similar enticements to the smartest of the global pack. But two developments have impacted on the situation over the last 10 years.

The first is the ascendance of foreign (or foreign-born) CEOs and wildly successful entrepreneurs, particularly in STEM careers, many of them from the Indian subcontinent and working at companies like Google, IBM, Microsoft, FedEx, Adobe and Micron, among others. Including Vivek Ramaswamy, now Musk's partner at the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.

The second matter is the rise of MAGA, that large but diverse group of GOP voters energized by Trump, many of whom are fervently nationalist, globally isolationist and suspicious of foreign influence of any kind. To be fair, there are many other strings to MAGA's bow including matters of culture, climate, minority rights and religion, but fierce patriotic tribalism is the hot core of many, if not most, of Trump's MAGA minions.

These people are simply not happy about Indian-born CEOs. Or Indian-born Trump advisors, including the guy whose appointment seems to have been the spark that ignited this blazing row, Sriram Krishnanm, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist appointed by Trump to work with David Sacks on Trump's AI policy advisory team.

The fissure probably started with a single outraged tweet from some well-followed MAGA poster who doesn't like people with funny names, swarthy skins and ‘shithole’ birthplaces. And then it spread quickly. Musk was not happy. Not only has he personally benefited from preferential visa programs, but he has also hired liberally from abroad under H-1B regulations. When the owner of X is not happy, two things happen. Everyone hears about it, and then people on X start getting censored, notwithstanding his so-called commitment to free speech. (This happened to Laura Loomer, a far right-wing activist who loudly objected to Musk's support of the visa).

There was a flurry of explosive tweets from Musk.

The most startling of them had him talking about visa detractors as 'contemptible fools'. Not lost on anyone was that the adjective 'contemptible' is pretty close to 'deplorable', which was used by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and we all know what happened there. There was even a DeploraBall held in Washington after Trump's first presidential inauguration.

Musk further suggested that his detractors be removed from the GOP 'root and stem'.

He then went nuclear, posting: "The reason I'm in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B. 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."

OK then, battle lines drawn, in no uncertain terms. But before we proceed (and notwithstanding a bunch of other screechy Musk posts) consider this: Elon Musk, favoured Trump appointee, had told a couple of tens of millions of Trump voters that not only were they not welcome in the Republican party but they should also go fuck themselves. In the face, which presumably is a much worse place than any other, erm, opening. Oh, and he threatened his detractors with ‘war’ speak.

Oh dear.

Reaction was swift. Not only on social media, but among the MAGA elite -- people like ex-Trump consigliere Steve Bannon and incoming administration advisor, immigration hawk and grim reaper Steve Miller.

But then it got worse. His partner at DOGE, Vivek Ramaswamy, decided to wade in. One can't imagine how he could top Musk, but he did. A lengthy post on X is distilled by this extract:

"Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn't start in college, it starts 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."

Oh. My. God. Here was a newly heralded Trump appointee telling all American citizens that they were culturally deficient. To be fair, he has a point about inverted and irrational school meritocracies but read the room, Vivek -- you essentially insulted the entire country.

It seems to me that there is no coming back from this. Tech bros led by Musk funded a large part of Trump's campaign and fed his insatiable PR bullhorn. It is arguable that he would have lost without Musk's support. Trump also promised all sorts of 'America First' goodies for the rank-and-file, from immigration controls to tariffs. Now the two have crashed headlong into each other.

All politicians promise things they cannot deliver. But in Trump's case he has promised everything to everyone, and then some. His style of persuasive bombast and aggression led half the country to take him at his word and vote for him. But the good ‘ol boy from Alabama and a Silicon valley techie are miles apart in just about everything, and someone is sure to feel aggrieved when promise books are finally balanced.

Now it’s pay-up time. He is already having trouble doling out swag, and he hasn’t even taken his seat yet.

Steven Boykey Sidley is a professor of practice at JBS, University of Johannesburg and a partner at Bridge Capital. His new book It’s Mine: How the Crypto Industry is Redefining Ownership is published by Maverick451 in SA and Legend Times Group in UK/EU, available now. Copy edited by Bryony Mortimer