President-elect Trump backs H-1B visas, siding with Elon Musk after the tech billionaire pledged to go to "war" to defend the program and branded GOP opponents "hateful, unrepentant racists."
Why it matters: The MAGA-DOGE civil war that erupted over the last 48 hours has now come to a tipping point, with Trump's new techno-libertarian coalition of billionaires taking full aim at his traditional base.
Nothing revs up MAGA like the chance to dunk on DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion.
DEI-bashing is the core of the "anti-woke" theology. MAGA warriors want a true color/gender-blind meritocracy, they say.
Why it matters: MAGA's DEI unity has hit a big snag. Elon Musk — a MAGA fanboy and fav until this past week — and others on X are arguing forcefully that in a true meritocracy, you'd pick harder-working foreigners for high-skilled gigs over less-qualified Americans.
