Topline
President Donald Trump’s recent comments suggesting the U.S. needs highly skilled foreign workers because there aren’t enough in the U.S. has sparked backlash among his MAGA base—marking his latest break with his supporters after Democrats’ sweep in last week’s major elections called into question Trump’s second-term record.
President Donald Trump arrives to the White House in Washington, DC, following a trip to Palm Beach, Florida with a stop at a Washington Commanders football game on November 9, 2025. (Photo by ALLISON ROBBERT/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Trump defended the program in an interview that aired Tuesday with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham when she asked him if he would deprioritize the H-1B visa program, prompting a contentious debate with the Fox News host who typically sympathizes with Trump.
“You don’t have certain talents and people have to learn,” Trump said in response to Ingraham insisting, “we have plenty of talented people here,” to which Trump replied, “no, you don’t.”
Multiple influential figures on the right denounced Trump’s comments—right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich tweeted, “Trump broke everyone’s heart with this line about the American workforce and H-1B’s.”
Conservative influencer Jack Posobiec wrote, “Charlie knew” and retweeted an August post from the late right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk that said, “Let’s end the H-1B scam. The time is now. Congress needs to get a bill to the president’s desk.”
Florida Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini—who has more than 200,000 X followers—called the comments “insane” and said “we are going to lose the mid-terms so badly.”
Turning Point USA contributor Savanah Hernandez wrote, “Trump needs to get out of his bubble and back on the ground listening to the American people who elected him to work for us. . . his H-1B comment shows how out of touch with the base he has become.”
Contra
Trump ally Steve Bannon—a prominent critic of H-1Bs—sought to calm Trump’s base during his podcast Wednesday, telling his audience Trump is “an imperfect instrument, but he’s an instrument infused by divine providence. If you had not had him and you didn’t have him today, you wouldn’t have anything, and I realize there are some days and some comments that get you all worked up. We’re here to calm you down and say . . . stay focused, don’t be getting off the main event here.”