'Where is my president?': Some MAGA supporters in uproar over Trump's H-1B visa comms

'Where is my president?': Some MAGA supporters in uproar over Trump's H-1B visa comments
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pres...y?id=127458610
H-1B visas allow employers to hire foreign workers for specialty occupations.
ByWill Steakin
November 12, 2025, 1:50 PM

President Donald Trump is facing backlash from some of the most influential pro-Trump voices over recent comments backing H-1B visas and saying the United States doesn’t have people with “certain talents” to fill jobs, the latest criticism he's faced from the far-right parts of his MAGA base.

The president made the comments in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that aired Tuesday night, when she pressed the president on how he plans to handle H-1B visas, which allow companies to hire foreign skilled workers in specialty occupations, with Ingraham suggesting that the program would hurt efforts to raise wages for Americans.

Trump pushed back on Ingraham’s framing, saying, “Well, I agree, but you also do have to bring in talent when a country --"

When Ingraham interjected, “Well, we have plenty of talented people here," the president replied, “No, you don’t. No, you don’t have certain talents and people have to learn.”

Trump’s comments have sparked widespread outrage from prominent voices on the right, ranging from popular MAGA influencer Jack Posobiec to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to Trump supporter and former 1990s “Hercules” actor Kevin Sorbo.

“What an atrocious thing to say. This will cost republicans the midterms,” Sorbo wrote in a post on X.

Prominent pro-Trump podcaster Benny Johnson responded to Trump’s comments by sharing a post Charlie Kirk made on X a few weeks before his assassination, where Kirk called for stopping “the H-1B scam.” Johnson added that he would continue to fight against the issue.

Meanwhile, Kylie Kremer, a diehard Trump supporter who helped organize the rally before the Jan. 6 riot, posted in response, “Where is my President?” and Steven Crowder, another popular right-wing podcaster, called Trump’s comments “as bad as it gets.”

“Was hoping he learned from Elon’s blunder on this one, but it’s not looking like it,” he added.

To try to stop the fracturing of the pro-Trump coalition, Steve Bannon, Trump’s longtime adviser and former White House chief strategist, took to his popular "War Room" show on Wednesday morning to quell the backlash.

"Trump’s not perfect; he’s an imperfect instrument," Bannon told his viewers, adding that Trump was "infused by divine providence."

"Without him, we’d have nothing. So stay focused. This is 12 o’clock high; we’re on a bombing run. Don’t lose sight of the mission," Bannon added.

But the blowback is the latest firestorm the president has faced from his own loyal supporters since returning to office. It follows a similar uproar that engulfed the early days of his presidential transition following the 2024 election, when H-1B visas again became a flashpoint.

The far-right flank of Trump’s base has strongly opposed the program as part of its effort to restrict not only illegal but also legal immigration.

That push came to a head last December -- one of the first internal controversies of Trump’s return to power -- when a firestorm erupted on the right between the tech wing of the MAGA movement, figures like Elon Musk and David Sacks, who argue H-1B visas help bring in skilled labor for their companies, and far-right influencers like Laura Loomer, who attacked them for not being “America First” enough.

Amid that backlash last year, Trump defended the program in an interview with The New York Post, stating, “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them.”

“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” Trump added.

But the president has previously been critical of the program, including during his 2016 campaign, when, during a GOP primary debate, Trump called it “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers while admitting that he uses it at his companies.

“First of all, I think and I know the H-1B very well. And it’s something that I frankly use and I shouldn’t be allowed to use it. We shouldn’t have it,” he said. “Second of all, I think it’s very important to say, well, I’m a businessman and I have to do what I have to do.”

In September, Trump cracked down on the program by signing a proclamation that imposes a $100,000 fee for companies seeking to obtain the visa. Experts say the move will make it difficult for tech firms to expand U.S. operations or incentivize highly talented foreign workers to choose America as the place they launch their next big idea, ABC News previously reported.

The H1-B visa program was created as part of the 1990 immigration bill and allowed foreign prospective employees with college and graduate degrees in select fields such as computer sciences, engineering.

Several major tech CEOs -- including Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Google's Sundar Pichai -- are foreign-born and were on H1-B visas after they finished their college and graduate studies in America.

80 year old senior Diaper Don all over the place on the topic of visas. Dementia at play. He is way too old and an in poor mental health to be president. On death's door! Sad!

His supporters really getting spoon fed the good stuff from him lately.
"I love the poorly educated!"
"Smart people don't like me."

It's either an h1b or a global capability center. Very soon telework via vr will let them work from India and do manual labor via a robot.

I'm not really sure what kind of jobs will be left. Maybe high skill jobs like doctors.

Oh yeah and intra company transfers.

*wrong topic deleted

But Trump is right on this issue. I've seen it first hand the apathy of Americans towards learning and education. The vast majority haven't opened a book since high school and are more interested in playing football and becoming social media stars.

Americans can't even complain that they can't find a job when I went through the same pipeline with many other Americans and found a skilled job.

The few Americans who have their heads on right, don't take up too much debt, get a good degree, tend to do just fine in our society. It's a skill issue.

Trump is right to care about the universities. We should all care. And everyone who can go, should go. But not for a degree that's worthless and doesn't lead to gainful employment. That's where the rub is. Too many cutesy arts and gender studies and chicano(pocho) studies majors. If you want to draw, go draw. If you want to learn to run a business. Run a business.

Personally, found laundry Ingram to be very grating and annoying throughout the whole interview. "I dont care about universities" Nobody cares that you don't care about universities, dumb bitch. She embodies the attitude from your average republican that hates universities and sees them as indoctrination centers for the left.

Which yeah, I saw a lot of left bullshit during my time there. Pronouns and other nonsense. Most people just ignore it and roll their eyes. But that doesn't take away from the fact that universities are critical to our society and success as a nation. And to dismiss them and even have a negative attitude towards them is exceptionally foolish. Why not just let China take over?

Autocorrect for Laura to laundry was too hilarious to delete. Get it? Laundry?