Elon and MAGA at war

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  1. IslandBites profile image92
    IslandBitesposted 6 weeks ago

    MAGA civil war erupts between Musk, critics over H-1B visas

    A Trump World civil war has erupted over visas for highly skilled workers, with the president-elect’s new tech industry allies like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on one side and the anti-immigration MAGA base on the other.

    But while President-elect Trump has promised to shut down illegal immigration at the southern border and start a mass deportation effort, the latest debate concerns immigrants here legally — exposing a larger, sometimes racist, anti-immigrant sentiment on the right.

    The debate was sparked by Trump on Sunday when he announced he was appointing Sriram Krishnan to be a White House policy adviser on artificial intelligence. Krishnan quickly came under fire for a November post suggesting immigration changes: “Anything to remove country caps for green cards / unlock skilled immigration would be huge.”

    The bulk of the discussion began to center on the H-1B visa program, an employer-sponsored visa intended for high-skilled professionals that is used mostly for computer-related and tech jobs. Congress has capped that program at 65,000 per year plus an additional 20,000 for foreign professionals who graduate with a master’s degree or doctorate from a U.S. college or university.

    Those in the MAGA base argue that the visa program is used to undercut American workers.

    Musk, who has become a close ally of Trump since the election, argued in a post on his social platform X that Silicon Valley often turns to immigrants because there are too few U.S.-born engineers. The tech billionaire, who was born in South Africa, once held an H-1B visa himself.

    Ramaswamy, co-chair of Trump’s new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) alongside Musk, previously called to “gut” the H-1B visa program during his own presidential campaign. But he chimed in on the debate by blaming the lack of U.S.-born engineers on American culture, suggesting that it has “venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long,” pointing to pop culture examples like the sitcom “Saved by the Bell” and characters Zach and Slater being “venerated” over the school nerd Screech.

    Other Silicon Valley conservatives, such as venture capitalists David Sacks and Joe Lonsdale, also weighed in on the debate, arguing in favor of greater high-skilled immigration.

    In a likely subtle response to the division, Miller — an architect of Trump’s immigration policy in his first term — posted an excerpt from Trump’s 2020 Independence Day eve speech from Mt. Rushmore that said “only America, no other place” could have produced icons like the Wright brothers, the Tuskegee Airmen, Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali.

    Trump himself, meanwhile, has been quiet on the issue as the debate has raged on X... But Trump in 2016 had criticized the H-1B program, saying it imported foreign workers “for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay.” His first term administration aimed to raise wage requirements for H-1B visas, but the rule was ultimately blocked.

    1. tsmog profile image84
      tsmogposted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

      The Republican Party, today. A little bit of metaphorical creativity to offer a moment to ponder this and that.

      https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/17317171_f1024.jpg

    2. wilderness profile image89
      wildernessposted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

      From your description, it looks to me as if the argument is between people experienced with the problem and thus knowledgeable about it and the man-in-the-street, whether MAGA card carrying or not, and who is sick to death about the whole immigrant fiasco we have put ourselves in.

      If so, my vote would be to the solution from those that have experienced the problem in real life, that are operating from a base of knowledge and understanding rather than from disgust and exhaustion.

  2. IslandBites profile image92
    IslandBitesposted 6 weeks ago

    Musk calls some MAGA supporters ‘contemptible fools’ as visa row intensifies

    Tech billionaire Elon Musk labeled a section of President-elect Trump supporters as “contemptible fools” as the online debate around visas for highly skilled workers on the right intensifies.

    A Trump world civil war has been brewing this week as Musk, and his “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) partner Vivek Ramaswamy have found themselves on the opposite end of the legal immigration debate with the anti-immigration contingent of the MAGA base.

    On Friday, right-leaning “Dilbert” cartoonist Scott Adams chimed in on the debate, which has largely taken place on the social media platform X, arguing that “MAGA is taking a page from Democrats on how to lose elections while feeling good about themselves.”

    Musk, who has defended foreign-born engineers, agreed with Adams and said “those contemptible fools must be removed from the Republican Party, root and stem.”

    Loomer, who has accused Musk of censoring her post on X over her immigration remarks, fired back at the Tesla owner and said he was not living up to his ideal of being a “free speech absolutist” in regards to his “contemptible fool” comments.

    “@elonmusk has been a Republican for 5 minutes and now he wants to decide who gets to be a Republican,” she wrote Friday on X. “Elon, you said you were a free speech absolutist. If you are, let’s please let all ideas flourish and we will let the best ideas win. Let’s embrace free speech absolutism.”

    1. wilderness profile image89
      wildernessposted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

      LOL  Are you sure it didn't come from the HubPages forums, with all the bickering and name calling there?  lol

  3. IslandBites profile image92
    IslandBitesposted 6 weeks ago

    Elon Musk accused of censoring conservatives on X who disagree with him about immigration

    Tech billionaire Elon Musk faced accusations of censorship Friday from fellow conservatives after several prominent right-wing accounts who had criticized Musk’s views on immigration said that they subsequently lost access to premium features on Musk’s social media app, X.

    At least 14 conservative accounts said late Thursday or Friday that X had revoked their blue verification badge, cutting them off from a variety of premium features, including the ability to monetize their accounts through subscriptions and advertising revenue-sharing, according to a review conducted by NBC News. Some accounts said the number of those affected was far higher.

    The accounts were all still active Friday, but without access to monetization features; some of them said they worried about their ability to keep posting.

  4. IslandBites profile image92
    IslandBitesposted 6 weeks ago

    'Elon Musk a toddler': Steve Bannon's outburst reveals the war within MAGA

    Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has added his voice to the ongoing clash over H-1B visas, fueled by Elon Musk's outspoken stance. The dispute intensified after Musk, a controversial figure in Republican circles, sent an expletive-laden message to critics challenging his views on the visa program.

    Turning his attention to the H-1B visa debate, Musk didn’t mince words: "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 H-1B visas. Take a big step back and F**K YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend."

    On his show, Bannon rejected Musk's framing of the issue, asserting that it’s not simply about visas but about protecting American jobs. "H-1B visas? That’s not what it’s about. It’s about taking American jobs and bringing over essentially what have become indentured servants at lower wages," Bannon argued.

    He criticized Silicon Valley oligarchs for exploiting the system: "This thing’s a scam. They’re taking jobs from American citizens, giving them to foreign workers under H-1B programs, and paying them less. It’s about greed and the abuse of power, plain and simple."

    "Someone please notify 'Child Protective Services'—need to do a 'wellness check' on this toddler," Bannon wrote on GETTR, indirectly referring to Musk as a "toddler."

  5. Credence2 profile image80
    Credence2posted 6 weeks ago

    As I always suspected, helter skelter begins…… as does the infighting.

  6. abwilliams profile image68
    abwilliamsposted 6 weeks ago

    The Republican Party and MAGA are not now, nor have they ever been "anti-immigration". The correct term is anti-illegal immigration.
    "Civil war" is a bit strong don't you think? MAGA is all about strong, independent thinkers, there's bound to be some friction within, now and then. MAGA is laser-focused on freedom, liberty, safety, prosperity... and on that, they are in lockstep.

    1. Sharlee01 profile image83
      Sharlee01posted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

      I agree...
      I firmly believe in putting America first while recognizing the need for migrant workers to fill jobs that aren’t being sustained by American workers. This approach aligns with what the new administration seems to respect and what has been emphasized during Trump’s campaign and beyond. The focus has consistently been on ensuring well-vetted workers and adhering to our H-1B visa laws. It’s clear that in certain fields, we need workers to keep our economy strong. I’m not sure why some people are struggling to comprehend this. It’s evident that the media is once again stirring the pot, but this time there’s no substance—just an attempt to create division where there isn’t any. The whole “MAGA divide” narrative feels contrived and, frankly, silly.

  7. Willowarbor profile image59
    Willowarborposted 6 weeks ago

    Musk liked a post that asserted Americans are too “retarded” to fill the country’s tech workforce and supported the idea that top roles should be taken up by “better educated” people from overseas...

    Musk hates the base.  He looks down his nose at y'all..The tech bro is salivating at the thought of immigration to endlessly feed his corporations with cheap and very controllable labor at the expense of Americans.... American oligarchs grow fat off  the backs of Indians.

    Lol... Does anyone realize that massive layoffs have been going on intact for years? Ask yourself who those folks are being replaced with..

    Who would have guessed that the interest of tech billionaires don't align with the poors?

  8. Willowarbor profile image59
    Willowarborposted 6 weeks ago

    LOL America first?

    "Tech and outsourcing companies continue to exploit the H-1B visa program at a time of mass layoffs
    The top 30 H-1B employers hired 34,000 new H-1B workers in 2022 and laid off at least 85,000 workers in 2022 and early 2023..."

    https://www.epi.org/blog/tech-and-outso … rly%202023


    A little example from the happiest place on earth.. this is from 2015...

    Pink Slips at Disney. But First, Training Foreign Replacements.

    250 Disney employees were told in late October that they would be laid off. Many of their jobs were transferred to immigrants on temporary visas for highly skilled technical workers, who were brought in by an outsourcing firm based in India. Over the next three months, some Disney employees were required to train their replacements to do the jobs they had lost.

    This is what is happening folks. 

    https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/us/l … ments.html

    Google, Meta, Amazon hire low-paid foreign workers after US layoffs: report...


    Some of the biggest companies in tech including Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Salesforce have hired foreign workers just weeks after reducing headcount by thousands of employees, according to a report.

    Google, which laid off some 12,000 employees earlier this year, filed applications for low-paid foreign workers to come to the United States and assume highly specialized tech roles within the company, according to investigative journalist Lee Fang....

    Fang cited a 2017 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research that found that “wages for US computer scientists would have been 2.6% to 5.1% higher” while “employment in computer science for US workers would have been 6.1% to 10.8% higher” in 2001 “in the absence of immigration.”

    https://nypost.com/2023/05/16/google-me … fs-report/

    These folks aren't better, they're cheaper. 

    You might think that employers that laid off large numbers of their tech workers would not be able to bring in more foreign workers in the H-1B program.

    You would be wrong.

    If employers shed hundreds or thousands of their workers, thus indicating that they are not facing a worker shortage, how can they bring in more workers from overseas? The answer is that the immigration system simply ignores the layoffs as it allocates H-1B workers. It pays attention only to the numbers requested by industry....

    https://cis.org/North/Tech-Employers-La … ounds-H1Bs

    And Trump has come out in full support behind Musk.   Hey, Musk bought the guy and he better fall in line, right?

    Also wondering where the guy is who's supposed to be vice president elect? Does that man have nothing to say? What's his agenda?

    1. Credence2 profile image80
      Credence2posted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your comment and associated research. Trump is a double agent and his MAGA is just another scam pulled on working people to advantage him and his wealthy benefactors. I ask America, just how dumb do you have to be?

  9. IslandBites profile image92
    IslandBitesposted 6 weeks ago

    I’m not sure why some people are struggling to comprehend this. It’s evident that the media is once again stirring the pot, but this time there’s no substance—just an attempt to create division where there isn’t any. The whole “MAGA divide” narrative feels contrived and, frankly, silly.

    Im sure liberals agree. MAGA "America First" xenophobes and racists, not so much.

    If you think there's no division, you're not following the news, checking X, social media etc.

    Here, from your trusted Fox.

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/musk-r … mmigration

    Musk and Ramaswamy ignite MAGA war over skilled immigration and American 'mediocrity'

    Trump world warriors Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have ignited an intra-MAGA battle with their proposals to increase immigration visas for high-skill workers.

    Musk and Ramaswamy, who have been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), argued that American culture has not prioritized education enough, and therefore foreign workers are needed for tech companies like Musk’s SpaceX and Tesla.
    ... the wealthy businessmen now find themselves butting heads with Trump’s most ardent base that wants to see Trump make good on promises of immigration restrictions and promoting the U.S. labor force.

    Trump restricted access to foreign worker visas during his first administration and has critiqued the H-1B visas program, which allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. 

    (Muwk and Ramaswamy) comments didn’t sit well with conservative crusaders like pundit Ann Coulter, commentator Laura Loomer, former Rep. Matt Gaetz and even former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

    Right-wing rabble-rouser Loomer said, "Our country was built by white Europeans, actually. Not third-world invaders from India. It's not racist against Indians to want the original MAGA policies I voted for. I voted for a reduction in H-1B visas. Not an extension."

    Bannon and Miller too... And maaany more. MAGA comments on social media and news articles are beautiful. smile

    1. Sharlee01 profile image83
      Sharlee01posted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

      I’ve solely looked into the issue that involves Elon and Vivik, and I can see both sides. While Musk and Vivek highlight the shortage of skilled engineering talent in the U.S., especially in industries like SpaceX and Tesla, they don’t explicitly call for an increase in H-1B visas. Instead, they focus on the cultural and educational factors that contribute to the shortage, arguing that American culture doesn't prioritize STEM fields enough. Musk's comments about American culture celebrating mediocrity and Vivek’s remarks about valuing the "prom queen over the math olympiad champ" suggest they believe a cultural shift is necessary to produce more homegrown talent.

      I agree with Nikki Haley that we should invest in American workers, but I think she skirts the issue when it comes to the need for STEM workers. The reality is that there’s a gap in the workforce, and sometimes we need to fill those gaps with legal foreign workers. I believe that American workers should be prioritized if they are qualified, but we can’t ignore the fact that there are areas where there just aren't enough qualified candidates domestically. Regarding Loomer, I have a very negative bias against her attitude, so I will not comment on her thoughts. I don't give her any relevance in the party.

      There’s a lot of talk about protecting American workers, but when it comes to specialized fields like tech, we can’t pretend the shortage doesn’t exist. Trump’s present position on vetting foreign workers for job needs, is different from what he’s said about reducing visas in 2016, and that shows the complexity of the issue. Ultimately, I think we need to strike a balance—ensuring qualified Americans get the first shot at jobs while recognizing that we may need to bring in foreign workers in the short term to keep our economy running smoothly.

      I have not followed the many articles at this point, I’m taking a wait-and-see approach until I see Trump actually step up and break a promise or deviate from what he ran on once he's back in office. The only thing I recall him emphasizing about migrant workers was that he wanted them to come in legally and based on job needs. As far as I saw, he never specifically talked about H-1B quotas. Of course, I could have missed something.

      1. Willowarbor profile image59
        Willowarborposted 6 weeks agoin reply to this

        Shortage?

        Tech companies have been consistently laying off employees since late 2022. As of Dec. 18, some 529 tech companies have laid off 149,870 employees in 2024, according to layoffs. fyi., which tracks job cuts in the tech industry.

        Despite large-scale layoffs, tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta have continued to hire foreign workers through H-1B visas, often seeking low-paid talent even after reducing their overall workforce.

        And as far as bringing in "the best".  Lol, the visa system is a LOTTERY.  nothing about meritocracy there.  In a true meritocracy, where merit supersedes all else, the H-1B visa program wouldn't  be done by lottery or capped at a quota.

        https://www.rdworldonline.com/100-of-th … s-of-2024/

        https://nypost.com/2023/05/16/google-me … reddit.com

  10. Willowarbor profile image59
    Willowarborposted 6 weeks ago

    Companies are exploiting the system for cheaper more compliant labor.  Nothing but taking jobs from Americans.  Companies laying off and then outsourcing jobs...blaming it on Americans to add insult to injury.

  11. Willowarbor profile image59
    Willowarborposted 6 weeks ago

    Another flip flop.

    "As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program "very bad" and "unfair" for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a "Buy American and Hire American" executive order, which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers."

    "In 2020, the Trump administration required employers to pay H-1B holders higher wages, a move they argued would discourage U.S. companies from turning to cheaper labor from abroad."

    And yet....

    "I've always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That's why we have them," Trump told The New York Post on Saturday."

    Now he's owned by musk. 

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/musk-vivek … t-to-know/

  12. IslandBites profile image92
    IslandBitesposted 5 weeks ago

    Steve Bannon tells Elon Musk to ‘sit in the back and study’

    Former President-elect Trump advisor Steve Bannon told tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk to “sit in the back and study” amid an ongoing feud between the president-elect’s Silicon Valley backers and his anti-immigrant base over visas for highly skilled workers.

    “They’re recent converts,” Bannon said Tuesday on his “War Room” podcast, referring to Musk and the other new Trump supporters from the tech world.

    “We love converts,” he added. “But the converts sit in the back and study for years and years and years to make sure you understand the faith and you understand the nuances of the faith and understand how you can internalize the faith.” 

    “Don’t come up and go to the pulpit in your first week here and start lecturing people about the way things are going to be,” Bannon continued. “If you’re going to do that, we’re going to rip your face off.”

  13. IslandBites profile image92
    IslandBitesposted 5 weeks ago

    Trump ally Laura Loomer on Musk: ‘Nobody wants to cross this guy’

    Laura Loomer, a staunch ally of President-elect Trump and far-right activist, suggested that some Republicans in Trump’s circle don’t want to cross billionaire Elon Musk.

    “It sounds like people are scared of crossing the king, the king of the world, Elon Musk, the monarch,” Loomer told longtime conservative broadcaster and pundit Eric Bolling on Monday.

    “Nobody wants to cross this guy,” she added in the interview, as highlighted by Mediaite.

    Loomer also suggested during the interview that Musk’s multimillion-dollar campaign that helped propel Trump back into the Oval Office may have intimidated some within the president-elect’s base.

    “This is the problem when you … allow for a billionaire to make a $200 million donation. And so, maybe we really do need to have campaign finance regulations in this country,” Loomer said.

    Throughout the 2024 election cycle, the Tesla and SpaceX executive donated nearly $239 million, including in-kind contributions, to America PAC, his super PAC that backed Trump’s latest presidential bid, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed Thursday night.

    “I think that a lot of people have a hard time speaking truth to power, and a lot of people are afraid of taking on billionaires,” Loomer told Bannon on his “War Room” podcast. “He is the richest man in the world, and so he kind of orbits President Trump.”

    “As I called him the other day, I said he’s a Stage 5 clinger,” she continued.

    Loomer and other hard-line immigration Republicans were critical of Musk, who faced accusations of censorship after several right-wing accounts on Musk’s social platform X, including Loomer’s, lost access to premium features including verification and monetization, NBC News reported.

    1. wilderness profile image89
      wildernessposted 5 weeks agoin reply to this

      "Loomer and other hard-line immigration Republicans were critical of Musk, who faced accusations of censorship after several right-wing accounts on Musk’s social platform X, including Loomer’s, lost access to premium features including verification and monetization, NBC News reported."

      Don't mean to ignore your other points, but this one hits home to me.  Do these complainers have any evidence their loss was not by either accident OR by automatic operations?  Is there any evidence that someone went in and changed the programming by hand to eliminate their perks?

      I highly doubt it, to the point I would have to guess a very strong "NO!".  This is a hot button for me, wherein people make claims based on nothing but their desire for it to be true.  No need for facts, no need to allow reality to intrude, no need for truth; if you want it then you are allowed (encouraged) to shout it from the rooftops that it IS true, it IS reality, it IS factual.

      BS!

      1. IslandBites profile image92
        IslandBitesposted 5 weeks agoin reply to this

        Musk defends demonetizing critics’ content on X

        Tech billionaire Elon Musk defended his move to demonetize his critics’ content on his social platform X and maintained the decision did not violate free speech.

        “The first amendment is protection for ‘free speech’, not ‘paid speech’ ffs,” Musk wrote Wednesday on X.

        Musk, the owner of X, was responding to a user who poked fun at those who accused Musk of violating free speech after some users’ verification badges and monetization abilities were revoked.

        Those who lost verification and monetization abilities included various hard-line immigration Republicans such as Laura Loomer, a staunch ally of President-elect Trump.

        Far-right white supremacist Nick Fuentes was also among those to have lost verification, writing on X on Tuesday, “Twitter censorship is back. Free speech is dead.”

        Musk, who purchased X, then known as Twitter, in 2021, has touted himself as a champion of free speech in recent years. He has pulled back a number of content moderation policies on X, defending the move as a protection of free speech.

        1. Sharlee01 profile image83
          Sharlee01posted 5 weeks agoin reply to this

          “The first amendment is protection for ‘free speech’, not ‘paid speech’ ffs,” Musk wrote Wednesday on X."

          In my view, he context of the sentence “The First Amendment is protection for ‘free speech,’ not ‘paid speech’ ffs,” written by Elon Musk on X, relates to a broader discussion about the limits and interpretation of free speech, particularly in the context of social media platforms.

          Musk was again my view, was responding to debates about whether certain types of speech—especially speech that is commercially motivated or financially supported—should be protected under the First Amendment in the same way as independent speech. That comment suggests a distinction between speech that is freely expressed by individuals and speech that is driven by financial incentives, implying that paid speech (such as advertising or sponsored content) might not be protected to the same extent as free, personal speech.

          But ----
          It seems like Musk is offering Loomer the right to free speech, but not the opportunity to make money on the platform. While she can still express her views, losing monetization features limits her ability to earn revenue, which does seem unfair, especially considering there are many others who continue to make money on X without any issues. This disparity raises questions about how consistent the platform's policies are and whether monetization should be tied to free speech or treated as a separate matter altogether.

        2. wilderness profile image89
          wildernessposted 5 weeks agoin reply to this

          Guess that settles that!  But gotta go with Musk here - using someone else's platform requires that you follow their rules; if you don't like them go somewhere else or build your own platform.  I don't like to see him do it, but he does have the right.

          Besides, with the massive efforts in the past few years by government to moderate those same platforms, I don't quite understand how anyone can consider them free speech.

          1. Willowarbor profile image59
            Willowarborposted 5 weeks agoin reply to this

            Literally no one was saying that when a lot of right-wing folks felt like Twitter was biased against them...

            I'm also wondering how maga will survive because Musk is dividing the group at every turn.

  14. IslandBites profile image92
    IslandBitesposted 5 weeks ago

    Funny that moderation rules are only for things he doesnt like. When he agrees or even when he's the one posting misinformation its all good, its free speech. smile

  15. IslandBites profile image92
    IslandBitesposted 4 weeks ago

    https://as2.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/00/35/02/29/1000_F_35022951_RPr4RoEsESKfl5QzLKJW6m9WoN9VV5Um.jpg

    Steve Bannon condemns Elon Musk as ‘racist’ and ‘truly evil’

    In an escalation of discontent among the highest-profile far-right followers of Donald Trump, his former adviser Steve Bannon has called Trump’s newest favorite, Elon Musk, “racist” and a “truly evil guy”, pledging to “take this guy down” and kick him out of the Maga movement.

    “He is a truly evil guy, a very bad guy. I made it my personal thing to take this guy down,” Bannon said. “Before, because he put money in, I was prepared to tolerate it – I’m not prepared to tolerate it any more.”

    He added: “I will have Elon Musk run out of here by inauguration day”, which falls on 20 January. “He will not have full access to the White House. He will be like any other person.”

    “This thing of the H-1B visas, it’s about the entire immigration system is gamed by the tech overlords. They use it to their advantage. The people are furious,” said Bannon, whom Trump fired from his White House position during his first administration but who later reinvented himself through his War Room podcast as one of the chief evangelists of the Maga movement.

    Bannon further widened his aim to attack Musk’s fellow tech giants Peter Thiel and David Sacks for having South African heritage.

    “He [Musk] should go back to South Africa,” Bannon said. “Why do we have South Africans, the most racist people on earth, white South Africans, we have them making any comments at all on what goes on in the United States?”

    Arguing that Musk’s “sole objective is to become a trillionaire” and calling him a proponent of “techno-feudalism on a global scale”, Bannon said, “I don’t support that and we’ll fight it,” adding: “He won’t fight. He’s got the maturity of a little boy.

    “He will do anything to make sure that any one of his companies is protected or has a better deal or he makes more money.

    “His aggregation of wealth, and then – through wealth – power: that’s what he’s focused on.”

    Musk, one of Trump’s second-generation tech bro backers, initially backed the program, but then softened his stance and conceded it is “broken.”

    But not before he signaled his agreement with an X post that claimed Americans were too “retarded” to perform skilled jobs, which left a lasting sting for Bannon and others.

    “He suffered a major defeat in America on H1B visas, he derided our movement as racist and retarded, and he lost,” added Bannon in the interview Wednesday. “He has the maturity of a child. He has tried to change the conversation, after losing credibility in the United States and the fact that, frankly, people around Trump are tired of him.”

  16. IslandBites profile image92
    IslandBitesposted 4 weeks ago

    Steve Bannon Issues New Elon Musk Warning: 'Masters in Beijing'

    Prominent right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon took aim at billionaire Elon Musk, saying the world's wealthiest man has "masters in Beijing" during a Saturday episode of his WarRoom podcast.

    Bannon has long been critical of Musk, and routinely criticized his business ties to China.

    The podcaster has previously called Musk a "stone cold liar" and said "his paymasters" are from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

    On Saturday, Bannon discussed how Musk has said he will change the algorithm on X, formerly Twitter, to reduce "negativity." Musk purchased X and has run the company since October 2022.

    A recent X update announcement explains that Musk aims to tweak the algorithm "to penalize 'negativity' while promoting content that is informational and entertaining. Bannon suggested Musk was exhibiting hypocrisy after previously saying that he'd make X a beacon of free speech. The right-wing podcaster said the billionaire was taking a cue from the CCP.

    "He's using a social credit score," Bannon said. "He's using it from his masters in Beijing—have taught him through the Shanghai joint venture, of how to use social credit scores."

    China's so-called "social credit" system has drawn substantial criticism in the West. Beijing's end goal is to establish a master database, a blacklisting system, and a reward and punishment instrument that can be applied nationwide, with the aim of measuring trust in society, government, the judiciary, finance and commerce.

    Bannon's remarks referenced Musk's business operations in China. Tesla, in which Musk is the CEO of, announced in mid-2018 that it had "signed a Cooperative Agreement for Tesla to start building Gigafactory 3, a new electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Shanghai." The Chinese factory's operations have substantially boosted the company's productivity and value to investors.

    Additionally, Musk often praises China's technological advancements, including the country's space program, infrastructure and renewable energy. In 2019, he was offered permanent residency in the country after visiting and saying, "I love China and want to come here more often."

    In December, Musk came out against the bipartisan spending bill that would avert a government shutdown, with some lawmakers suggesting he was against it due to the provisions on China.

    The original bill would have prohibited or required notification of overseas transactions involving China in sectors like semiconductors, quantum technology and artificial intelligence. It also would have included an expanded review of Chinese real estate purchases near national security-sensitive sites and a requirement to study national security risks posed by Chinese-made consumer modems and routers.

    The final version of the bill removed all China-related provisions.

    1. Credence2 profile image80
      Credence2posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

      I will use the smallest chisel that l have to chip at the MAGA foundation a piece at a time. I am happy to have the Musk-Bannon debates help in reducing that foundation to rubble. Every little bit helps.

      Musk is a loud mouth, self promoter who because he is world richest man, believes that he knows what is best for the entire planet.

      Bannon is a rabble rousing racist

      Let's see which one Trump  kicks to the curb?

 
working

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