Musk and conservatives.
A battle of wits and courage?
Even before Trump entered the White House, cracks had already begun to appear within his coalition, mainly due to differences with conservative figures on anti-immigration issues.
Musk said on the social platform X on the 26th: "In order for the United States to continue to win (on the international stage), it is important to bring 0.1% of the top engineers over through legal immigration."
These statements angered some conservative figures, who accused the two of overly belittling the United States' achievements in developing technical talent. Stephen Miller, an ultra-conservative and Trump's next deputy director of the White House Office, uploaded a speech by Trump in 2020 on the social platform X, praising American culture for "bringing electricity, nuclear fission, telephones and the Internet." His implication is that foreign technicians are not essential for the United States to accomplish great things.
Trump has remained silent on the debate, but which side he stands on may signal how he will govern in his second presidency and who he trusts most. As a long-time follower, Silicon Valley is actually too deeply embedded in the Trumpist circle.
