The Misinterpretation of Trump
Over the last few days there has been a firefight among Trump supporters regarding the H1-B visa. The short version is that Elon and Vivek say it is integral to business in the United States. Many supporters from the MAGA movement are arguing that using the H1-B visa is against the principles of “Make America Great Again” and “America First” which are the two pillars of the Trump campaigns in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
The H1-B visa is a work visa that specifically targets those with a college degree and is supposed to help employers fill specialty positions by hiring candidates from outside the United States when required. The MAGA members who are opposed to this say there are plenty of Americans to fill these jobs, employers are solely using the visas to fill positions with cheaper labor, and that Americans should be prioritized to fill these jobs. Many had disparaging remarks about both Elon and Vivek for supporting H1-B visas.
Elon and Vivek say using outside/non-American candidates through the H1-B visa program is absolutely necessary in modern business, especially in the tech world. They claim there aren’t enough Americans to fill these jobs, and it has little to do with cheaper labor.
President Trump is somewhat caught in the middle. In 2016 he campaigned against widespread use of H1-B visas. He also hired both Elon and Vivek to run his new DOGE agency aimed at increasing productivity and minimizing waste within the federal government. These two individuals, arguably, are more integral to the goals of the 2025-2029 administration than just about anyone else.
The argument over H1-B visas is great theater and great politics. I love that this is happening in an open debate across social media and on every network and platform I can think of. This is US politics in action. I do wish people were being a little more adult about it all, but it is great, nonetheless.
The sudden attention on H1-B did cause me to step back and think about the platform President Trump campaigned on. I really thought through the meaning of “Make America Great Again” and “America First” and realized how many people have misinterpreted what those mean. I only caught onto it because SO MANY people reacted so loudly to Elon and Vivek.
“Make America Great Again” does NOT mean “Make Americans Great Again”. Read that slowly and out loud. While making individual Americans great is a biproduct of improving the country, that process takes a MUCH longer time. The ongoing mess created over the last 20-plus years isn’t going to be magically solved on January 20th. Putting President Trump back in the White House doesn’t erase two decades of a degrading education system, or eliminate the massive liberal swing in college campuses, or suddenly change an entire group of kids who are from the “everyone gets a trophy” generation into self-sufficient and resilient badasses.
Similarly, “America First” does NOT mean “America Always” or “America Only”. Read that again. America First is the prioritization of America but it is not an absolute and we cannot survive alone. Being an isolationist is NOT a good thing and that is NOT what President Trump is aiming for. If your assumption is that President Trump is going to eliminate all foreign work and workers, you’re wrong. Frankly, America doesn’t have enough workers willing to fill our employment requirements across all industries, to include the tech industry. And I do emphasize the word “willing”.
Many people outraged by Vivek and Elon are proclaiming “I know tons of engineers and they are out of work” or “there are plenty of people qualified to work in tech, but not for the pay being offered”. There is that word again; “willing”. While the raw numbers may line up, not everyone is willing to move across the country for a job. Not everyone is willing to do the job for what they consider “not enough” money. Not all of this is as simple as round pegs in round holes.
Many of the MAGA folks who think the H1-B visa should be eliminated are also cheering the death of DEI and are vehemently opposed to the ridiculous minimum wage increases in places like California. Newsflash: If you force companies to hire Americans first, they all become DEI hires. Yep. If companies aren’t hiring the best qualified individuals because of a mandated quota or a forced hiring practice, everyone they hire becomes a DEI hire. Similarly, when you force employers to pay people wages above what the business can afford, you are going to have the exact same result as California; businesses are shutting down, moving, or replacing workers with automation.
I don’t really know what the Trump supporters who are so enraged at HB-1 expected. Did they expect everything to change overnight? That suddenly all our industries would be running at peak capability and that all Americans would be employed to the highest degree with the most appropriate benefits and pay? That President Trump was going to personally ensure every single American would be employed before every non-American? That all of this was going to start on January 20th? Poof!! It’s all fixed.
I know, I know, take it all with a grain of salt. Or, as my mom always said, “consider the source”. Both true statements, but some of it is more than just misinterpretation or poor expectation management. I actually read someone arguing that the “Boomer” generation during the Viet Nam era won the space race for America. Obviously, they had no idea the bulk of the scientists at NASA were Germans and not Americans and many of them were former Nazis. Seriously folks, pick up a book sometime. But that was their historical example of NOT needing foreign workers in the tech world.
And I know this is clearly not ALL Trump supporters and it isn’t ALL the MAGA movement people. There were plenty of people agreeing with Elon and Vivek because they understand we cannot become pure isolationists, and we cannot cut off any and all foreign workers and that NONE of this is going to change overnight.
Collectively, we do need to step back and re-evaluate what “Make America Great Again” and “America First” really mean. Please, key in on the fact that both slogans say America (the nation) and NOT Americans (the individual people). I have faith the policies of President Trump will move forward in fixing the messes created over the last two decades. I have faith that America is on the upward swing. I do believe in the LONG RUN, individual Americans will benefit from a BETTER education system and be capable of contributing MORE to the nation and will benefit financially as a result.
I believe all of that takes time. I believe the continued contribution of foreign workers through the H1-B visa program is vital to improving our country. I believe that isolating America and prioritizing Americans as an absolute will be the downfall of this great nation.
I also believe that we, as a nation, are suffering from our own poor expectations. We have, in our own minds, determined what the Trump slogans mean without any validation or clarification from the man himself. I think many people are wrong in what they expect from President Trump. I think many people have convinced themselves of a future that is unrealistic and, frankly, impossible.
I think a lot of people in this country are suffering from The Misinterpretation of Trump.