Trump Throws Small Biz Under Same Bus That’s Bringing in Big-Tech Workers
As small businesses plead to keep undocumented workers, Trump defends visas for Big Tech
Dec. 30: Trump endorses visas for workers Big Tech “needs” … MAGA confused by obvious, predictable pandering to oligarchs … Trump swings into action to save, um, Chinese oligarch Big Tech … Jimmy Carter timed it perfectly …
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RePresident-elect Donald Trump this weekend became a champion of diversity when it helps Silicon Valley, big-tech billionaires, and — oh, yeah — China!
For months now, farmers and other small businesses have begged Trump to exempt their workers from his promised/threatened immigration sweeps. But Trump hasn’t budged. Until now. Just not for them. For tech billionaires.
On Saturday, Trump followed the lead of South African immigrant Elon Musk, who argued last week that American workers are just too shitty to produce the big tech that America desperately needs to continue making life even more great than big tech has already made life so fucking great.
That’s why Musk favors the H-1B visa program, which applies to immigrants who possess specialized white-collar skills, such as feeding the ego of South African immigrant Elon Musk.
On Friday, when challenged about his support of H-1B visas, Musk responded, “Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face.” He added, “I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend,” in the understandably garbled grammar of an immigrant who hasn’t learned the language.
The New York Post asked Trump about H-1B visas on Saturday. “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump said, defending the immigration program now overseen by Pres. Joe Biden, who Trump has accused of importing immigrants to destroy America with their skills.
“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,” said Trump, praising the program overseen by Biden.
Trump’s previous praise for H-1B visas include the classic compliment, “very bad.” And in a 2016 debate, Trump said, “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 then added that regardless of what’s good for the country, he does what he wants: “It’s very important to say, well, I’m a businessman and I have to do what I have to do.”
History buffs may recall that Trump then became president and hacked away at the great H-1B program starting just months into Trump1.0.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce — the Invisible Hand’s visible middle finger — called Trump’s 2017 actions “a full-frontal attack” and predicted it would hurt growth and job creation. And yet, according to Trump, we had the greatest economy ever.
Even in recent years, despite the alleged shortage of highly skilled American tech workers, Big Tech companies have been laying people off.
In fact, Big Tech companies have been on a firing binge for two years. This year alone, 529 tech companies laid off 149,870 of those workers they can’t find.
One tech CEO who said last year that he had laid off about 80% of his hard-to-find workers was, at the time, named Elon Musk.
As writer Heidi Moore noted, “[T]he layoffs were done by tech companies to stop paying decent wages. The ‘worker shortage’ is the fact that those companies now can't find enough people to work for lower wages.”
So if the worker shortage is all bullshit, why would Trump now side with Big Tech execs? Because now he is one!
Remember Truth Social, Trump’s social-media platform? It applied for an H-1B visa!
And Trump’s an even bigger exploiter of H-2B workers, the ones they call unskilled even though they can do shit like build homes and scape land. The New York Times says federal data show Trump’s companies got approvals to hire more than 1,000 immigrant workers because he couldn’t find anyone in Florida who knew how to do things like cook food.
In fact, Trump is right now unable to find American workers for his vineyard in Charlottesville, VA, because that’s how good the Bidenonomy is. (If you’re interested in this $15.81/hour job that Trump is creating (for immigrants) you can find more info here).
SO, WHAT JOBS ARE HIGHLY SKILLED? It’s not just Twitter coders who get imported because there are no Americans to fill those jobs. According to the official government site, H-1B visas cover the following fields:
“…architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts…”
Theology.
Wrap your newsfucking face around that, Newsfuckers. Somewhere, some American employer is forced to import a theologian from another country because they just can’t find an American with the full training and requisite credentials for analyzing magic.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT When pitted against labor issues, immigration can be tricky. A simple solution would be to ensure that no one’s getting underpaid. But who’s fighting for that craziness?
But even in the context of fighting for American wages and job opportunities, it’s important to remember that, ultimately, American and non-American workers are on the same side: Workers. And whatever weapons government wields against some will ultimately be turned on the rest.
So, no matter what form Trump’s xeno-purges take, there are ways we can and should respond — and shouldn’t. And they’re not always intuitive or obvious. Journalist Robert Leonard wrote a thoughtful analysis of how we might approach this uncertain future that TFN encourages folks to check out.
MAKE AMERICA CONFUSED AGAIN Trump’s newfound love of immigrant labor forces for oligarchs left a lot of people confused. How do we know? Because Fox said so this weekend!
One of those confused people appears to be MAGA leader Charlie Kirk, who Tweeted on Friday, “If I was [sic] a smart leftist I would go all in on trying to create a schism between MAGA and TechWorld. We must resist this. It’s an op. Our coalition will naturally have differing opinions. Together we beat the Democrats in November. And now together we will save America.” Vivek Ramaswamy, not an immigrant, backed Kirk’s statement (even though collective action is the antithesis of the MAGA movement’s individualism fetish).
As an apparent participant in said schism-creating op, your op-participating TFN feels obliged to let you Newsfuckers know that, the very next day, a clip surfaced of Kirk himself trying to create a schism between MAGA and TechWorld:
“It sounds good: ‘Let’s just let more H-1B workers in.’ … The American people overwhelmingly voted for less immigration and the prioritization of the American children and the American worker, not the American oligarch."
Of course, it’s not as if Trump is only making exceptions for oligarchs oh wait yes it is. In fact, non-oligarchic American farmers have been pleading with Trump not to deport their workers, one half of whom lack documentation and one half of whom’s disappearance would skyrocket grocery prices into SpaceX.
Likewise, home-builders warned even before the election that their non-oligarchic small businesses will suffer — and home prices will soar — if Trump doesn’t give them the same immigration exemptions he’s giving oligarchs.
In Trump’s defense, however, American oligarchs aren’t the only people he’s prioritizing over the American worker.
Trump Also Prioritizing Chinese Oligarchs
If MAGA is thrilled about RePresident-elect Donald Trump coming to the rescue of Chinese oligarchs, maybe MAGA will post about it on TikTok!
Because, despite his busy schedule figuring out ways to help America’s poor and paycheck-to-paycheck workers, Trump managed to find time last week to ask the Supreme Court to let him save TikTok for China’s oligarchs.
You may recall that a U.S. law enacted this year requires TikTok’s sale to a non-Chinese-controlled entity by Jan. 19, 2025, or else be banned in the U.S. Well, Trump filed a brief asking the court to delay the ban so that he and only he can save TikTok.
From the actual, no-shit, swear to American Jesus, amicus fucking curiae brief:
“…President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform [TikTok] while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government … Indeed, President Trump’s first Term was highlighted by a series of policy triumphs achieved through historic deals, and he has a great prospect of success in this latest national security and foreign policy endeavor.”
And that’s after explaining to the court what a president is and how awesome Trump is and also how successful his social-media platform Truth Social is (it isn’t).
Trump’s filing hilariously argues that the law interferes with his presidenting because it dared to do shit prior to said Trump presidenting. How dare there be a past!
TikTok is controversial because the app allegedly tracks and collects data from its 170 million American users that’s not only potentially sensitive and a national-security risk but is also the sole property of American oligarchs.
Trump reportedly likes TikTok because he thinks it helped his campaign.
Also, fun coinkydink, Trump had a meeting earlier this month with TikTok CEO Shou Chew. And last month, it was reported that Chew was in communication with, wait for it, a certain other, ubiquitous social-media CEO named Elon Musk.
Jimmy Carter Opts Not to Attend Trump Inauguration
After living long enough to become the first American president to reach 100 years old, hanging on to bid his wife of 77 years farewell at her funeral last year, and then clinging to existence to cast his vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, former Pres. Jimmy Carter on Sunday chose death over remaining on this mortal plane long enough to witness the second inauguration of Donald Trump.
Instead, his grandson announced on Sunday, Carter ceased living, ensuring he would miss the Jan. 20, 2025, return of President Trump.
There’s some dispute about what precise fate Carter chose over watching Trump place his hand on The Bible and lie about upholding the Constitution. Many Democrats believe that Carter’s earnest leadership in the post-Watergate era and his post-presidential philanthropic works with Habitat for Humanity and others have earned him a place in Heaven1.
By contrast, Republicans believe Carter has chosen Hell over attending Trump’s inauguration. Carter’s sins include installing solar panels on the White House roof to slow the destruction of atmospheric protections against the sun and attempting to transition the U.S. to the metric system, which would have prevented 1999’s loss of the $125-million Mars Climate Orbiter.
Trump responded to Carter’s death yesterday with a shocking-for-him degree of grace, and only a soupçon of gratuitous, irresistible self-aggrandizement. “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude,” Donny said.
James Earl Carter, Jr., was an old-school evangelical Christian who believed religious beliefs are to be applied to one’s own life, not the lives of others. He is survived by other Carters and a legacy as a bad-ass.
Here’s a remembrance from The Nation’s Katrina Vanden Heuvel.
Here’s a reminder of the treasonous pigfucking Republicans pulled on Carter that helps explain why old people make a face when young people say Trump was the worst president ever.
And here’s Carter eradicating disease, probably one of just many things many Newsfuckers, including this one, didn’t know about him.
Newsfuckers can share their thoughts in the Carter Center condolence book here.
Mangione Watch
Despite prosecutors alleging that Luigi Mangione was trying to terrify us when he shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — allegedly — some unterrified fans appear to have been inspired by Mangione in the creation of new art. And they chose quite a canvas.
Graffiti appeared in New York’s wealthy upper East Side last week, with Mangione-esque phrases, the New York Post reports. There were the early hits, like “Deny, defend, depose,” but also deep cuts like, “They fear the people” and a tribute: “Free Luigi.”
And the site these unterrified artists chose for their non-terror-inspired work? They sprayed it on the front door and facade of a home formerly owned by, wait for it…
Jeffrey Epstein.
And who lives there now, after shelling out $51 million to purchase a home entirely powered by the ultra-violet bioluminescence found on its every surface? A former Goldman Sachs executive who’s probably not sleeping great these days.
RECOMMENDED READING We neglected to share this obituary for Thompson from comedian and writer of mocking obituaries Jim Earl earlier this month:
TCB
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Go get ‘em, 2024 kids!
Democrats who follow the science understand that the concept of an afterlife is contrary to the laws of physics and logic.
Ps Thank you for making me a more informed person! I’m all on board for raising the wages of everyone, and ending the nightmare of people from other places being abused because they don’t have the legal standing to fight back. And Elon can go fuck himself. He’s living proof that being rich makes a person dumber.
Trump responded to Carter’s death yesterday with a shocking-for-him degree of grace
Which is what makes it obvious that someone else wrote it.