‘The ultimate I told you so’: Black folks sit back and watch MAGA immigration war

"These are white people issues. I’m just gonna sit here and mind my black-assed business."

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Credit: YouTube.

A fierce social media melee erupted this week between anti-immigration activists and big tech entrepreneurs — and Black onlookers are all too happy to sit back and observe.

The debate began after President-elect Donald Trump appointed Sriram Krishnan, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur born in India, to advise the White House on artificial intelligence policy. Far-right provocateur Laura Loomer called the appointment “deeply disturbing,” noting Krishnan’s support for allowing more “skilled immigration” into the U.S.

Loomer’s comments ignited a multiday firestorm over immigration in the tech field and the H-1B visa, which allows businesses to hire specialized foreign workers. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy defended the visa program — and insulted a broad swath of Americans in the process.

“There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent. It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley,” Musk said on his social media platform X. “The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” he said in another post. Musk has held an H-1B visa before.

Ramaswamy, who was cheered on by MAGA supporters last month after Trump named him and Musk to head up the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” stepped in it even further by blaming American culture for the country’s inability to produce the best workers — enraging the MAGA base.

“The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture,” Ramaswamy wrote on X. “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.”

His comments were met with ferocious backlash from immigration hardliners and rabid MAGA supporters, with racist and virulent posts flooding X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Black social media users have largely decided to watch the MAGA melee play out, offering commentary on the sidelines. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said MAGA “got played” by Musk and Ramaswamy, stating, "I won't have enough tea to sip nor popcorn to eat over the next 4 years!"

Others noted that Black Americans have consistently warned other groups they weren’t included in Trumpworld’s vision for America.

“Observing the clash between MAGA loyalists and the Tech Right over immigration feels like the ultimate “I told you so” moment for Black Americans,” kiarichards wrote on Bluesky. “We warned other POCs that the “America First” narrative was coded language for a white ethno-state, which doesn’t include them.”

“In under 48 hours Elon Musk has realized that Republican’s preferred immigrant is no immigrant and that includes him,” tanishaevonne cracked.

“These are white people issues. I’m just gonna sit here and mind my black-assed business,” thacalebdume joked.

Even Darrell Scott, a pastor and prominent Trump supporter, noticed a common theme among the backlash.

“All Elon Musk has to do is say ‘Hey everybody…I was talking about BLACK Americans, not ALL Americans’” and the tide against him would immediately turn,” he wrote on X. “I guess it’s okay to imply that BLACKS are inferior (pilots, customer service reps, college students, etc) but how DARE someone imply that (white) AMERICANS are inferior,” he wrote in another post.

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Other social media users pointed out that MAGA loyalists now seem to understand the concept of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts despite having called for programs that help non-white Americans get jobs to be abolished.

“Watching MAGA try to force qualified immigrants out in order to hire unqualified Americans proves that Americans are actually the DEI beneficiaries that MAGA believed Black folks were,” beingreese wrote on Bluesky. “Elon & Vivek are finding this out in real time. These next 4 years are going to be terrifyingly entertaining.”

“Vivek told white people they are the real DEI hires and they been mad as shit all day,” j0nniecage quipped on Bluesky.

“Now that Elon and Vivek said the quiet part out loud, maybe MAGA (they won't) will see why DEI initiatives are important,” vicious696 wrote on Bluesky. “Want America first? Create and FUND programs to educate and provide the skills needed for Americans to be qualified for tech jobs in America.”

Trump, for his part, claimed Saturday that he supports the H-1B program.

“I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” he told the New York Post. He hadn’t always been in support of it — he had suspended the program during his first term in office.