Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett has claimed the title of president-elect Donald TrumpThe MAGA base was “played” by business tycoons. Elon Musk And Vivek Ramaswamy, in the middle of one ongoing social media dispute through the H-1B skilled worker program.

Crockett made the claim late Thursday in a post on the Musk-owned Platform X, formerly Twitter, commenting: “I won’t have enough tea to drink and popcorn to eat for the next four years!”

Newsweek contacted Ramaswamy and Trump’s 2024 presidential transition team via email outside of regular office hours on Friday for comment. Musk was also contacted through the press offices of Tesla and SpaceX.

I won’t have enough tea to drink and popcorn to eat for the next 4 years! I have done countless interviews explaining that we need immigrants and that they contribute to our economy! Companies make us angry because they need workers.

And what do you know?! MAGA has been played and is mad at…

– Jasmine Crockett (@JasmineForUS) December 27, 2024

Why it matters

In recent days, there have been open conflicts among Trump supporters over the H-1B worker program and legal immigration to the US in general. This pits some of the former and future president’s most influential supporters from the technology and business worlds, such as Musk and Ramaswamy, against more nativist figures such as Laura Loomer.

Not long ago, MAGA fans praised Musk and Ramaswamy for their federal cost-cutting proposals, an initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Once in office, Trump will likely face competing pressures from his supporters in big business and Silicon Valley, who use H-1B visas to bring skilled workers to the U.S., and immigration opponents who believe this comes at a cost of American workers goes.

What you should know

Crockett said, “I won’t have enough tea to drink and popcorn to eat for the next four years!” I have done countless interviews explaining that we need immigrants and that they contribute to our economy! Companies make us angry because they need workers.”

“And what do you know?! MAGA has been outplayed and is mad at who?! The same two guys who just yelled at them were looking out for them last week when the government was about to shut down!”

The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant work visa in the United States that allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in specialized occupations. These jobs typically require theoretical or technical expertise in areas such as information technology (IT), engineering, mathematics, finance, medicine, science, or other professional disciplines.

The number is currently capped at 65,000 per year, but an additional 20,000 visas will be made available annually to foreigners pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in the United States.

The conflict between rival Trump supporters erupted after Loomer criticized the new president’s decision to appoint Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-born technology entrepreneur, as his senior policy adviser on artificial intelligence (AI). Loomer noted that Krishnan had previously called for an expansion of the H-1B visa program, a position she said was “in direct contradiction” to Trump’s agenda.

Ramaswamy, who ran against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination before stepping down and endorsing him, published an extended X post defending legal migration for “foreign-born” engineers that received over 63 million views.

He said: “Our American culture has worshiped mediocrity over excellence for far too long (at least since the 1990s and probably longer). It doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG.”

“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math Olympian (sic) or the jock over the valedictorian will not produce the best engineers.”

What people say

In conversation with NewsweekMark Shanahan, an American political expert who teaches at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, said: “The alliance with Trump gives access to power to many different opinions – most of which would never choose to do so outside the Beltway bubble to cross.” Co are only motivated by the fact that they burnish their wealth while their opponents in the H1-B dispute gain power by constantly playing the immigration card.

“These factions will never reconcile, and this week’s social media storm is merely a harbinger of the chaos that could engulf the new presidency even before Trump sets foot under the Resolute desk.”

In a post on

Conservative commentator Jesse Kelly wrote: “White kids with great college degrees can’t get jobs and most don’t even get a call back. This is what happens. It’s all around me.”

“And if that happens, you will never sell people legal immigration. Never. Point.”

What happens next

After taking office on January 20, 2025, Trump will have to decide what, if any, changes he wants to make to the legal immigration process.

In June, in a conversation with tech entrepreneur David Sacks, Trump suggested that international students graduating from American universities should be given green cards.

He said: “If you graduate or get a PhD from a university, you should be able to stay in this country.”

However, Trump has also promised a mass deportation campaign against illegal migrants in the country.