Critics of Elon Musk, aligning with the MAGA movement, assert that he took away their X badges
Musk, selected to head Trump's Department of Government Efficiency Efficiency, has butted heads with Trump supporters regarding H-1B visas. Although Trump has targeted these visas, Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has championed the program and argued that tech firms necessitate foreign workers to stay competitive.
Expressing his thoughts on X, Musk penned, "If you aspire to secure the sports title, you've got to retrieve top talent from wherever they reside." Furthermore, Musk made another statement on X on Thursday, emphasizing that "bringing in via legal immigration the top 0.1% of engineering talent" is "indispensable for America to keep triumphing."
However, devoted Trump supporters such as right-wing activist Laura Loomer, conservative commentator Ann Coulter, and former Rep. Matt Gaetz have lambasted Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, his co-chair for the Department of Government Efficiency, for their pro-H-1B visa stance.
Musk, retaliating, stripped Loomer and other members of the right-wing Conservative PAC of their validation badges, according to PAC members.
On X on Thursday, Loomer, a right-wing agitator and vocal Trump supporter, noted that Musk removed her verified status and obstructed her capacity to draw in paying subscribers due to her opposition to the H-1B program.
"Musk is a free speech deceiver," she posted.
CNN attempted to contact Loomer and X for comment.
Loomer boasts over 1.4 million followers on X. The amount of money Loomer was making through the paid subscriber service on the platform remains unknown.
Before losing her validation badge, Musk remarked that Loomer was "trolling for attention."
As per Conservative PAC chairman Preston Parra, approximately 53 accounts affiliated with his organization lost their validation badges, including Loomer.
"If anyone believes that the genuine backbone of the right wing and MAGA will just ignore while these big tech billionaires from Silicon Valley, who didn't endure enough bullying in high school, steal our nation, they're mistaken," Parra said in a statement.
Conservative PAC also posted on X: "We spoke against H-1B visas and it seems that @elonmusk deliberately shut us down?"
Musk continues to advocate for the H-1B visa program in the tech sector, stating that bringing in top engineering talent is crucial for America's competitive edge in business. Despite backlash from some Trump supporters, Musk maintains his support for the program, using it to attract top talent for his companies, Tesla and SpaceX.
