President Donald Trump has publicly addressed criticism from within his political base regarding his recent comments on skilled immigration. While hardline immigration policy remains a signature issue for his administration, Trump told an audience of business executives that the United States needs immigrants who can train domestic workers in high-tech manufacturing.
Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum alongside Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump directly confronted the disagreement from his supporters. “I love my conservative friends. I love MAGA. But this is MAGA,” Trump stated during his address. He explained that skilled immigrants would teach American workers how to manufacture computer chips, after which “our people are going to be doing great. And those people can go home.”
The president’s remarks reinforce a position that recently sparked controversy among his supporters. Last week, Trump engaged in a pointed exchange with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who suggested the country should not “flood the country with tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of foreign workers.”
President Trump reiterated that hiring “thousands” of foreign workers from abroad to build computer chips, for example, is “MAGA.”
“I’m gonna welcome those people. I love my conservative friends. I love MAGA, but this is MAGA.” pic.twitter.com/n12r63QXcX
— Navroop Singh (@TheNavroopSingh) November 20, 2025Trump responded firmly during the interview, stating, “You also have to bring in talent.” When Ingraham countered that the US had “plenty of talented people here,” Trump replied, “No, you don’t,” adding, “People have to learn.”
This exchange drew immediate criticism from some segments of the MAGA movement, particularly those opposed to expanding H-1B visas and similar skilled immigration programs.
On Wednesday, Trump doubled down on his stance, acknowledging his detractors are “really, really smart” and “unbelievable patriots,” but maintained they “just don’t understand our people need to be taught.”
Read: New US Visa Rules Could Deny Entry for Diabetes, Obesity
The president argued that for “extremely complex” domestic plants manufacturing computers, cell phones, and missiles, it was unrealistic to hire workers directly “off an unemployment line.” He stated that foreign companies building plants in the US would need to bring “thousands of people with them,” a move he explicitly welcomed.
As evidence, Trump cited the case of South Korean nationals who left the US following a September immigration raid at a Hyundai electric vehicle site in Georgia. He noted that some have since returned to their jobs, stating he intervened to stop their expulsion, telling officials, “Stop it. Don’t be stupid.”
