Trump knew companies need H1B
In a new book, the US president is quoted as saying that tech firms “really need these visas”
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is a critic of the H-1B visa programme and his administration has proceeded to dismantle it bit by bit, or strangle it with restrictive rules.
But there was a time Trump believed American companies needed these visas. And he said so in a telephone call to media mogul Robert Murdoch, whom he admires and whose approval he has constantly sought, after a key meeting with tech industry titans at the Trump Tower in December 2016.
Details of that conversation figure in the upcoming book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by journalist Michael Wolff. The book has upended Trump’s world with explosive details about the president, his advisers, children, hair—how he managed the strange orange blonde hue —and his diet (there is a new detail about why he prefers McDonalds — it has something to do with his fear of being poisoned).
Asked how the meeting with tech industry leaders went, Trump told Murdoch, “Oh, great, just great … These guys really need my help. Obama was not very favourable to them, too much regulation. This is really an opportunity for me to help them.”
“Donald,” said Murdoch, “for eight years these guys had Obama in their pocket. They practically ran the administration. They don’t need your help.”
“Take this H-1B visa issues.” Trump, then president-elect, said, according to the book. “They really need these H-1B visas.”
When Murdoch suggested helping them on H-1B issue could go against his position on immigration and his base, an unconcerned Trump replied, “We’ll figure it out.”
The media mogul reportedly shrugged and swore about the president being a “f*** idiot” after hanging up.
Since then, Trump went in a completely different direction regarding the H-1B issue. He has ordered a review of the programme to prevent alleged abuse, and his administration has changed rules, or plans to do so. A new plan, which is still being discussed, to deny extensions to those awaiting their Green Cards (permanent residency), could potentially lead to mass deportation of an estimated 500,000 to 750,000 Indians.
Trump has said as a a businessman he used H-1B visas and during the Republican presidential debates he had acknowledged the need to keep talented foreigners studying in the top schools and colleges in the US. But his position evolved over time to become what it is now.
The book portrays a picture of Trump as someone who was not prepared for the job. He was prepared to lose the race. And when the verdict came, Trump himself and those around him were anything but overjoyed.