The Hollowness of Right-Wing Populism

The discussion around H-1B Visas has put it on full display. The left should respond.

Vivek Ramaswamy turned X (Twitter) upside down a few days ago with a single post about H-1B visas in America. The full tweet is below, but his thesis on why tech companies hire foreign-born workers is because of American culture. He rails against American kids enjoying Saturday cartoons instead of participating in a science contest, having too many sleepovers, and “chillin” rather than creating.

The backlash was immense. X users immediately came after him because they felt attacked and many MAGA supporters resorted to racism to combat his words. To them, this wasn’t America First. Instead, people like Ramaswamy and Elon Musk prioritize immigrants and cheap labor over Americans. Various right-wing commentators stepped in to try to ease tensions but it’s quite clear there is a real rift, here. This fight illustrates the innate problem with right-wing populism and we should not move on from this moment without fully understanding it.