Amid growing criticism of Sriram Krishnan’s controversial stance on immigration, Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy took to social media to defend the hiring trends in tech, emphasizing cultural factors over intellectual capabilities. In a lengthy post on social media, Ramaswamy defended the hiring of immigrant engineers in the tech industry, emphasizing that the issue is rooted in “culture, not IQ.”
Ramaswamy: ‘It’s about culture, not IQ’
As criticism grew, Ramaswamy — set to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Elon Musk — argued that the prevalence of foreign-born talent in tech stems from cultural differences.
“It’s not because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation),” Ramaswamy stated. “It all comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers, & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH.”
Ramaswamy criticized American culture for celebrating mediocrity over excellence, adding, “Films glorify the prom queen, not the math Olympiad champ. That mindset won’t produce the best engineers.” He further warned, “‘Normalcy’ doesn’t cut it in a hyper-competitive global market for technical talent. If we pretend like it does, we’ll have our a**es handed to us by China.”
Nikki Haley fires back
Republican leader Nikki Haley quickly responded to Ramaswamy’s remarks, defending American workers and culture. “There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture,” she wrote on X. “All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing in and prioritizing Americans, not foreign workers.”
Social media sparks debate over DOGE
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer joined the fray, criticizing DOGE as a ploy to benefit tech elites. “Is DOGE a way to ‘cut spending’ or redirect the spending toward the pet projects of tech bro billionaires?” she posted on X. “It’s looking like the latter, TBH.”
Her comments ignited widespread reactions online, with one user stating, “If you are against the DOGE, you don’t want to Make America Great Again.” Another wrote, “We are not turning against Elon. He is turning against us—US citizens and voters!”
MAGA pushback on Krishnan’s nomination
Krishnan’s earlier comments supporting changes to immigration policies have also drawn criticism from MAGA supporters. Investigative journalist Laura Loomer accused him of betraying Trump’s “America First” agenda, while Trump’s crypto czar David Sacks clarified, “Sriram didn’t say he wants to remove all caps on green cards. He said he wants to remove country caps and make the program entirely merit-based.”
