White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has reiterated that President Donald Trump remains committed to safeguarding American jobs while continuing to welcome major foreign investment into the United States. Her remarks come amid heightened scrutiny of the H-1B visa programme and concerns that foreign workers could displace Americans in specialised sectors.
Speaking to reporters, Leavitt said, “The President does not support American workers being replaced… The President wants to see the American manufacturing industry revitalised better than ever before. That’s part of what he’s doing with his effective use of tariffs and cutting good trade deals around the world.”
Addressing questions on H-1B visas, she stressed that Trump holds a “nuanced and common-sense” stance. She explained that if foreign companies invest significant sums in the US and bring in skilled workers to launch advanced manufacturing projects, he supports this initial phase. “If foreign companies are investing trillions of dollars in the United States of America and bringing in foreign workers to create niche products like batteries, he wants to see that at the beginning… But ultimately, the President always wants to see American workers in those jobs.”
Leavitt added that Trump has been direct with international investors, “He’s told these foreign companies that are investing here, you better be hiring my people if you’re going to be doing business in the United States.”
Recently, Trump defended the H-1B programme, saying he “loves his conservative friends and MAGA” but believes the US still needs highly skilled foreign workers. Speaking at the US–Saudi Investment Forum on 20 November, he pushed back against criticism from within his own base.
Trump argued that companies spending heavily on cutting-edge facilities cannot simply rely on untrained domestic labour. He said firms cannot “open a massive computer chip factory for billions and billions of dollars” and then “hire people off an unemployment line to run it,” emphasising that foreign experts are often necessary to train Americans before eventually leaving.
While acknowledging discontent among some MAGA supporters, he insisted that advanced industries depend on specialist talent, “They just don’t understand.”
Reinforcing his position, Trump said, “You can’t come in, open a massive computer chip factory for billions and billions of dollars like is being done in Arizona, and think you’re gonna hire people off an unemployment line to run it. They’re gonna have to bring thousands of people with them, and I’m gonna welcome those people. This is MAGA.”
He repeated: “They just don’t understand.”
Trump further explained that American workers require time and instruction before taking on certain roles, “People have to be taught; this is something they’ve never done. But we’re not going to be successful if we don’t allow people who invest billions of dollars in plants and equipment to bring a lot of their people from their country to get that plant open, operating, and working. I’m sorry.”
Defending the continued need for H-1B visas, he added, “No, you don’t. You don’t have certain talents… You can’t take people off the unemployment line and expect them to operate advanced factories or make missiles.”
His comments come as several Republican leaders intensify pressure on him to dismantle the programme, even as Trump maintains that high-skilled immigration remains essential for US competitiveness.
