Trump says allowing skilled immigrants to train US workers 'is MAGA'

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has made hardline immigration policies a signature issue, but acknowledged on Wednesday that he's been criticized for recently saying some skilled immigrants should be allowed into the country from his “Make America Great Again” supporters.

Trump told an audience of business executives that the U.S. needs immigrants who can train domestic workers in high-tech factories — and insisted that doing so is not inconsistent with his core political beliefs.

“I love my conservative friends. I love MAGA. But this is MAGA,” Trump said during an address to the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, which he attended with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “Those people are going to teach our people how to make computer chips, and in a short period of time, our people are going to be doing great. And those people can go home.”

The comments drew applause in the room. But last week, Trump sparred with Fox News host Laura Ingraham over the same issue. Ingraham suggested during an interview with Trump that “you can’t flood the country with tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of foreign workers,” only to have the president respond, “You also do have to bring in talent.”

When Ingraham said that the U.S. had “plenty of talented people here,” Trump said, “No, you don't,” and added that “people have to learn.”

The exchange drew swift and sharp online criticism from some corners of the MAGA movement, who have opposed expanding H-1B visas, and other programs designed to let skilled immigrants into the country.

That didn't stop Trump from doubling down on Wednesday, adding that his detractors are “really, really smart” despite their opposition to skilled immigration. “They’re unbelievable patriots,” Trump said. “But they just don’t understand our people need to be taught.”

Trump said that when it comes to “extremely complex” domestic plants making things like computers, cell phones and missiles, it wasn't possible to “think you can hire people off an unemployment line to run it.”

Foreign owners building the plants in the U.S. are “going to have to bring thousands of people with them, and I’m going to welcome those people,” Trump said.

As evidence, the president pointed to the case of hundreds of South Korean nationals who were detained and left the U.S. following a September immigration raid at Hyundai’s electric vehicle manufacturing site in Georgia. Some have now returned and are back at their jobs.

Trump said the workers had been ordered to “get out,” but that “I said, ‘Stop it. Don’t be stupid.’”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent listens during the Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang listens as President Donald Trump speaks during the Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Elon Musk speaks with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, as they attend the Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Saudi Investment Forum participants stand together before they are photographed as a group with President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Kennedy Center, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump walks on stage during the Saudi Investment Forum with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Kennedy Center, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Skyrocketing oil and gas prices in Europe as a result of the ongoing Iran war won't return to normal levels any time soon, even if peace is declared tomorrow, the European Union's energy commissioner warned Tuesday.

Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said although there are no immediate oil and gas supply shortages in the 27-member bloc, there's pressure on diesel and jet fuel supply as well as “increasing constraints” in global gas markets that are resulting in higher electricity prices.

“What I find extremely important is to state as clearly as I can, that even if that peace is here tomorrow, still we will not go back to normal in a foreseeable future,” Jørgensen told a news conference after a meeting of EU energy ministers.

He said the EU's executive arm is preparing a string of measures designed to help families and businesses weather the huge spike in oil prices that have resulted in about a 70% price hike for gas and 60% for oil in Europe. Since the start of the war, the EU’s bill for imported fossil fuels has jumped by 14 billion euros, according to Jørgensen.

Closely coordinated action between all EU members is necessary to “avoid fragmented national responses and disruptive signals to the markets,” he said.

The “toolbox” of measures now in the works will be unveiled “quite soon” and will include ways to make it easier for states to decouple gas prices from electricity prices, the commissioner said. He added that a tax cut on electricity, as suggested by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is also being weighed.

Jørgensen said although he doesn’t foresee a repeat of the 2022 natural gas crisis where companies reaped huge profits from a massive gas price hike, a one-time “windfall tax” on such companies “is a possibility.”

There are now “good opportunities” for member states to financially support vulnerable groups or industries now under “extraordinary stress” and that the Commission would make “these possibilities even simpler and wider,” said Jørgensen.

Jørgensen also encouraged EU members to consider the International Energy Agency’s 10-point plan which includes work from home, reduced highway speeds, encouraging public transport and increasing car sharing.

He said the EU stands by its ban on Russian gas purchases, which is meant to reduce dependence on Russian gas and choke off funding for Russia's war in Ukraine. Reliance on Russian gas dropped from 45% before the war to 10% now and will be reduced to zero once imports from other suppliers ramp up, especially from the U.S. The EU is looking at new energy sources from Azerbaijan, Algeria and Canada as well as smaller producers around the world.

The commissioner warned the EU should never “repeat the mistakes of the past allowing Putin to weaponize energy against us and blackmail member states.” He added that “it would be totally unacceptable” for the EU to continue buying energy that would “indirectly help finance the terrible war that Putin is conducting in Ukraine.”

A woman works at the meat counter of a super market in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Fuel prices are listed at a gas station in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Vegetables in a super market are pictured in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

The sun has set behind a gas station in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)