Trump: I Never Criticized Zuckerberg on H-1B Visas, ‘It’s Fine If They Come In’

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump denied he had ever criticized Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg on H-1B visas and stated, “It’s fine if they come in, but they have to come in legally” during Wednesday’s round two GOP presidential debate on CNBC.

Trump was asked, “You have been very critical of Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, who has wanted to increase the number of these H-1Bs –.” He cut in to say he was “not at all” critical of Zuckerberg. He continued, “In fact, frankly, he’s complaining about the fact that we’re losing some of the most talented people. They go to Harvard. They go to Yale. They go to Princeton. They come from another country, and they’re immediately sent out. I am all in favor of keeping these talented people here, so they can go to work in Silicon Valley.”

Later in the debate, Trump was asked about the fact that his immigration plan says, “Mark Zuckerberg’s personal Senator, Marco Rubio, has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities.” And whether he was in favor of H-1Bs.

He responded, “I’m in favor of people coming into this country legally. And you know what, they can have it anyway you want. You can call it visas. You can call it work permits. You can call it anything you want.” After saying he will create jobs, Trump continued, “As far as Mark is concerned, as far as the visas are concerned, if we need people, it’s fine. They have to come in to this country legally. We have a country of borders. We have a country of laws. We have to obey the laws. It’s fine if they come in, but they have to come in legally.”

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