DOGE co-lead Vivek Ramaswamy has sparked fierce debate within the MAGA movement by taking a bold stance in favour of H-1B visa reforms. His comments, coupled with his broader critique of American culture, place him at odds with some Republican leaders who argue against high-skilled immigration, claiming it could threaten American jobs.

Ramaswamy’s views on H-1B visas are part of a larger narrative he’s been promoting: a call for a cultural reset in America to prioritise excellence over mediocrity. In a recent social media post, he didn’t mince words: “The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born and first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit—a lazy and wrong explanation. It comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers, and if we’re serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH.”
Ramaswamy argues that American culture has long celebrated mediocrity over excellence, a trend he traces back to the 1990s. He contends that this mindset doesn’t start in college but much earlier in life.
“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math Olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he said. “A culture that venerates Cory from Boy Meets World, or Zack and Slater over Screech in Saved by the Bell, or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in Family Matters, will not produce the best engineers.”
Ramaswamy cites immigrant families as examples of a different cultural model, often prioritising academic and intellectual achievement over social conformity. “I know multiple sets of immigrant parents in the 90s who actively limited how much their kids could watch those TV shows precisely because they promoted mediocrity… and their kids went on to become wildly successful STEM graduates,” he explained.

He advocates for a cultural shift:

“Most normal American parents look sceptically at ‘those kinds of parents.’ More normal American kids view such ‘those kinds of kids’ with scorn,” Ramaswamy observed. “If you grow up aspiring to normalcy, normalcy is what you will achieve.”
He believes this cultural complacency leaves America vulnerable in the global race for technical talent, particularly against countries like China. “Normalcy doesn’t cut it in a hyper-competitive global market for technical talent. And if we pretend like it does, we’ll have our asses handed to us by China,” he warned.

Ramaswamy sees this as America’s potential “Sputnik moment,” an opportunity to awaken from cultural slumber. He remains optimistic that the country can revive its focus on achievement, nerdiness, and hard work over conformity and laziness.
“Trump’s election hopefully marks the beginning of a new golden era in America, but only if our culture fully wakes up. A culture that once again prioritises achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness. That’s the work we have cut out for us.”
While his comments have sparked applause from some quarters, they have also deepened divisions within the Republican Party, with some MAGA leaders resisting his proposals for reforming H-1B visas and his broader cultural critique.
For Ramaswamy, though, the path forward is clear: “This is the tough love America needs to win in a hyper-competitive world. Let’s rise to the occasion. 🇺🇸”