Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Trump Denied Calling Rubio Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘Personal Senator’ -- Even Though He Did

Trump initially claims, “I never said that.”

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Donald Trump once called Marco Rubio “Mark Zuckerberg’s personal senator” for supporting H-1B visas, the immigration program that makes it easier for companies like Facebook to hire foreign professionals.

But when CNBC moderator Becky Quick asked Trump to explain the comment during Wednesday’s Republican presidential candidates debate, he flatly denied making such a remark.

“I never said that,” Trump said. “I don’t know where you got it, someone wrote it.”

Turns out, the statement appears on Trump’s own website, where the candidate laid out his position on immigration reform. Trump criticized Rubio’s willingness to expand the visa program, which has benefitted technology companies like Facebook along with many other Silicon Valley companies, which are always hungry for engineering talent.

Quick circled back to Trump to press the billionaire once again on the statement and his views on the issue.

“I’m in favor of people coming into this country legally,” Trump said, sounding almost defeated. “You can go with visas, you can go with work permits.”

A fuller explanation of Trump’s views on the program appear on the campaign site, including his support for requiring companies that hire workers from outside the U.S. to pay higher wages.

Here’s the relevant passage from Trump’s site:

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh