US Businesses 'Hit' By Anti-Indian 'Backlash' When Trump Restricts Labor
When the Financial Times reports that 'US businesses hit by anti-Indian backlash as Trump restricts foreign labour,' one might almost forget who initiated the restriction. The White House, under a president known for overtly xenophobic rhetoric, overhauls skilled worker visas (H-1B). Predictably, this fuels anti-immigrant sentiment. And rather than calling out the policy's creators, the FT frames
the consequence—a 'backlash' and 'racist rhetoric against south Asians'—as the primary culprit hitting 'US businesses.' This rhetorical sleight of hand effectively shifts blame from the policy-makers and their deliberate actions to an amorphous public reaction. It's a classic move: sanitize the source of the rot by focusing on the smell, pretending a 'backlash' is the core problem, not the
xenophobia intentionally stirred up from the top. One might wonder if the Financial Times would similarly lament the 'anti-German backlash' if Trump suddenly banned German imports and fueled anti-German sentiment across the US. (Spoiler: They probably wouldn't.)