When Donald Trump made the stunning announcement that Stephen Miller is his new âpreempting the New York Times by a few minutesâI literally said:
“Watch for a barrage of negative Miller stories in the next couple of days.”
I was wrong.
It was the next couple of hours.
MS NOW anchor Katy Tur said: “Donald Trumps whole is Stephen Miller, and for Stephen Miller, it has always been absolutist: do whatever is necessary, as much as we can possibly do, be as cruel as possible as a warning sign for anybody who might want to come over.”Â
“Stephen Miller, one of his most notorious staffers, will instead be taking over as chief of staff,” CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins said from the White House driveway, adding: “He was one of two staffers, including , who came out after Alex Pretti was killed in Minneapolis and called him a domestic terrorist.”Â
That New York Times story: “Miller, a deeply ideological Trump loyalist, has been the architect of some of the most polarizing domestic policies in Mr. Trumps second term.”Â
The conservative Federalist cited a past Miller comment on mass deportations: “At every turn illegal aliens have always been treated better than Americans.”
And then there are the Democrats. Rep. Robert Garcia, the expected incoming House Oversight chairman, said: “Stephen Miller is the architect of the unconstitutional that have terrorized our communities and kidnapped and killed American citizens and immigrant families⦠Stephen Miller should lawyer up.”
Oh, and incoming Speaker Hakeem Jeffries called him “a dangerous xenophobe.”
Of course, its a huge story, and should be covered as such. Its about his record, and, putting aside the adjectives, its fair game. My purpose here is not to either defend or criticize Miller, who has been one of Trumps most powerful aides since the first term.
Miller is, without question, one of the hardest of hardliners.
I cannot remember this kind of all-out artillery attack, seconds after a top appointment was announced. I dont think anything else comes close.
And the sheer velocity and global reach of this negativity is being fueled in the digital battleground of social media.
That evening was just the first line of shock troops, who struck as soon as Trump announced that Miller would replace Susie Wiles, who has battled breast cancer, as his top aide. By the next morning, the cavalry had arrived. Â
The Wall Street Journal called Miller an “advocate of the no-holds-barred style of governing that delighted the presidents most die-hard MAGA supportersâand was repudiated by much of the rest of the country on Election Day.”
Axios, describing Millers view of nearly unlimited presidential powers, said of Trump: “He’s prepping for war, and sees Miller as a brass-knuckle general and tactical expert impervious to criticism or traditional restraints.”Â
The New York Post, headlining the old beer ad “Its Miller Time,” said that choosing the “pugnacious” official “removes almost all hope that the nations partisan warfare will ease after the elections.” The president is “going to bring his pit bull along.”
The Times, in its pair of stories, played some of the 41-year-old Millers greatest hits.
“Those include separation of migrant families at the border; the 2017 Muslim travel ban, directing the government to stifle critics of Mr. Trump; the ending of nearly all U.S. refugee programs; the widespread pressure campaign against American universities; extrajudicial boat strikes that have killed hundreds; and purges of officials deemed insufficiently loyal to Mr. Trump.”
Miller also unleashed the military, “pitting masked, heavily armed immigration agents against residents of cities like Minneapolis and Chicago.” Fact-check: True.
Maureen Dowd, not to be outdone, denounced the “gaudy, corrupt, vice-ridden, heartless rule, we have been living in Trumpsville. The demonic Trump conjured an Americ
