Stephen Miller’s tenure as Trump’s whisperer is the worst run by a White House staffer in American history.
The president’s closest adviser has pushed the country to the brink with his draconian and now tragically deadly policies.
America has never experienced anything like this in living memory. Miller effectively turned ICE into a secret police force and unleashed it nationwide.
Escalation of power
He has pushed for the U.S. military to be deployed on the streets of American cities. He challenged fundamental principles of American jurisprudence by proposing to suspend habeas corpus for migrants – which would effectively allow the government to abduct and detain people without justification. His demeanor inside and outside the White House, where he serves as deputy chief of staff, has made him a formidable opponent for those who reject his extremist views.
Over the past year, Miller has unleashed a domestic reign of terror unlike any unelected official before him, securing himself a place among the most despicable figures in American history.
Trump was elected, among other things, to bring illegal immigration and the border under control. It must be said that the president was largely successful in this regard. Illegal immigration has been curbed and reports of chaos on the Mexican border (at least to the north) have disappeared from the headlines.
From success to escalation
Instead of declaring success, Miller launched an offensive. He, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and recently deposed Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino used masked immigration agents in raids to incite fear, hatred and conflict on America’s streets.
Now two American citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, lie dead, shot by federal agents in entirely avoidable and unnecessary uses of deadly force. Miller shamefully slandered both Good and Pretti as domestic terrorists with a thirst for blood – despite evidence to the contrary.
Miller has been Trump’s most devoted servant for over a decade. An Iago-like figure, he shares one of the president’s few core values: a rigid nativist worldview. During Trump’s first term, Miller survived several purges as a senior adviser.
The architect of Trump 2.0
His unconditional loyalty to MAGA and his penchant for verbal attacks online and on Fox gave him access to Trump’s inner circle of power. He apparently spent the four years of the Biden presidency shaping himself into the ultimate authoritarian apparatchik. Implementing Trump’s policies became Miller’s goal and personal passion.
So Trump 2.0 is “a lot of fun for Stephen,” another White House adviser told Rolling Stone.
However, not everyone had a good time.
After Renee Good’s killing, Miller appeared on Fox and encouraged ICE officers not to fear consequences for their actions. “To all ICE officers: You have federal immunity in the performance of your duties, and anyone who touches you, attempts to stop you or impede your work is committing a crime,” Miller said on Fox.
Violence with announcement
“You have immunity in the performance of your duties, and no one – no city official, no state official, no illegal alien, no left-wing agitator or domestic insurrectionist – can prevent you from carrying out your legal duties.”
Unsurprisingly, this release led to more violence – and one more preventable death.
The consequences of Miller’s large-scale plans are obvious. The nation is more divided than ever. Mistrust and extreme partisanship have become even more toxic. The country feels like a powder keg, and Miller and ICE are walking around in it with matches burning.
Miller and Trump’s “might makes right” principle is brazen and deeply un-American. Although the nation has often fallen short of its noble ideals, the arc of its history has mostly leaned toward reform and justice.
A dangerous fanaticism
Miller is willing to throw all that away to implement his delusion of an immigration-free America – an ethnic state that never was.
In Miller, Trump has undoubtedly found what he has long been looking for: his own Roy Cohn. A man so ruthless and power-hungry that he doesn’t care about being hated by everyone as long as he wins.
There is little doubt that Miller, like Cohn, will go down in history as a deeply strange and extraordinarily repugnant villain, bent on nothing other than the destruction of his enemies and the unrestrained abuse of whatever power he can seize.
Last year, Donald Trump unleashed Stephen Miller on the country. It ended badly. A federal agency has been transformed into a Stasi-like police force that targets its own population. Blood has been shed.
A destructive course
ICE is now reportedly using sound weapons against protesters. Does anyone seriously think Miller will change his ways after the deaths of Pretti and Good? He is undoubtedly already planning new measures to take action against his enemies – who he apparently considers to be his fellow citizens.
Whatever else he is, Miller is a fighter. But Donald Trump doesn’t have to stand behind him. Trust in the government has been destroyed and cannot be restored with Miller.
For the good of the nation and for the remainder of his second term, the President must fire and publicly reprimand Miller. Anything less means we will continue down this ruinous path with no end in sight.
