‘The Powers of the President to Protect Our Country Are Very Substantial and Will Not Be Questioned’
– Stephen Miller, February 2, 2017
White House senior adviser Stephen Miller made the Sunday morning talk show rounds and almost immediately his comments set off outrage, anger, disgust, and fear. Miller is a little-known yet powerful influence in the Trump administration, reportedly responsible – in partnership with former Breitbart publisher Stephen Bannon – for Trump’s Muslim ban executive order.
Two weeks ago Mother Jones described the pair of Stephens as “boosters of Islamophobes and white nationalists.”
It’s not exactly clear what Miller’s personal beliefs are but there are reports linking him to white supremacist Richard Spencer, the man who coined the false term, “alt-right” movement. Miller denies they are friends.Â
Whatever Miller’s particular beliefs are, however, his presence on the Sunday talk shows was horrific. At one point Miller claimed Trump’s Mexican wall will pay for itself (wasn’t Mexico supposed to pay for it?) and at another point, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos epically shut Miller down.
“Just for the record, you have provided absolutely no evidence,” Stephanopoulos told Miller. “You have provided zero evidence that the president was the victim of massive voter fraud in New Hampshire. You have provided zero evidence of the president’s claim that he would have won the popular vote if 3-5 million illegal immigrants hadn’t voted. Zero evidence for either one of those claims. Thanks a lot of joining us this morning.”Â
By Monday, Miller’s remarks were the subject of repeated segments that attacked not only his claims, but his credibility. But it is Miller’s remarks about President Trump’s “power” that have Americans on edge.
So there’s no question, here’s the exchange with CBS News’ John Dickerson, host of “Face the Nation”:
DICKERSON:Â When I talked to Republicans on the Hill, they wonder, what in the White House — what have you all learned from this experience with the executive order?
MILLER: Well, I think that it’s been an important reminder to all Americans that we have a judiciary that has taken far too much power and become, in many cases, a supreme branch of government. One unelected judge in Seattle cannot remake laws for the entire country. I mean this is just crazy, John, the idea that you have a judge in Seattle say that a foreign national living in Libya has an effective right to enter the United States is — is — is beyond anything we’ve ever seen before.
The end result of this, though, is that our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned.
Let’s take another look at that last part: “the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned.”Â
When is the last time you heard such an authoritarian statement coming from the White House, much less any branch of government.
Here’s a short clip:
If you think there’s any chance President Trump had a problem with Miller’s remarks, guess again:
If the short clip concerns you, this compilation of Miller’s remarks on the various Sunday shows should force you to pick up the phone and call the White House at (202) 456-1111 and your Senators and Congressman at (202) 224-3121 and demand Stephen Miller be fired immediately.
The first two minutes is the compilation. After that, reaction from MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski – who should never, ever be forgiven for helping Trump get elected.
This is pure unadulterated authoritarianism. Regardless of whether or not Miller ever appears on TV again, knowing that this man is a senior policy advisor to the President of the United States should make chills run down your spine and make you angry, make you fear for the future of this nation and all the people in it.
Some responses via Twitter:
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