Stephen Miller: Vampire of the West Wing

[GreyhoundFan]

Stephen Miller, who was described as "least popular boy at vampire school" by John Oliver, soon may be more visible during daylight hours. This is not an improvement. "Trump adviser Stephen Miller could expand White House role, but talks remain informal"

Spoiler

Stephen Miller, a senior policy adviser to President Trump who is known for his hard-line views on immigration policy and his fiery exchanges with reporters, could expand his portfolio to include communications, two White House officials said Saturday.

The White House officials cautioned that conversations about Miller’s role are ongoing and no final decisions have been made. But they acknowledged that the 31-year-old aide is a candidate to take on the message-shaping responsibilities that usually fall to the communications director, a post that has been vacated since Anthony Scaramucci was fired last week after a tumultuous 11-day stint in the position.

Miller, who already serves as Trump’s chief speechwriter and policy adviser, is being pitched by his allies as someone who understands Trump and should have more control over how the president’s agenda is being promoted, the officials added, requesting anonymity to discuss personnel.

A White House spokeswoman declined to comment.

Miller previously worked on press and communications for Attorney General Jeff Sessions when he was in the Senate and for former GOP congresswoman Michele Bachmann (Minn.). Inside the White House, he has built a close bond with the president, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon.

While Miller’s associates from the campaign praise him as a Bannon-style nationalist who channels Trump’s base, he does have critics. One of the officials said that there are reservations on the staff about giving Miller extensive say over communications because he has a tendency to be dismissive of reporters, a trait that reflects the president’s approach but could further tensions between the news media and the White House.

Miller last Wednesday had a tense back-and-forth exchange with CNN’s Jim Acosta during a news briefing on Trump’s latest immigration plan, accusing the reporter of “cosmopolitan bias.”

Still, the officials said Trump confidants have privately envisioned a revamped White House communications operation in which Miller would have a heavy hand in building media plans for policy proposals and in shaping the White House’s rapid response. Other advisers, such as counselor Kellyanne Conway and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, would continue to be central figures in crafting the overall media strategy and would serve as advocates on television.

But with Trump in Bedminster, N.J., on vacation and new White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly settling into his job, the talks about Miller for the moment remain nascent and informal.

Axios first reported the possibility of Miller taking on a leadership role with regard to White House communications.

More broadly, the mention of Miller by White House officials reflects the desire within the West Wing to figure out how to improve communications and fill a job that has vexed the Trump circle ever since Republican operative Jason Miller, who was slated during the transition to be White House communications director, dropped out of consideration last year.

The post was soon taken up by now-departing press secretary Sean Spicer, and later by veteran consultant Michael Dubke, who resigned in June. It then went back to Spicer and then to Scaramucci.

 

[GrumpyGran]

17 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Stephen Miller, who was described as "least popular boy at vampire school" by John Oliver, soon may be more visible during daylight hours. This is not an improvement. "Trump adviser Stephen Miller could expand White House role, but talks remain informal"

  Hide contents

Stephen Miller, a senior policy adviser to President Trump who is known for his hard-line views on immigration policy and his fiery exchanges with reporters, could expand his portfolio to include communications, two White House officials said Saturday.

The White House officials cautioned that conversations about Miller’s role are ongoing and no final decisions have been made. But they acknowledged that the 31-year-old aide is a candidate to take on the message-shaping responsibilities that usually fall to the communications director, a post that has been vacated since Anthony Scaramucci was fired last week after a tumultuous 11-day stint in the position.

Miller, who already serves as Trump’s chief speechwriter and policy adviser, is being pitched by his allies as someone who understands Trump and should have more control over how the president’s agenda is being promoted, the officials added, requesting anonymity to discuss personnel.

A White House spokeswoman declined to comment.

Miller previously worked on press and communications for Attorney General Jeff Sessions when he was in the Senate and for former GOP congresswoman Michele Bachmann (Minn.). Inside the White House, he has built a close bond with the president, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon.

While Miller’s associates from the campaign praise him as a Bannon-style nationalist who channels Trump’s base, he does have critics. One of the officials said that there are reservations on the staff about giving Miller extensive say over communications because he has a tendency to be dismissive of reporters, a trait that reflects the president’s approach but could further tensions between the news media and the White House.

Miller last Wednesday had a tense back-and-forth exchange with CNN’s Jim Acosta during a news briefing on Trump’s latest immigration plan, accusing the reporter of “cosmopolitan bias.”

Still, the officials said Trump confidants have privately envisioned a revamped White House communications operation in which Miller would have a heavy hand in building media plans for policy proposals and in shaping the White House’s rapid response. Other advisers, such as counselor Kellyanne Conway and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, would continue to be central figures in crafting the overall media strategy and would serve as advocates on television.

But with Trump in Bedminster, N.J., on vacation and new White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly settling into his job, the talks about Miller for the moment remain nascent and informal.

Axios first reported the possibility of Miller taking on a leadership role with regard to White House communications.

More broadly, the mention of Miller by White House officials reflects the desire within the West Wing to figure out how to improve communications and fill a job that has vexed the Trump circle ever since Republican operative Jason Miller, who was slated during the transition to be White House communications director, dropped out of consideration last year.

The post was soon taken up by now-departing press secretary Sean Spicer, and later by veteran consultant Michael Dubke, who resigned in June. It then went back to Spicer and then to Scaramucci.

 

The battle continues. I can't imagine Kelly would like this choice. And I have an idea on how they can improve communications. Tell the truth.

[apple1]

While we have had only relatively minimal discussion about this guy before on FJ, I actually think he is VERY worrisome. We really need to keep a watch on him.

[AmazonGrace]

He seems to have been a rat in high school too

[GreyhoundFan]

6 hours ago, apple1 said:

While we have had only relatively minimal discussion about this guy before on FJ, I actually think he is VERY worrisome. We really need to keep a watch on him.

I wholeheartedly agree. He's a sneaky SOB. The only good thing I could see coming of a higher profile is that he'll be more scrutinized by the media and public.

[47of74]

I see John Oliver had some thought on Goebbels 2.0.

[JMarie]

1 hour ago, 47of74 said:

I see John Oliver had some thought on Goebbels 2.0.
 

He's thirty-one human years old!

[GreyhoundFan]

9 hours ago, 47of74 said:

I see John Oliver had some thought on Goebbels 2.0.

I laughed myself silly when I saw this last night. However, that clip of Miller (Minion) talking about how he was sick and tired of cleaning up his messes because there were "plenty of janitors" to clean up made me ill. What a freaking tool.

[AmazonGrace]

Find out if Trump would let you immigrate on merit: 

http://time.com/4887574/trump-raise-act-immigration/

I'm nowhere close. 

[GrumpyGran]

25 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

Find out if Trump would let you immigrate on merit: 

http://time.com/4887574/trump-raise-act-immigration/

I'm nowhere close. 

Yeah, I failed epically. Age, not a millionaire, no medal or Nobel prize. I'm surprised one of the questions isn't "Are you a hot young model?" That would probably be 25 points.

[Childless]

18 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

Find out if Trump would let you immigrate on merit: 

http://time.com/4887574/trump-raise-act-immigration/

I'm nowhere close. 

I made it only because of my profession and salary.  You know who won't make it?  The good people who pick our crops and clean our floors.  Wonder who will do those jobs?  It certainly won't be Americans.

[fraurosena]

29 minutes ago, Childless said:

I made it only because of my profession and salary.  You know who won't make it?  The good people who pick our crops and clean our floors.  Wonder who will do those jobs?  It certainly won't be Americans.

Oh my, they really haven't thought this through, have they?

What will happen at Mar-a-Lago or any of the towers or golf clubs the presidunce owns when they can't hire cheap immigrant workers anymore?

[candygirl200413]

I feel like Trump will make them put some type of loophole so his businesses aren't going to be affected.

[fraurosena]

Painfully acurate.

 

[Audrey2]

The loophole will be these types of workers are just seasonal, and will never be allowed to stay here long enough to be an immigrant. They will be escorted out when their season is over. Only wealthy, educated English speakers will be allowed to be permanent immigrants on the path to citizenship under Trump's plan. I'm sure glad Trump's rules weren't always in effect, or I wouldn't be here, as many others wouldn't.

[AmazonGrace]

So, this happened.

 

[apple1]

I bet this disgusting piece of crap wrote that statement Trump made yesterday about "fire and fury... blah blah".

No way Trump came up with that wording all by his lonesome.

[GrumpyGran]

1 hour ago, AmazonGrace said:

So, this happened.

 

I'm not even going to watch this video because I just ate.  Seriously, this is the most ridiculous lie  yet. The superlative abuse has gotten old and ineffective. They need a new way to show their love. Maybe . Literally. 

[GreyhoundFan]

6 minutes ago, GrumpyGran said:

I'm not even going to watch this video because I just ate. 

I can't bear to watch it either. I was thinking of FDR's fireside chats, can you imagine the TT speaking so eloquently? Nope. Heck, I despised Reagan, but he knew how to present a good speech and surrounded himself with talented speechwriters. I would 100000000x rather listen to Reagan than the TT.

[Childless]

54 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I can't bear to watch it either. I was thinking of FDR's fireside chats, can you imagine the TT speaking so eloquently? Nope. Heck, I despised Reagan, but he knew how to present a good speech and surrounded himself with talented speechwriters. I would 100000000x rather listen to Reagan than the TT.

Hell, you don't even have to go back that far.  Just look at our last president.

[apple1]

1 hour ago, apple1 said:

I bet this disgusting piece of crap wrote that statement Trump made yesterday about "fire and fury... blah blah".

No way Trump came up with that wording all by his lonesome.

Well - maybe I was wrong.

From News and Guts FB post:

Yesterday's remarks by Donald Trump on North Korea were not planned, not written out, not thought out. They were just off the cuff, improvised remarks that could perhaps lead to nuclear war.

From The New York Times:

"Among those taken by surprise, they said, was John F. Kelly, the retired four-star Marine general who has just taken over as White House chief of staff and has been with the president at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., for his working vacation.

The president had been told about a Washington Post story on North Korea’s progress in miniaturizing nuclear warheads so that they could fit on top of a ballistic missile, and was in a bellicose mood, according to a person who spoke with him before he made the statement."

 

The wording was still fairly "advanced" compared to Trump's usual verbal usage.

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, apple1 said:

I bet this disgusting piece of crap wrote that statement Trump made yesterday about "fire and fury... blah blah".

No way Trump came up with that wording all by his lonesome.

I agree, it sounds more like something the villainous vampire would say.

The deliberate alliterative 'fire, fury and frankly' were a dead giveaway that this did not sprout from that decrepit spongy mass inside the toddler's head. If you look closely, you can see him glance at something in front of him on the table, which I'm guessing is a piece of paper which he's reading from. 

Oh, and no way that it was off the cuff. I do agree that his generals had no idea he was going to be saying this, but I simply cannot believe he suddenly became this eloquent. Whenever he's speaking from the top of his head at rallies or to journalists, he can't even utter a full sentence without dithering and his thoughts wondering off in other directions.

Edited August 9, 2017 by fraurosena

[Zola]

According to Time, he was looking at a paper as if reading from it and borrowing heavily from Truman's comments about the bombing of Hiroshima (which occurred 72 years ago this week.)

http://time.com/4892102/donald-trump-north-korea-news/

(Sorry, my phone won't let me copy and paste any of the article.)

[GrumpyGran]

4 minutes ago, Zola said:

According to Time, he was looking at a paper as if reading from it and borrowing heavily from Truman's comments about the bombing of Hiroshima (which occurred 72 years ago this week.)

http://time.com/4892102/donald-trump-north-korea-news/

(Sorry, my phone won't let me copy and paste any of the article.)

@Zola, you're right. They were showing a comparison with Truman this morning on, perhaps HLN? The real question is, who told him about Harry Truman? And found the quote for him? Is Bannon on vacation with him?

[Zola]

Yeah, we all know the TT has no clue who Harry Truman is or what he had to say, and I certainly don't believe Trump came up with the quote on his own. 

I'm guessing whoever wrote what he read off the paper knew Truman's quote because of the anniversary of the bombing of Japan. How terribly convenient. 

Bannon on vacation with Trump...*shudder*