White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller unleashed his ire on the press corps, which gathered to hear him speak about President Donald Trump‘s 100th day in office, during a press briefing Thursday morning.
After touting the Trump administration’s record in office, Miller, standing next to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, spent roughly 20 minutes batting down press questions and chastising the media’s coverage of the president.
At times, the deputy chief of staff appeared to yell at the journalists listening to him speak.
In one notable moment, Miller slammed journalists for not reporting on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s alleged work with Tren de Aragua to carry out assassination attempts. Instead, Miller blasted the media’s coverage of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland immigrant mistakenly deported to El Salvador, whom the White House has not returned to the United States.
“You may have seen recently an FBI assessment that was unclassified that says the Maduro regime is using and planning to use Tren de Aragua terrorists to carry out assassination plots on American soil,” Miller said. “Now, very few in this room covered that. I’ll let you all ask yourselves why you didn’t cover it, why your editor didn’t assign that story to you, something you should think about on your own.”
Miller also lambasted the press for not reporting on the murder of Jocelyn Nungaray, whose suspected killers were illegal immigrants from Venezuela. In March, Trump debuted a surprise executive order honoring Nungaray during his joint address to Congress.
“Those two men kidnapped a young girl named Jocelyn Nungaray from her family. They beat her, they sexually assaulted her, they tortured her, they stripped her, they murdered her, and they dumped her body,” Miller said.
“That is what the Biden administration’s policy was. Most of your papers never covered her story when it happened,” he continued as his voice rose in anger. “To the extent that you covered it at all, it was because President Trump forced you to cover it by highlighting it repeatedly, over and over again, he had to shame you into covering.”
Miller then slammed the press for living in homes, condos, and apartments that are “far away” from MS-13 gang members and other neighborhoods plagued by gangs.
“But yet you, with your coverage, are trying to force innocent Americans to have these people as their neighbors,” Miller said. “And then one day, their daughter may be abducted from their home and raped and murdered. So you’re not going to get an ounce of sympathy from this administration or President Trump for the terrorists who invaded our homes and our country.”
When Miller was pressed about automakers’ warnings about increased prices and whether the administration would offer relief, Miller was dismissive.
“The question, unfortunately, misses the entire point,” he said,” which is that U.S. automakers have announced dramatic investments and expansions inside the United States. American auto plants are growing. They are expanding. They are opening new facilities.”
The antics from Miller delighted several MAGA conservatives on social media.
Joey Mannarino, a GOP political commentator, praised Miller as “an absolute BEAST!”
“He just completely destroyed the media,” Mannarino said. “This man is one of the best in the entire administration at articulating what AMERICA FIRST truly means!”
Karli Bonne, another conservative social media commentator, said Miller “just b**** slapped the fake news press.”
Miller, who has hotly argued with members of the press in less formal gaggles outside the White House, has long been combative in press briefings.
His treatment of the press has brought plenty of disdain from Democratic politicians and left-leaning media outlets.
Robert Covington Jr., a former freelance writer for the Hill, said, “Every dictator, fascist, racist, authoritarian government had top advisors who are just like Stephen Miller.”
After the briefing, the New Republic published a news story titled “Miller Crashes Out Defending Trump’s Weird Dolls Comment.” The piece discussed Miller’s defense of Trump downplaying presents children may not receive during the holiday season due to his “Liberation Day” tariffs.
“He was making the point that I think almost every American consumer agrees with,” Miller said.
“If they had a choice between a doll from China, that might have say lead paint in it, that is not as well constructed, as a doll made in America that has a higher environmental and regulatory standard and that is made to a higher degree of quality,” he continued. “And those two products are both on Amazon, that yes, you probably would be willing to pay more for a better-made American product.”
Miller then said Trump’s tax cuts, regulation cuts, and energy price decrease would lead to an era of American prosperity.
Even before the fiery briefing, some Miller critics began resharing a 2018 Politico story from his uncle David S. Glosser. The story blasted Miller as a hypocrite on immigration on social media.
However, Miller’s press lashings are a sign of his key leadership role in the second Trump administration after serving as a speechwriter and adviser during the first administration.
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Miller subtly acknowledged his rising power with Trump, telling reporters, “This president has literally saved America. And I could not be prouder.”
“I could not be prouder, and I know Karoline feels the same way, to come every single day to this building,” Miller added. “Where we have a leader sitting in office whose first, last, and every thought is the safety, prosperity, security, and sovereignty of the citizens, that’s an important word, people, citizens of this republic. Thank you all.”
