A new WaPo article on Stephen Miller reaffirms the narrative that a clueless Trump’s usual public malevolence is guided by a very small number of people and that the domestic and foreign policy of the nation is run by Stephen Miller and Jared Kushner.
Banality and Evil, together again. Not so much Rasputin or Svengali but Miller’s more like the guy who blew the whistle on the Von Trapp family.
Miller is an HR survivor in an administration resembling a GOP temp agency because he likes being the power behind the throne. He relishes undermining federal agencies mainly in service of an immigration agenda founded on reactionary and racist ideologies.
The energy and crowd-thrilling parts of Trump's speeches usually happen during his impromptu diversions from the planned address. When Trump veers, colleagues say, Miller sometimes directs the operator to scroll higher or lower through the speech, so when the president is ready to pick it up again, he will hit those passages and make those points.
Miller knows where he wants the president to go.
[...]
Two and a half years into Trump's term, Miller's power in the White House is at its peak, according to top administration officials. As one of Trump's longest-tenured and most trusted aides, his influence in the West Wing is rivaled only by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, they say.
[...]
Several of the officials who shared their candid views were unusually concerned with how they would be quoted, worried that specific words or phrases could be traced back to them. They said Miller would read quotes about himself with forensic interest to identify his critics, and to retaliate.
Some officials have developed nicknames for Miller to avoid being overheard saying his name aloud. Staffers at one DHS agency call him "our little friend," or simply "SM."
https://t.co/yPko84EK29
Miller survives because the usual reality-TV WWE kayfabe operates at this level of transaction where Individual-1 reacts quickly to Juan Williams on Fox News.
#Bothsidesism