SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — A new book about presidential aide Stephen Miller paints a dark image of the man who is crafting immigration policies that ban Muslims, separate families and make asylum in the United States almost impossible.
(Courtesy: Harper Collins)
Jean Guerrero, a reporter with KPBS, is the author of Hate Monger. She says she went through countless documents and conducted hundreds of interviews while researching material for her book.
“I approached the project with a completely open mind. I thought also was it possible Stephen Miller may have been misunderstood and he truly believes he is protecting the American people,” Guerrero told Border Report on Monday. “What I can tell you, Stephen Miller is fluent in the language of hatred, he deliberately incites emotion in people and he communicates with people who hate.”
Guerrero’s book details Miller’s childhood and the relationship with his domineering father who was a real estate businessman much like President Trump’s father.
It follows Miller through his teenage years when he becomes radicalized by reading books and hearing from known separatists.
According to publisher Harper Collins, “Miller relished provocation at his high school in liberal Santa Monica, California. He clashed with administrators and antagonized dark-skinned classmates with invectives against bilingualism and multiculturalism. At Duke University, he cloaked racist and classist ideas in the language of patriotism and heritage to get them airtime amid controversies. On Capitol Hill, he served Tea Party congresswoman Michele Bachmann and nativist Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions.”
The book’s author outlines how Miller and Trump found a connection.
“Stephen Miller is a P.R. flack who had almost no policy experience, but when he came into the White House, and at the age of 31, was put in charge of making policies for this nation. And he’s laser-focused on keeping out people from largely African and Latin American countries, slashing refugee admissions to record lows obliterating asylum system at U.S.-Mexico border,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero said Miller has the ability to “have influence because he gets Donald Trump in a way no other White House adviser does.”
And if Trump is reelected in November, expect Miller to keep pushing a xenophobic agenda, she said.
“What Stephen Miller has not been able to do is remove birthright citizenship, which is a constitutional right and Miller has been trying to find ways around it. I believe this is something we would see in (a) second term if Trump wins reelection.”
Border Report reached out to the White House and Stephen Miller for comment about the book and its contents, but our messages were not returned.
