Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s 33-year-old speechwriter and senior adviser, is a true believer. He was an immigration hard-liner before Trump descended the golden escalator and made anti-immigration sentiment the hallmark of his campaign and his presidency. Miller has been a right-wing provocateur since high school, according to a profile from earlier this year in The Atlantic.
He’s made appearances on national television since his college years at Duke University, where he was an early defender of the lacrosse players accused of rape in an incident that divided the campus, and the nation, before the case fell apart. Yet he’s rarely seen on TV anymore. This weekend, in his first Sunday-show appearance in nearly a year, he reminded viewers why: The id of “Make America Great Again” is just too angry.
Read: Trump’s right-hand troll
The last time Miller went on a Sunday show was in January, when he fought with CNN’s Jake Tapper, who was trying to ask him about episodes from Michael Wolff’s factually challenged book. Miller wanted to talk only about what a “political genius” his boss was, rehashing his 2016 election win. When Tapper interrupted Miller’s musings with the comment that the president was probably watching and liked what Miller said, Miller objected to Tapper’s “snide remark” and launched an attack on CNN as “condescending.” Miller tried to tell a story about Trump spontaneously coming up with brilliant lines for a speech, but he had already told that story. Tapper said he had “wasted enough of my viewers’ time” and cut off the interview as Miller tried to extend an argument. During the commercial break, Miller kept berating Tapper. The host retorted, “This is the reason they don’t put you on TV, okay? This is the reason.” Miller reportedly refused to leave the set and was escorted out by security personnel.