Stephen Miller, Trump's next chief of staff, defended U.S. takeover of Greenland

Miller, considered one of the chief architects of Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, takes over Monday

Stephen Miller, President Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, went on CNN earlier this year to defend the idea of the United States taking over Greenland. “The real question is, by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim? What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark? The United States is the power of NATO,” Miller said in a clip aired by NPR. “Really pushing one of the administration’s more aggressive policies there,” NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben said of the appearance.

Kurtzleben described Miller as an “aggressive defender” of Trump and “an aggressive mouthpiece.” Whatever Trump’s reasons, Kurtzleben said, the change sends a loud message of not backing down on some of the administration’s most aggressive policies.

The midterm losses could be read as a clear repudiation of Trump’s policies, Kurtzleben said, “but then Miller is a true MAGA believer” — so the move “seems to be the administration saying, full speed ahead.”

President Trump announced the change Friday on social media — “in the way he announces a lot of things,” Kurtzleben noted — saying Miller will take over on Monday. “Stephen’s been with me from beginning. He gets it,” Trump said of Miller, in a recording aired by NPR. Trump said Wiles, the nation’s first female White House chief of staff, had done an outstanding job and is moving to his political operation.

The change came days after Republicans were swept out of power in Tuesday’s midterm elections. NPR host Ailsa Chang called the move a major shake-up just days after Republicans’ historic losses, and a sign the White House is not ready to back down from its agenda. She introduced Miller as the official behind some of Trump’s most controversial policies. Reports that Trump was considering replacing Wiles had circulated even before the midterms, Kurtzleben said. As Trump departed the White House for Florida, he offered little in the way of explanation: “Sometimes in life, you have to make moves,” he said.

Miller has been with Trump since his 2016 campaign and has always been considered one of the chief architects, in particular, of the president’s hard-line immigration policies, Kurtzleben reported. He served as an aide to Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, who became Trump’s first attorney general, and has a reputation as a policy wonk willing to try new and inventive ways to expand Trump’s power.

The new Congress may well constrain the White House, Kurtzleben noted, but the president does have a lot of foreign policy power — and Miller and his foreign policy ideas will now be elevated.

Wiles, by contrast, was known as a savvy political operator who saw her job as making recommendations to the president rather than telling him no, Kurtzleben reported. “We’ve been together a long time, and I’m so lucky every day that he trusts me to make decisions and to make recommendations. He doesn’t always listen or do what I say. I don’t want him to. But I’m always heard, and that’s all you can ask,” Wiles said of Trump on the Mom View podcast.

Miller, on the other hand, is “more like someone who is going to pour rocket fuel on Trump’s desires,” Kurtzleben said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, soon expected to become the new House speaker after the elections, posted on social media: “Stephen Miller is a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands. His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor. Fire him today.” Kurtzleben said the post was about as direct as it gets.

Trump said this week that he could maybe compromise with a Democratic Congress, and chiefs of staff often keep relationships open with all factions, Kurtzleben noted. The Miller pick does not signal that such outreach is a priority — and she said the feeling seems mutual from Jeffries.