by S. V. DATE
The president’s chief propagandist accuses opponents of “insurrection” and attempting a “coup” — while declaring Trump has “plenary authority.”
As Donald Trump pushes to expand his presidential powers to autocrat-like levels, he has at his side a top aide who makes his own over-the-top pronouncements sound downright tame.
Stephen Miller has accused federal judges, including those appointed by Republican presidents, of taking part in a “judicial coup.” He calls the opposition Democratic Party a “domestic extremist organization.” He labels protesters in U.S. cities “terrorists” — the same designation he and Trump have applied to the 21 people and counting whom Trump has summarily killed on boats in the Caribbean.
In speeches that often devolve into comical bravado, he repeatedly invokes the powers of Trump and his executive branch, even in areas that have historically been the responsibility of local and state government.
“You know the gang bangers that you deal with, they think that they’re ruthless,” he told law enforcement officials in Memphis earlier this month. “They have no idea how ruthless we are. They think they’re tough. They have no idea how tough we are. They think that they’re hardcore. We are so much more hardcore than they are, and we have the entire weight of the United States government behind us. What do they have? They have nothing behind them.”
Just this past week, Miller told CNN that Trump had “plenary authority” — absolute power — even though the U.S. Constitution makes clear that he does not.
Amanda Carpenter, once a top aide to Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and now a researcher with the nonprofit Protect Democracy, said Miller is doing exactly what proponents of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 planned over the past several years as Trump ran to retake his office after having attempted a coup in 2021.
“Project 2025 was, at its core, an aspiration to provide Trump plenary power to gut checks and balances, consolidate control over all aspects of the federal government and entrench power for the long term,” she said. “It was written on paper and Stephen Miller is saying it out loud.”
Miller did not respond to a list of questions from HuffPost about his various actions and statements, including his reported role in the extrajudicial killings on Trump’s orders by the U.S. military of 21 alleged smugglers in the Caribbean, and the White House scolded HuffPost for asking him directly. Later, a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity disparaged HuffPost and defended Miller.
“Stephen is rightfully calling out radical left-wing violence and those who support it,” the official said.
Huffpost for more