While senior White House adviser Stephen Miller’s Sunday appearance on CNN’s State of the Union seemed pretty unhinged for those just tuning in, it followed what’s been a successful formula for him in the past: get into a shouting match with a “fake news” journalist, horrify the mainstream press, and earn praise from the White House and right-wing media.
The only problem was that this time someone leaked information that made it sound like Miller was a little too genuinely ruffled by Jake Tapper. It was reported that Miller had to be escorted from CNN’s studio, and someone leaked a transcript of Tapper continuing to admonish the aide just after he ended the interview.
In the predictable finale to Sunday’s debacle, Miller sat down with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson on Monday night to deny the most embarrassing element of the story — that he was escorted off set — and to continue trashing CNN. Tucker’s opening question was just a tad loaded.
“CNN called around to news organizations and said you were escorted off the set by security,” Carlson said. “Presumably you are not a physical threat, you are not armed. My question is, but they thought you were a threat. Do you think if you have been, I don’t know, a member of MS-13 here illegally, that CNN would have had security pull you off set?”
“I assume if I was a member of MS-13 here illegally, they would be clamoring to get me into the voting booth,” Miller replied, pausing to chuckle at his own joke.
Tucker then expressed great dismay that “there was a video apparently taken, without your knowledge” — meaning the few seconds where Miller kept shouting after Tapper went to commercial — and a transcript of that exchange was leaked.
“Well, it’s just another example of CNN’s very low journalistic standards,” Miller said, “but I was glad to have people hear what I said on camera and off camera, which is that CNN has been extraordinarily biased, extraordinarily unfair to the president, and is not giving their viewers honest information.”
For the next six minutes, Carlson let Miller present the Trump administration’s immigration priorities with no push back.
Miller’s alleged “audience of one” was at at the Georgia-Alabama game when the interview aired, but the president will surely be pleased when he catches up during his next block of TiVo time.
