Trump Advisor Accuses Reporter of Evading Question While Evading a Question About Deporting Children

Rather than answer a reporter's question, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller shot back inquires of his own—then accused the reporter of evading his questions.

Acknowledging that President Donald Trump was elected on promises to deport dangerous criminals in the country illegally, a reporter asked Miller if—amid limited funding and requests for more detention beds from ICE—deporting mothers with young children was the best use of resources.

"Do you yourself have an opinion on the subject?" Miller countered. The reporter responded that he was more interested in Miller's opinion.

Miller then asked the reporter what percentage of "illegals" he thought should be allowed to stay in the country, doubling down when the reporter refused to engage in hypotheticals.

"Is it your view that if a Democratic president releases 10, 15, 20 million illegals into the country, that they all then should get to stay forever?" Miller pressed.

The reporter clarified that he was asking about the current administration's policies—not Democratic ones—and reiterated his question about enforcement priorities. "Okay, so you don't want to answer the question," Miller said.

Miller has earned a reputation both for his energetically combative debate style and his fiery anti-immigration rhetoric. He rose to political prominence writing speeches for Trump during his 2016 campaign and has remained a Trump insider since.

As far back as high school, peers recall Miller's impassioned and often inflammatory rhetoric. "Confrontation was his sort of modus operandi," Ari Rosmaron, the former newspaper editor at Miller's high school, told the New York Times. "I think it's why he came to school in the morning."

Railing against immigration is a tenet of Miller's political career. In Trump's first term, he crafted the Muslim ban and advocated for separating children from migrant parents.

Earlier in April, Miller declared that anyone "who preaches hate for America" would be deported during questioning about controversial deportations without due process and pending removals of foreign students who protested Israel's war on Palestine.

Miller has no tolerance for less than complete adherence to Trump's policies, threatening federal workers who defy Trump and elected officials in sanctuary cities who don't cooperate with ICE. He celebrated the arrest of a judge who allegedly obstructed the detainment of a migrant.

With Miller's history of unwavering, full-throttled conservatism, his refusal to entertain a reporter questioning the urgency of deporting mothers is in line with his unflinching insistence that "America is for Americans and Americans only."