The Daily Populous Monday September 15th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by independent.co.uk and submitted by NewSlinger

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

Stephen Miller, the influential White House official spearheading much of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, was reportedly so widely disliked during his earlier time on Capitol Hill that Republican staffers invented a rumor he liked to play with porcelain dolls to embarrass him.

Such mockery hasn’t subsided since Miller left the office of then-Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama to join the Trump camp, with the president allegedly gossiping about Miller behind his back over his intense and awkward manner, according to a new report.

These claims come from an in-depth Rolling Stone profile of Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser, which paints a picture of the California native as a powerful force inside the administration, acting as the shadow boss of supposedly independent agencies like the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security.

Elsewhere in the article, Trump officials and Republicans told the magazine Miller is known internally by nicknames like “the REAL Attorney General” and “President Miller” for his wide-ranging portfolio.

“Stephen Miller has been one of President Trump’s longest serving and most trusted advisers for nearly a decade, and I can personally attest to the respect that President Trump has for Stephen because I witness it every day,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Independent in a statement. “That’s why Stephen serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security adviser because the President has the utmost faith in him and his proven leadership abilities. In addition to being extremely effective at his jobs, Stephen is a loyal colleague and friend. Any suggestion otherwise is false gossip from people who don’t actually know him.”

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller is the architect of the Trump administration’s major immigration policies, but has earned mockery from some of his Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill, according to a new magazine profile ( AFP via Getty Images )

Miller has guided the White House on its most controversial initiatives, such as building immigration detention camps around the country, sending the military and masked ICE agents into Democrat-led cities, and invoking the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport alleged gang members.

In another episode described in the profile, a childhood friend of Miller’s claims the future politico cut ties because of his “Latin heritage.”

It’s not the first time Miller has been accused of childhood animosity towards Latinos.

As a kid, Miller would allegedly tell Spanish speakers at his diverse Southern California high school to learn English or go back to their home countries, according to reporter Jean Guerrero’s book Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, And The White Nationalist Agenda.

Now that Miller is back in the White House, Miller has reportedly berated immigration officials and insisted they arrest 3,000 immigrants a day, even if it means making random stops in Home Depot parking lots. (The administration has denied in court that it has formal immigration detention quotas.)

The Republican has also brushed off stories of families being divided by the immigration crackdown as “sob stories” meant to emotionally “blackmail” people, according to the Rolling Stone piece.

More than 60 percent of those arrested by ICE in July had no U.S. criminal convictions, according to the Deportation Data Project. (Illegal immigration on its own is generally a civil offense, not a criminal one.)

Fochlucan on September 14th, 2025 at 21:21 UTC »

Playing with dolls is a joyful activity. I doubt he experiences joy, and if he does play with dolls, it's probably to rip of the heads and the limbs.

RadioGagaLabHead on September 14th, 2025 at 21:17 UTC »

Rumors...right.

smaxw5115 on September 14th, 2025 at 21:15 UTC »

He doesn't seem like he likes to make friends or be very personable, friendly, or collaborative at all. I'm excited to see the books that will come out at the end of the term with all the insider stories!