Did ‘Stephen Miller Ambush’ Backfire With Trump’s ‘Shithole’ Debacle?

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By Dave Goldiner January 14, 2018

The White House meeting on immigration reform in which President Trump called Haiti and African nations “shithole countries” was reportedly orchestrated by Stephen Miller in an effort to undercut reform efforts.

The Trump meeting was supposed to be with Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), two members of a bipartisan group looking for a solution to the impasse over the so-called Dreamers and other issues like border security.

But Miller, a far-right wing Jewish figure, apparently invited a gaggle of other very right-wing anti-immigration Republicans like Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), the Hill reported.

Instead of a working meeting, the session turned into a Trump rant-fest in which he repeatedly used the hateful language that has now sparked worldwide outrage.

Miller has long been known as a very hardline voice on immigration. He was once considered a protege of Steve Bannon but denounced his onetime White House mentor amid the furore over Bannon’s incendiary remarks in Michael Wolff’s book ‘Fire and Fury.’

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at goldiner@forward.com, or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

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