If a film director were looking to cast a movie about fascism, the Trump cabinet would offer several prime candidates who have just the right look.
Pete Hegseth, the self-named “Secretary of War,” has the blandly handsome Aryan face and prideful arrogance of a poster boy for the Fatherland. Attorney General Todd Blanche has the dark, dull-witted visage of a loyal henchman who will ask no questions and follow all orders.
The most perfect of all is Stephen Miller, the new White House Chief of Staff, he of the cold, lidded eyes and shaved head, who embodies the loyal, fanatical lieutenant standing ready to carry out the most heinous plans of his fuhrer.
Indeed, it is Miller who has driven the assault on immigrant communities, the most despicable of President Donald Trump’s policies; a reign of terror that has torn apart law-abiding families, sent innocent people into detention without trial, deported others to foreign countries without due process and led to the shooting deaths of American citizens.
Miller is a white nationalist zealot, perhaps the most radical of the several right-wing radicals surrounding Trump, and, now, in his new role, he is the most powerful. Arguably, given how checked out the president seems to be on so many occasions — more interested in interior decoration than governance — one could argue that Miller is the de facto president of the United States, or, at the least, the power behind the throne.
Among his many duties, Miller has a hand in writing Trump’s formal speeches. It is easy to pick out his contributions, given the president’s very limited vocabulary. If you hear Trump launch into florid phrases espousing the unquestionable greatness of America, language laden with aggressive patriotism and dark warnings about communists and evil immigrants, chances are good those are Miller’s words.
We just had an election that repudiated Trumpism and its many disasters, but, rather than showing a willingness to alter course, Trump has made it clear by appointing Miller his chief of staff that he is ready to flout the will of the people and double down on his hugely unpopular policies.
Miller has long entertained grand visions for purging America of leftist enemies and lesser races while dominating the world with intimidating power. He must be ecstatic that his big chance has come, yet, at the same time, troubled because the country’s voters have given control of the House and the Senate to the Democrats who will check his every move.
Miller will certainly connive and coerce and try to ignore the Congress during the next two years as he and Trump defend their regime, but they face a hard deadline that will finally bring an end to their grand designs and lawless deeds: Jan. 20, 2029, when they will be forced from the White House by the democratic system they so despise.
See more of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey
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