Trump Adviser Stephen Miller Wanted to Bomb Boat Filled With Migrants: Ex-Official

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Miles Taylor, a former Trump Department of Homeland Security official and the anti-Trump “anonymous” op-ed author claims in his new book Blowback that Trump insider Stephen Miller pushed an admiral on bombing migrants in international waters.

Taylor recalls the 2018 conversation between Miller, a Trump advisor and notorious immigration hardliner, and Admiral Paul Zukunft – then the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Rolling Stone published the “critical” passage of the book on Monday:

‘Admiral, the military has aerial drones, correct?’ Stephen inquired.

‘Yes,’ Zukunft replied.

‘And some of those drones are equipped with missiles, correct?’

‘Sure,’ the commandant answered, clearly wondering where the line of questioning was going.

‘And when a boat full of migrants is in international waters, they aren’t protected by the U.S. Constitution, right?’

‘Technically, no, but I’m not sure what you’re getting at.’

‘Tell me why, then, can’t we use a Predator drone to obliterate that boat?’

Admiral Zukunft looked nonplussed. ‘Because, Stephen, it would be against international law.’

Taylor then recalls how Miller and Zukunft argued:

[The] United States launched airstrikes on terrorists in disputed areas all the time, Miller said, or retaliated against pirates commandeering ships off the coast of Somalia. The Coast Guard chief calmly explained the difference. America attacked enemy forces when they were armed and posed an imminent threat. Seafaring migrants were generally unarmed civilians. They quarreled for a few minutes. Stephen wasn’t interested in the moral conflict of drone-bombing migrants. He wanted to know whether anyone could stop America from doing it.

Rolling Stone reached out to both Zukunft and Miller regarding the section of the book.

“This is a complete fiction that exists only in the mind of Miles Taylor desperate to stay relevant by fabricating material for his new book,” a spokesman for Miller told the publication.

Zukunft too did not confirm the exchange, telling Rolling Stone he had “no recollection” of the conversation as detailed in the book:

I vividly recall having a lengthy conversation with Stephen Miller regarding Southwest border security in 2018. My point was that the U.S. is not exerting enough influence in the form of foreign aid in the tri-border region of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador that have been key source nations for illegal migration. In effect, get at the root cause of illegal migration at the source rather than a goal line defense at the border. And the preponderance of these migrants traverse on foot. But to use deadly force to thwart maritime migration would be preposterous and the antithesis of our Nation’s vanguard for advancing human rights.

Taylor doubled down on the veracity of his book when Rolling Stone sent him Zukunft’s statement, noting, “The conversation happened.”

Miller has long made headlines for his controversial rhetoric and draconian approach to dealing with policy. Former Trump Secretary of Defense Mark Esper wrote in his memoir that Miller “proposed securing [ISIS leader] Mr. al-Baghdadi’s head, dipping it in pig’s blood and parading it around to warn other terrorists.” Miller too denied that ever happened.