Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) this week unleashed on Stephen Miller — a senior adviser to President Donald Trump and immigration hardliner reported having been crucial in ousting Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen — calling him a “white nationalist” in a Twitter thread.
“Stephen Miller is a white nationalist,” Omar tweeted Monday afternoon. “The fact that he still has influence on policy and political appointments is an outrage.”
Miller has rankled many in the administration and on Capitol Hill with his hardline views on immigration. He was the architect of the president’s disastrous first travel ban, a barely palatable spinoff of his proposed Muslim ban. Miller helped to limit the U.S. intake of refugees to a record low. According to a former Trump aide, he once said, “I would be happy if not a single refugee foot ever again touched American soil.” His opposition to Nielsen’s more moderate views reportedly facilitated her ouster, to the consternation of even Republican lawmakers. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IO) this week slammed Miller for ensuring the president has
Nonetheless, supporters of the president leaped to Miller’s defense in the face of Omar’s criticism, pointing out that Miller is Jewish and accusing Omar of anti-Semitism for suggesting his right-wing immigration beliefs make him a white nationalist.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) suggested Omar’s criticism of Miller was part of a pattern of attacking Jews with “name calling & other personal attacks.”
Don Jr., the president’s son, and Matt Wolking, a member of the Trump 2020 campaign, joined in:
Miller’s critics, including J Street communications director Logan Bayroff, defended Omar:
Writer Elad Nehorai also replied to a writer at Breitbart, once known as the home of the alt-right, who had criticized Omar: