Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda―An Examination of Radicalization and Right-Wing Extremism

by Jean Guerrero

Stephen Miller is one of the most influential advisors in the White House. He has crafted Donald Trump's speeches, designed immigration policies that ban Muslims and separate families, and outlasted such Trump stalwarts as Steve Bannon and Jeff Sessions. But he's remained an enigma.

Until now. Emmy- and PEN-winning investigative journalist and author Jean Guerrero charts the thirty-four-year-old's astonishing rise to power, drawing from more than one hundred interviews with his family, friends, adversaries and government officials.

Radicalized as a teenager, Miller relished provocation at his high school in liberal Santa Monica, California. He clashed with administrators and antagonized dark-skinned classmates with invectives against bilingualism and multiculturalism. At Duke University, he cloaked racist and classist ideas in the language of patriotism and heritage to get them airtime amid controversies. On Capitol Hill, he served Tea Party congresswoman Michele Bachmann and nativist Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions.

Recruited to Trump's campaign, Miller met his idol. Having dreamed of Trump's presidency before he even announced his decision to run, Miller became his senior policy advisor and speechwriter. Together, they stoked dystopian fears about the Democrats, "Deep State" and "American Carnage," painting migrants and their supporters as an existential threat to America. Through backroom machinations and sheer force of will, Miller survived dozens of resignations and encouraged Trump's harshest impulses, in conflict with the president's own family. While Trump railed against illegal immigration, Miller crusaded against legal immigration. He targeted refugees, asylum seekers and their children, engineering an ethical crisis for a nation that once saw itself as the conscience of the world. Miller rallied support for this agenda, even as federal judges tried to stop it, by courting the white rage that found violent expression in tragedies from El Paso to Charlottesville.

Hatemonger unveils the man driving some of the most divisive confrontations over what it means to be American--and what America will become.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Government, Immigration, Audiobook

336 pages, Paperback

First published August 11, 2020

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have once again decided to embark on a mission to read a number of books on subjects that will be of great importance to the upcoming 2024 US Presidential Election. This was a great success as I prepared for 2020, with an outcome at the polls (and antics by both candidates up to Inauguration Day) that only a fiction writer might have come up with at the time! Many of these will focus on actors and events intricately involved in the US political system over the last few years, in hopes that I can understand them better and, perhaps, educate others with the power to cast a ballot. I am, as always, open to serious recommendations from anyone who has a book I might like to include in the process.

This is Book #4 in my 2024 US Election Preparation Challenge.

Jean Guerrero brings to life one of the most appalling and fear-inducing life stories of a man at Trump’s right hand, advising him on a daily basis. Stephen Miller is not only hate-filled and fueled by rhetoric, but has little regard for others and the needed compassion to work in 21st century Washington. As Guerrero explores and exposes Miller’s life, she uncovers the roots of the xenophobic and radicalised sentiments that helped him write some of the most divisive speeches and policy documents that would spur Donald Trump along during his time as president. Filled with poignant stories and background, Guerrero sheds light on a man who knew no better, yet those ignorance cannot simply be dismissed as a jaded upbringing. Well told and eye-opening at every page turn, Guerrero spins a biography that is dripping with malice and indignant sentiment throughout.

There is no doubt that Stephen Miller is highly influential as a person and a member of Donald Trump’s inner circle while he was in the White House. Award-winning author Jean Guerrero seeks to explore how the man became so aggressive in this piece. Guerrero opens by discussing that Stephen Miller was a typical child whose Jewish upbringing was part of a well-rounded and educated life. However, there was a time when Miller, who spent his youth in California, noticed that racial division was best and that by keeping like people in their respective groups could only serve to better the community. Guerrero explains this in the early chapters of the book, which are sure to shock readers, or perhaps lull them into a sense of expectation.

This radicalised view would seep into Miller’s teen years, where he bluntly rallied against minorities and wanted them kept in their place, a shocking perspective for someone whose ethnic make up resolved around being persecuted for beliefs and simply being. However, this was not something that Miller ever saw, choosing to push for specific and strict views to keep groups at bay and allow his right of centre beliefs to thrive, no matter who opposed them. His daily inculcation by radio hosts helped fuel Miller’s hate of those who were different, something the youth accepted as truth without the need for concrete evidence.

As Guerrero explores Miller’s formative years, the narrative moves to show that he was becoming quite excited by a sectionalised view of America. Fuelled by the attacks of September 11, 2001, Miller felt that Islamic extremists needed to be punished, but that it would not be problematic to generalise Muslims as all being a part this group. Miller also kept pushing his anti-Hispanic views, spewing vitriol that could be explained in no way other than ignorant racism. This was furthered when Miller went to Duke University, where he found a staunch conservative group that helped fuel his views. Miller jumped on anything that would promote the white race and ensure that minorities knew their place. Using the Duke lacrosse team ban of 2006 as a launching point, Miller was able to enter the national scene by espousing the innocence of players and how a black stripper fabricated the rape accusation for notoriety.

Miller caught the eye of right-leaning politicians, as he had a way with words and could get to the heart of the matter. He met Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions and soon joined his team as a speechwriter. Working to push the senator’s ideas, Miller was introduced to others of like-minded views, fomenting division within the country and around the world. Influenced by the likes of Sessions and Steve Bannon, Miller was able to hone his views and fan the flames, permitting others to dump fuel to further the xenophobic destruction.

After an unpredictable 2016 presidential campaign saw Donald Trump win, Miller saw a place for himself to help his newest idol push views through well-written policies to keep immigrants out of the country. Miller eagerly write to keep the Trump base satiated with rhetoric that would promote dividing the county and provide flagrant views pushing the country to the limit. Miller soon emerged as Trump’s senior policy advisor, working with the president to push America to the verge by trying to paint the country as lost and rotting from within.

Miller’s greatest success, according to Guerrero was an encouragement of Trump’s harshest impulses, fueling an immigrant policy that would create an international sense of xenophobia not seen in decades. Miller rallied to support this agenda, even as federal judges sought to dismantle it. Miller lost all sense of reality as the country spoke out against it, espousing that it was needed and that leftist views had bled into the electorate, who needed a reset. Trump agreed, which only helped feed into the racist view that has yet to be silenced. One can only hope when the nightmare will end, something that Jean Guererro fails to deliver. This is highly disturbing, even from this side of the 45th parallel!

While it is alarming to read a book of this nature, I could not stop devouring all that Jean Guerrero had to offer. One must stop and use a filter to determine how much of the biography is truth and what might be exaggeration to fuel a specific sentiment. Guerrero uses her short chapters to push a story about Stephen Miller and show how he went from you guessing boy to a raging xenophobe in a short period. While Guererro is not blunt in saying it, one can surmise that it was the company that Miller kept who bear responsibility for such extreme views. Miller cannot get off scot-free, but one must wonder if he was influenced at his most vulnerable points. Still, as Miller espouses his intelligence, one has to wonder if he is blind to these racist views or simply ignorant. I leave it to the reader to decide for themselves, though Guerrero makes her own case. Dripping with vitriol and xenophobia on most every page, one can only suspect if Trump and Miller might have been destined to come together, being so like-minded. Guerrero does well pairing them, highlighting numerous moments of convergence that would help the president push extreme policies to cripple America on the world scene. Supported with interviews and country documents, the book is by no means a baseless diatribe against the right. With the coming election, one can wonder if Miller will reemerge like a sexual disease and inflame the body politic once again.

Kudos, Madam Guerrero, for sending chills down my spine about some of the horrible sentiments that invade the American political discussion.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Juliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Every fiction begins with us versus them, with the separation of one from another."

I hated having to read this book. I hate what this admin has done to us and our country. I despise the cast of characters that comprise the inner circle of this President. It would be hard to pick the absolute worst besides Trump, but after reading this book, Stephen Miller is at the top of my list right now.

What an absolute ghoul who has his fingers in every executive order, every horrible presidential speech, and every policy that makes a decent person's blood boil. And Stephen Miller is what happens when crazy conservative talk show hosts find a young man looking for a purpose and then they personally mentor him on the fine art of gaslighting and how to feed on the fears of large groups of people.

This book will be part of the pantheon a decade or two down the road when we ask ourselves, what went wrong?

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spending hours on end with the likes of Stephen Miller, even just with an overview like this, is something one shouldn’t wish on their worst enemy. Still, Hatemonger gives a view of the twisted mind that has held large sway on immigration policy in the US for the past 4 years. It documents his early fascination with right wing radio and also hints at his later sociopathy (with examples such as his aggression toward minorities in high school or dropping his meal tray in college saying that it was the job of the cleaning staff to pick it up). It also discusses his friendship with fellow traveler Richard Spencer, and goes on to show how his involvement with Michelle Bachmann and Jeff Sessions later translated to Trump’s orbit. It is frightening that someone like Miller has held such prominence and lasted for four years in this chaotic administration and the thought of him continuing for another four years is even scarier, yet it’s instructive to understand (as much as one can) his dark worldview and hope that this has been his only brush with influence in government.

[The Conspiracy is Capitalism · Rating 4 out of 5]

Global Trumpism (part 2)…

Preamble:
--This 2020 book covers Stephen Miller’s origins and rise (2017-2021 is Trump’s first term). Behind the bumbling opportunism of Trump (who weaponized his liberal reality-TV background to become a hog whisperer for Right-“populism”), different kinds of sociopathy are required for planning/implementation. Miller has been a standout here.
--I’ve unpacked the foundations of Global Trumpism in reviewing War for Eternity: Inside Bannon's Far-Right Circle of Global Power Brokers, so I’ll just add to it here.

Highlights:

1) Grooming Sociopaths:
--This journalistic book details Miller’s upbringing; I’m less interested in psychoanalyzing individuals, so here’s my crude summary: Miller’s villain “origin story” does not appear to be the bullied-becomes-bully/cycle-of-abuse archetype, but instead the privileged (lack empathy) edgelord (contrarian in a “liberal” family) archetype.
--This privileged edgelord tendency was directly weaponized by right-wing media. In the case of Miller:
i) Larry Elder’s right-wing radio (Rush Limbaugh being the model) platforming Miller.
ii) David Horowitz recruiting young conservatives (including Miller) on campuses. Coopting civil rights language for reactionary movements (“free speech”, “oppressed minority”): The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump
--“Gaslighting” psychological warfare to derail opposition: deflection/projection/accusations/doubling down when challenged to keep opposition on the defensive.
--Eventually connecting Miller to political figures (Bachmann/Sessions) and Steve Bannon/Breitbart.
--A sample:

Stephen appeared to study DeNiro’s gestures—the loose hands, the fingertips-on-fingertips, the head tics—and incorporate them into his persona. Years later, he’d stand at podiums and conjure the old mobster in himself. “All these conservative guys can’t help themselves, it’s such a horrible cliché but they love the mafia,” recalls one classmate. “The mobster is the perfect encapsulation of the conservative worldview, where there’s no real law and order apart from might makes right.”

Stephen loved Las Vegas. He spent time there with family and friends wearing outfits inspired by the movies. “I won’t describe what he would wear,” Walter says. “He wore clothes that it was impossible not to see him. It’s beyond peacocking . . . If you google Ace Rothstein casino outfits or suits, and you look at the pictures—you’re directionally there.” […]

That spring, Miller ran for student announcer. […] He sauntered onstage before a large, noisy crowd of students in a half-circle Greek outdoor amphitheater. He wore a green snakeskin-print polo and grinned, feasting his eyes on the audience as they booed and cheered. He reached the podium and waved, still grinning. In Larry Elder’s [radio] studio, he’d been practicing stoking the masses. Now, he stood face-to-face with the multicultural school he had so often criticized. The noise of them, the hysteria, contrasted with his calm. It seemed to fill him with a sense of superiority.

“Hi, I’m Stephen Miller,” he said. He gripped the microphone and squinted his face with practiced confidence. He was the only candidate, he said, “who really stands out. I will say and I will do things that no one else in their right mind would say or do.” He continued, his face reddening with emotion, his voice rising to a shout, “Am I the only one who is sick and tired of being told to pick up my trash when we have plenty of janitors who are paid to do it for us?”

The school had thousands of students and about ten custodians, mostly people of color. Students erupted in a roar of disapproval. Miller’s comments suggested the staff were the servants of the students. Student assembly president Coleen Armstrong-Yamamura was worried the students were about to riot. “I just remember the crowd at that point going kind of nuts. We had very volatile racial relations,” she says. She thought Miller’s comments were classist and racist. […]

--I want to highlight 2 points:
i) The unexceptional banality of privileged edgelord behavior in high schools (I remember seeing similar tendencies).
ii) However, I did not experience the level of right-wing media grooming in Canadian schools compared to Miller’s California case. Sadly, I assume this has been shifting (though by how much I cannot say) given the rapid growth of social media (my generation just started to use Facebook in high school).

2) Liberalism: Aiding and Abetting:
--Liberalism as the precondition of fascism:
i) Capitalism prioritizes freedom for capital, including capital movement (ex. NAFTA signed by Bill Clinton). Finance capital can traverse the globe in nanoseconds, while labour movement is curtailed by militarized borders (which requires plenty of violence: Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis).
ii) Capitalists benefit from precarious labour (surplus labour/“reserve army of labour”) through cheaper wage costs and divide-and-rule, thus lobby for legalizing illegality (Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal).
iii) Capitalist politicians (i.e. both “liberals” and “conservatives”) facilitate legalized illegality by rotating between:
a) quelling immigrant rights protests with marginal reforms offering work programs/amnesty: including Bush Jr. discussing a guest worker program with the Mexican president prior to 9/11, and the pre-Trump “Gang of Eight” bipartisan reform proposal (which included chameleon Republican Marco Rubio).
b) punishment: offering a pressure valve by enacting cruel punishment against scapegoats (out-groups)/symptoms to divert direct targeting of root drivers (corporate profits/capital movement). The book mentions liberal examples including Bill Clinton’s “Operation Gatekeeper”, “Prevention Through Deterrence”, etc.
…These are often performed simultaneously: the obvious example is Obama implementing some amnesty (DACA) while expanding deportations. The book highlights such contradictions in Miller’s home state, liberal California, home of virtual reality (Hollywood/Silicon Valley) and governor Ronald Reagan.
iv) Of course, a pressure valve can only handle so much pressure before risking systemic combustion:
-The Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism
-Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism
--The War on Terror allowed the US to expand its foreign practices domestically. The Immigration and Naturalization Service was scrapped and became the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which features:
i) Customs and Border Protection (CBP), including Border Patrol (BP).
ii) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
iii) FEMA (disaster recovery), prevention of cyber attacks/terrorism/trafficking, etc. These were all sidelined by border enforcement.
--ICE is composed of:
i) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents: investigate serious crimes (human trafficking/terrorism/weapons smuggling). HSI was sidelined by Trump/Miller, despite their fearmongering over “criminals”!
ii) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers: round up migrants. HSI mocked ERO as mere jailors; Miller freed ERO and won union support when they had low morale. ICE acting director (and ogre) Tom Homan pushed ERO to focus on women/children overstaying their VISAs.
--When Trump became jealous of the media framing Bannon as the “brain”, Miller backstabbed Bannon to demonstrate loyalty to Trump.
--This book ends before Trump 2.0, which I’ll cover by reviewing Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump.

…see comments below for rest of the review…

[Chris Voss · Rating 5 out of 5]

See our podcast full hour interview at https://bit.ly/342yM4G

The Chris Voss Show Podcast - Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda by Jean Guerrero

Its a thoroughly detailed book explaining the rise of White Nationalism through Stephen Millers childhood and rise to power. With over 150 interviews it is jammed packed with the full story of how Hate rose into the White House.

Great Interview on her hot new book biography of Stephen Miller - this is a MUST READ to understand how Trump and Miller are poisoning America with racism -

Order on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3kMlcIs

DO YOU LOVE BOOKS & AUTHORS - CHECK OUT OUR NEW BOOK CLUB http://bit.ly/ChrisVossBookClub

Subscribe to our 9 podcasts at TheCVPN.com

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

My low rating does not indicate a problem with the author’s negative depiction of Miller. The man seems psychotic in his joyful evil. And no explanation seems offered to explain whatever the hell damaged him so deeply.

My issue is the abysmal writing. There were some sentences in here that I couldn’t understand, so bad was the syntax. I’ve heard various explanations when I’ve discussed this - poor editing, lack of a background in book writing, and a rush to publish before the 2020 election. There’s certainly a deluge of books right now illuminating difference aspects of Trump’s turd pile. But is it too much to ask that they be articulate?

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew both of his grandparents. I know his former rabbi. My children attend the same high school, and had the same music teacher as he did. One of my children is a percussionist like he was. I am Jewish and live in Santa Monica, so I take what he does and who he is personally. This book was deeply disturbing to me because I still, after finishing the book, cannot understand how someone from here, with such a lovely family, could end up like he is.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always finish books once I start them, but truthfully I only finished half of this one. It is well researched, but I couldn’t force myself to read it the last few weeks. And now that election results are in, who cares about Stephen Miller anymore. Time for something more hopeful!

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Serbian Film has more likeable characters.

[Peacejanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Put on your big boy pants before you start this book. We have watched Stephen Miller and Donald Trump and the White Nationalist folks for years. This reporter puts it all together for us. She has pages and pages of notes, giving us citations about where she got her information. Obviously, she quoted the media but she interviewed Miller's family members, people he hung around with in high school, etc. She gives us the horrid details of a little nazi boy in high school, eager to get on talk radio, and tell the world how awful those immigrant Mexicans were. Miller is very smart, much smarter than his boss, D. Trump, and that was obvious since he was a young boy spouting this hate stuff. Miller had a tough time growing up; his father was in litigation with his former law partners, they sold the big home and moved down to a smaller place, his mother went into real estate business with her husband and there were many complaints (like the President's son-in-law?). No classmate talked to the award-winning investigative author about the love and generosity that came from his family. Miller was a loner in high school and college and finally found his idol, Trump. Trump loves him. He can create horrible rules for immigrants and awful rules for keeping Muslim folks out of our country. Most of his relatives have disowned him. His grandmother wrote out the family history of terror and abuse toward Jews so the family would remember. Stephen never read it. This is a valuable book, full of documented facts and well written. But it is very painful to read.

[Mary Thomas Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without a doubt one of the most disturbing books I've read about the Trump Administration. Not that I didn't already know that Stephen Miller is dangerous. Still, I learned more about his history and his deep relationships with high-profile white supremacists. That a Jewish boy from Southern California would become aligned with racists and anti-Semites, effectively becoming Trump's Goebbels, is beyond disturbing. Guerrero's book is well researched and well written. I recommend you read it before the November 3, 2020, election, before Trump and Miller and the rest of them are relegated to the dustbin of history.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exceptional and well researched book, sadly Stephen Miller, a senior advisor, played into Donald Trump’s worse demons.
Miller by all accounts is a racist. The author investigates and reports Miller’s life story, and his long track with White Racism. His nativist activism from high school all the way to the White House is chilling.

His persona and politics is perplexing at the extreme.
He comes from a family that barely escaped the Russian Pogroms of the beginning of the 1900’s.
Part of his extended family perished in German death camps forty years later.

His animus to black and brown people is inexplicable, and his emotional and simpatico connection to Trump is breathtaking.

[Elizabeth Duffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My heart can only tolerate these investigative journalism books on the current administration between other reads. This well-documented book delves into the life of Stephen Miller. He is truly a right-wing monster, which is ironic considering his very Jewish upbringing. He certainly adheres to none of the tenets of Judaism. I personally feel he’s the brains behind most of Trump’s more heinous actions and speeches.

[Ragne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was disturbing.

[Brit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this is poorly written.
However, it has laid out a good timeline of Miller’s career for those interested.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

F*ck you, Stephen Miller, you racist power-mad authoritarian freak. One of the most horrifying revelations in this book is that teenage Miller's music of choice was Sinatra.

[Maria Almaguer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to listen to this over the last several months, but its subject is so truly deplorable I just couldn't finish it. A biography of a hate-filled human being, horrifying and disturbing. I imagine Mein Kampf is similar.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steven Miller is an asshole

[Mike Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard Ms. Guerrero on the NPR show Fresh Air and was attracted to learn more about the tactics of hatemonger Stephen Miller in the Trump administration. The Prologue opens with Mr. Miller grinning at the sea of red baseball "Make America Great Again" caps at San Diego in May 2016. It is impossilbe to understand the Trump era, with its unparalleled polarization, without tracing Miller's journey to the White House. He was the architect of Trumps border/immigration policy, including the separation of families in 2017 and Muslim bans of 2018. Both are masters of messaging, "like sorcerers who lost control of their spells, they denied any role in the rising tide of white rage." Miller was a product of priviledged Santa Monica upbringing, Born the second of three children in the Jewish family of Michael D. Miller, a real estate investor, and Miriam, Stephen began appearing on talk radio while at Santa Monica high. Students remembered him as ignoring trash in the cafeteria, saying that "there are people whose job it is" to pick up his trash. He became an admiror of Rush Limbaugh and David Horowitz. He was active in high school opposing Spanish language use. He gained national attention for his defense of the students who were wrongly accused of rape in the Duke lacrosse case, and described Mecha, a hispanic support group, as one that believed in racial superiority. He then worked as press secretary for Michele Bachmann (tea party). Two years later he worked for Sessions. Alabama senator Sessions was attacking an immigration reform bill by a bipartisan team, the Gang of 8, during the Obama administration in 2013. And then he joined the Trump team, writing the speech given at the Republican convention.

What is ironic is that the family history was one of immigration. His mother's ancestors—Wolf Lieb Glotzer and his wife, Bessie—immigrated to the United States from the Russian Empire's Antopol, in what is present-day Belarus, arriving in New York on January 7, 1903. They were escaping the anti-Jewish pogrom. His opposition of legal immigration seems to ignore his past.

We need to understand monsters in order to prevent future mistakes of history, such as the immigration disaster of the Trump administration.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painful to read, but very good to know who really is running the USA. Sometimes I feel naive by the games played by administrations, particularly by people who we did NOT elect. This is true for both liberals and conservative, but with such a destructive current White House (aka, the Trump administration), the cast of characters involved in judicial decisions, women's rights, healthcare, etc, are not experts, but individuals with an agenda, much of it being racially charged and anti- American values. Very enlightening, and any disgust that I held against this group appears to be grounded in domestic terrorism. I fear for my beloved country.

[Namrata Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been fascinated by Stephen Miller and his ability to exert so much power. Author did a great job tracing his family roots and discussing Miller’s early influences. I would have liked to see more of the relationship between Miller and Kushner/Ivanka. The latter strike me as reasonable and not racist as Miller clearly is. And I would think that Kushner and Ivanka have a lot more sway over Trump than Miller does. So I’m surprised Kushner hasn’t been able to curtail Miller’s influence at all. Overall, fascinating read about the man behind the curtain who we see so little of.

[Priscilla 💫📚 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably one of the most disturbing books I’ve read all year (and this is my 96th book of the year). It normally takes me 2-3 days to finish a book this size. This one took me 2-3 months. To get through it, I had to pretend it was fiction. I normally keep books in currently reading on my nightstand. Not this one. I didn’t even want its negative energy near me as I slept.

With all that said, you need to know the devil you’re dealing with. As challenging read as it is, it is a must read for all Americans. It sheds so much light into what we are dealing with today.

[Laurent Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have enjoyed Jean Guerrero's reporting over the years and her memoir Crux. She does a good job of chronicling Stephen Miller's rise to power and explaining what makes him tick. I have read other articles about him in The Atlantic and other media, but she further connects the dots not only on Miller, but the broader white nationalist movement and its influence on Trump and his White House. A sobering and at times disturbing read.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning and scary read. 150 interviews make this book a good depiction of the hate filled immigration policy of the Trump administration.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heaven help me, but Stephen Miller has been on my mind. I keep wondering how someone could build up so much contempt for other human beings because they didn't have the good fortune to be born in this country of American citizens. Miller hates immigrants. He opposes birthright citizenship. But why? What made a Stephen Miller?

Reading this book didn't fully answer my question but got me a little closer to understanding. Guerrero establishes the social and political context of Miller's youth, a steady stream of anti-immigrant sentiment from right wing media and California politicians of the Pete Wilson variety. In fact, much of Miller's current agenda and by extension Trump's executive orders and policy proposals can be found in Governor Wilson's legislation, including denying citizenship to children born of noncitizen parents.

However, lots of other people grew up in a similar climate and culture and didn't become radicalized against immigrants. All of that rhetoric found fertile soil in young Miller. For one thing he was smart. He was also arrogant. At a young age, he felt equal to challenging adults who didn't happen to agree with him. By high school he was already spouting anti-immigrant ideas, and went so far as to drop a Latino childhood friend without cause. The irony is that Miller is the grandchild of Jewish immigrants who, but for the United States welcoming them, would have likely died in the Holocaust. Quite a few of his relatives have denounced him. His mother apparently shares his views.

The bulk of the book traces Miller's rise through the political ranks through the first Trump administration. I was surprised at how many of Trump's speeches and executive orders were written by Miller and by how much power he had (and probably still has) in choosing people to fill critical positions. He's a petulant, spoiled, arrogant operative who instills fear in many of those around him. And he's a total sycophant to Trump because Trump is giving him the power to enact the ideas closest to his heart ... like child separation at the border and deportation of Dreamers.

I doubt I will ever fully understand Stephen Miller, but this book did provide useful insights. Sometimes a biography will help you feel a bit of compassion for the subject, even if they aren't generally likable. If anything, this biography made me despise Stephen Miller even more. He doesn't have a single redeeming feature nor any justification for being the person he is and causing the harm to others that he has. No immigrant hurt him or anyone in his family. He's led a privileged life. Yet somehow he became cruelty personified, someone who genuinely delights in the suffering of others, Guerrero proves that beyond any reasonable doubt.

A well-written, compelling read.

[Alex Gruenenfelder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made it through this audiobook relatively quickly, but it was a fairly chaotic experience. Very disorganized in the way it is put together, jumping all over the place in its timeline, it's a book I would probably recommend to read in its physical form to keep looking at the names within. Diligently reported, but heavy on commentary and personal perspective, I came away with a mixed view of the book but respect for the presentation of the well-researched facts and massive amounts of interviews that lay within.

One of my biggest issues with the book is that Miller is an awful person and the facts speak for themselves on that, yet the author resorts to repeatedly defending Islamic jihad and radical groups in order to argue against Miller on every front. The perspective of the author, despite her being a respected and well-researched investigative journalist, is so partisan and liberal that its bias detracts from its central biographical focus. It even alleges that the mainstream media whitewashed and was biased toward Trump at the start of his tenure, which is counter to many of our memories.

The second book I've finished on the day of Trump's Georgia indictments, it serves as a strong reminder of exactly how dangerous Trump's core circle was — and how much worse they could be if they come back. Though the book has many flaws, in my opinion, it is still a thorough biography of a man who is sadly important in history. If you like politics and find yourself hate-reading book after book about the MAGA movement, like me, you'll probably enjoy this hybrid biography-commentary piece.

[alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography does a few things well: it takes a multigenerational look at the origins, and has many examples of the faceless people affected by the protagonists actions. At times it is a little confusingly worded and there are sections of detail that don’t advance much of my understanding.

One thing that stood out to me was the strength of the influence parents have on their kids. Stephen Miller takes after his dad, a raffish jokester turned real estate guy who got himself into pretty serious trouble, and in another example Ben Horowitz of a16z fame is connected to the story by his father David, who was a mentor to Miller. The often-mentioned anecdote of his trash dropping for the janitor to pick up is a sadly widespread attitude among kids even at my school, but why did Miller take it so far beyond that? One learns that he effectively waited in the wings for a Trump figure to rise up, coming in via Jeff Sessions and the multiple other crazies who have been bashing against a normal society for so long that every effort they make serves to degrade it further.

Obviously, hellish to read in Trump II where each and every idea of Miller’s has been continued to unimaginable lengths with no end in sight.

[Katie]

SUPER YIKES

[D. Denise Dianaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important read

Illuminating and important, informative read. I would recommend.

There's no more to say. The UI just demands more words to let me post

[Peter P. Bernard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not Defined

Not only does Miller act like Eichmann but looks like him.

This book fails to define Miller. What makes him pursue evil?
He's Jewish, he should be driven to protect the defenseless