White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller on Thursday blasted the press for breathlessly covering news that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was quitting as Pentagon chief next year.
“The media that’s having this hysterical reaction to James Mattis retiring is the same media in many cases, the same politicians in many cases, who cheered our nation into a war in Iraq that turned out to be an absolute catastrophe,” Miller told CNN. “This president got elected to get our foreign policy back on the right track after years of being adrift. One foreign policy blunder after another in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Libya, that hasn’t worked out for the national interest.”
Miller also defended President Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Syria and Afghanistan, pointing to media coverage he said he found curious, given “the media is supposed to be filled with a lot of progressives who don’t want America to be in endless, never-ending foreign conflict.”
“I’m just making a general observation that you’ve seen hour and hour of coverage breathlessly trying to drag America deeper into a Syrian conflict, breathlessly engaging in propping up quotes from people who have dragged us into conflicts like Iraq,” Miller said.
Miller went on to defend the president, saying Trump has “been clear about the fact he will defend America like no one else.”
“He will have a military power second to none. He will kill terrorists wherever and whenever he has to. But he’s also going to be sophisticated and intelligent and smart about it,” Miller said.
Trump announced Wednesday the U.S. would be pulling troops from Syria, a decision that has led several Republican allies of the president’s, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to break with Trump.
Earlier Thursday, Graham took Trump to task on Twitter, challenging the president’s claim that Russia, Iran, and Syria were “not happy” about the U.S. withdrawing from Syria.
Graham said the three countries were “ecstatic” and warned the withdrawal was an “Obama-like” mistake.
When pressed on comments from Graham regarding the president’s decision, Miller scoffed.
“I just find it amusing the media continues to cite Lindsey Graham as the greatest authority in foreign policy in American history,” he said. “Since when has the United States media become the supporters of every entanglement in the Middle East that
has bogged down this country? I just don’t know where that’s coming from.”
He also described Trump as “very tough, very strong, very aggressive on terrorism.”
Trump announced via Twitter Thursday that Mattis was stepping down from his post in February after the president decided to slash U.S. troop presence in Syria and Afghanistan, citing in his resignation letter the need for “a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned” with that of the commander in chief.
Miller said Trump and Mattis had “a great relationship,” but he hinted there were disagreements between the pair over the administration’s “America First” approach to defense and foreign relations. Miller also told the network it was “normal” for a White House to experience staff turnover following midterm elections.
“At the same time, as you know, President Trump believes that many immensely wealthy countries are taking advantage of the United States, they are taking advantage of our dollars and money and have been for a long time, while we protect these wealthy countries,” Miller said. “The president has been very emphatic about the need to get a fair deal for the American taxpayer and to make sure we’re only engaged in activities that are in our national interest.”
