Just over one year ago, National Review published a historic edition of its famed magazine dedicated to advancing the “Never Trump” philosophy of contemporary conservatism. Thursday, on an unseasonably frigid March day in Washington, one of President Trump’s most effective defenders took the stage at National Review Institute’s annual Ideas Summit to engage in a sober discussion on “economics in the age of populism.”
Stephen Miller, senior advisor to President Trump, shows no reservations championing his boss’s policies – on television or anywhere else. Miller’s influence in the president’s inner circle has prompted reporters to conduct deep dives into his past, gleefully unveiling everything from high school student government platforms to college op-eds.
As one of Trump’s reported intellectual wellsprings, Miller has endured due speculation over the intensity of his ideological orientation. To many in the media, Miller is a puzzle to be solved.
At National Review’s summit Thursday afternoon, the 31-year-old connected a few more pieces for them.
Mid-way through his panel, Miller was asked by moderator Larry Kudlow to offer reflections on the nature of conservatism. “I generally subscribe to the view that a conservative in America … really conserves very liberal ideas,” Miller mused.
The senior presidential advisor continued to explain,” In America because our tradition is our constitutional system, is our founders, you’re conserving that liberal heritage from Jefferson and Washington.”
American conservatives, according to Miller, “don’t always think the newest thing is always necessarily the best thing.”
Later in the panel, he also delivered a forceful warning to the audience, “As conservatives we should be very skeptical of radical economic and social changes that everyday Americans will not be able to benefit from.”
During an earlier session, one panelist asked attendees to raise their hands if they did not vote for Donald Trump in the general election. That fraction of the audience, if not a majority, was significant.
With an unmistakable air of confidence, Miller concluded his appearance by offering a prediction that recent protests and movements culminating in events from Brexit to the election of Donald Trump marked only the beginning of a global populist uprising.
“The world is going to change in irrevocable ways,” he foretold.
As power and influence concentrate increasingly in the hands of Trump disciples such as Miller, a megaphone for the man National Review itself once implored readers to reject, American conservatism appears to be hitching along for the ride.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
