Days after the GOP wipeout in the midterm elections, Donald Trump went on “60 Minutes” and struck an unusual (for him) tone: contrition.
While continuing to lie about the scope of his cruel and counterproductive immigration enforcement efforts, their legality and how popular they were, Trump acknowledged that they may have been “too tough” and indicated that he could be open to a negotiation with income Democrats about it. He then immediately undermined that point by appointing white nationalist satrap Stephen Miller as his chief of staff.
Miller is a fanatic about slamming shut America’s doors to newcomers. The thing about a true zealot like Miller that he is not bound by any political or even economic considerations.
The man would burn the country down and live in an impoverished, diminished America that had betrayed all of its foundational ideals if it meant that he could live in a closed America without immigrants at all. Miller is not going to give up on this dream just because his party got whooped; if anything, the man is likely to try to do as much more damage as he possibly can before the walls close in.
On the ground, it’s clear that the national repudiation has not stopped immigration agents from continuing their aggressive and often unconstitutional operations, trawling around the country pulling over or stopping people to question on account of what seems to just be their race.
ICE’s big hiring push, which has included the hiring of many agents who had already been fired from other law enforcement agencies or otherwise should have raised reg flags, does not appear to have been suspended. The vast funding streams the MAGA Congress appropriated to immigration enforcement enable ICE to keep expanding their footprint, including their literal footprint as they set up more detention space and remove people to far-flung countries where many have never even been.
If Trump really does think this has gone too far and has been jostled out of his stupor by the wave of outrage against him, then he has to take any steps to rein in his attack dog.
Fortunately, if there is one thing that Trump cares about beyond grift and expanding his and his family’s wealth and power, it’s his own public perception and popularity. The man yearns to be liked; all of the talk about a rigged popular vote even when he won the Electoral College is because he cannot stomach the idea that people don’t actually like him.
And the fact of the matter is that the American public really, really does not like what Miller has been serving up on Trump’s behalf. As much as the White House has tried to keep him in an information bubble where they can control what he sees and what comes in, there is no shielding him from the results of this wave election.
So, while it is absolutely incumbent on the incoming Democratic majorities to investigate and hold Homeland Security accountable, in the interim the president can at least take some steps to limit the tailspin of his popularity by neutering the impulses of Miller and his fellow travelers and reversing course on this immigration crackdown. Better yet, remove Miller — a key driver of this national rejection — entirely.
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