"Why are you yelling?” the reporter asked as Trump's senior adviser refused to clarify the source of information he was spreading about Venezuela’s crime rate.
"Why are you yelling?” the reporter asked as Trump's senior adviser refused to clarify the source of information he was spreading about Venezuela’s crime rate.
Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller had an on-camera meltdown after being asked by a journalist to back up questionable claims he was making about Venezuela’s crime rate, video of the episode posted to social media shows.
The four-minute video shows an emotional Miller yelling at NTN24 reporter José María del Pino on Tuesday after del Pino questioned Miller over his claims that Venezuela has become safer than the United States because its convicts are now all in the U.S.
Miller also repeated a since-debunked story that a Venezuelan gang has taken over Colorado apartment complexes.
Genuinely, that’s one of the most impressive examples of a serious journalist being an absolute fucking pitbull on a question, and as a result making the populist idiot spewing racist bile look like a complete imbecile, and laying bare the fact that he’s very obviously trying to push an agenda. Miller even fuckin pivots to MS-13 - an El Salvadoran gang (but all look same amirite /s) - because he realized he’s floundering, and reflexively reaches for more pathos of the “scary Latin people” conservative trope. Truly, this is an incredible interaction to watch. And the expressions of the people in the background are like “wow holy fuck lil’ fascist Stevie is getting OWNED”.
He is also making such a bs argument. Does anybody believe that Maduro lets out criminals in the hope that they will cross the Dorian gap to go to the US? That makes no sense. It’s much more likely that those criminals, once let out of prisons, remain in Venezuela.
Wait? You mean Trump and his gaggle of kleptocrats could have been easily defeated all along if the mainstream media were populated by actual journalists instead of agreeable sycophants who just nod their heads and continue manufacturing consent?
Hats off to how professionally calm José María kept his voice on the follow up questions, making it clear that Miller was pretending to be outraged. A calm question after an angry rant meant Miller would start quiet again and have to dial his pretend rage back up. You could see Miller catch himself not being angry enough!
Hard to know if "journalism" exist at all anymore.. this could be some random food blogger who got a media pass and accidentally asked a good question.. you wouldn't be able to know the difference.
It also beautifully displayed how fragile they are. Just push them a tiny bit and they go apoplectic that you don't just swallow their bullshit like their eager sycophants.
It is amazing to me that these assholes will say "thoughts and prayers" or completely deny that things happened when it comes to schoolchildren being murdered in their classrooms, but expect people to be filled with righteous anger when it comes to brown people entering the country. If school shootings are a "fact of life" in America, assuredly immigration is a "fact of life" here...and it is one that has the advantage of being beneficial to the country.
Another thing that irritates me is that these babbling gobs (and particularly this caricaturistic, flanderized bobble head) prevent actual debate around how immigration should function in this country...ensuring that we will continue to be told by the media that there are only two positions on immigration: become a country that nobody new can enter even as we dwindle in population and inventiveness, or have "open borders" that allow absolutely anyone into the country.
I know the reality is that the Democratic party has nuanced positions on asylum and immigration, but the straw man position the Republicans keep insisting Democrats have completely chokes the public discourse to death leaving us continually discussing the two "options", and thanks I fucking hate it.
It’s disappointing to see a bipartisan bill (this rarely happens) that could have made a difference get killed without making it to the house floor. That seemed like the middle ground solution.
Sadly, Trump is getting exactly what he wanted out of this election. His cornerstone argument is the border and he is literally nothing without it.
Miller is literally a Nazie. Dude will say anything to kill, enslave, deport, or incarcerate anyone who does not fit his perfect all white Christian America. Anything he says by default is to be scrutinized and shouted down.
Venezuelan gang has taken over Colorado apartment complexes
This doesn't work like that.
In one of my home-towns, a small one, apartment complexes are 'managed' (owned and operated) by known-criminal organizations, and have been for a while. The oft-repeated rumours are this:
one building is owned by an organization of Italian origin -- maybe 20 unit.
two buildings across the street are run by triads -- 4 storeys, perhaps 80 units total
no mob wants cops snooping around, so one keeps the cops at bay with a very firm, paternal hand on the residents and the building -- noise complaints, lights out, the occasional ruckus, and either this old man with an accent or his underling takes two very large 'witnesses' for quick investigation. The offender need not fear anything but abrupt eviction with no recourse at most as, again, the building doesn't want to be the target of investigations or similar unwanted attention.
Mob apartments are very well-run units, and ridiculously safe, in my limited experience.
By the way, the "dictators will empty their prisons and send them to our borders" is projection. He's telling us exactly what he wants to (and very well might) do.
Even el Salvador has lowered it's crime rates by 60% but they did it by throwing every suspect in prison for life no trial or anything. So you just know there are innocent people sitting in that inhumane prison they built. So yeah you can lower a crime rate that much, but you're not gonna do it without stomping on human rights and the blood of innocents
Stephen Miller is an advisor to Trump and is probably a psychopath. I don't use that label lightly either.
When a normal person gets genuinely angry, their facial expressions and body language convey the anger too. It's a natural reaction humans have when experiencing emotions and it's tough to hide or fake.
Stephen Miller raises his voice, he uses an indignant tone, he makes aggressive motions with his body, but his face shows no change in expression at all. It's not just this clip either, he's like this all the time. He's generally good at lying and changing topics during normal interviews, but he was cornered here and fell back to "pretend to be angry and change the topic." Clearly this reporter was having none of it.
I just watched the clip again and you’re totally right. When I watched the first time, it was like an uncanny valley thing - it was mostly human but something was still really off.
I think also what easily could be challenged is the composition of venezuelan prisons. A country mired in dictatorship is bound to have more political prisoners than actual criminals.