David Rothkopf reveals what Trump officials really think of Stephen Miller and why his new position could be short-lived.
Stephen Miller’s abrasive personality could doom his tenure as President Donald Trump’s new White House chief of staff before the end of 2027, according to a longtime Washington insider.
On THE Daily Beast Podcastpolitical analyst David Rothkopf explained why Miller might not last as long as his predecessor, Susie Wiles.
A photo illustration by Stephen Miller for The Daily Beast podcast.
Photo illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters
“I wrote a book about all the people in the last Trump administration. They hated him,” Rothkopf said of Miller, who served as a senior adviser and speechwriting director during Trump’s first term.
“One of them, who is a very senior person — a Cabinet-level person — said, ‘He’s the biggest asshole I’ve ever met,’” Rothkopf told host Joanna Coles.
Miller, one of the hard-line architects of Trump’s immigration agenda, has long been among the president’s most influential — and controversial — advisers. His elevation to chief of staff puts him in charge of running the day-to-day operations of the White House and serving as a key liaison between the administration and lawmakers, a role that requires building relationships with the very people Rothkopf says he despises.
Rothkopf warned that Miller’s reputation could make relations with Congress particularly difficult.
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“Hakeem Jeffries, the new Speaker of the House, has already said, ‘I’m not going to work with Stephen Miller.’ A lot of people won’t work with Stephen Miller. There are Democrats and Republicans who don’t like Stephen Miller. I think Stephen Miller is going to have a lot of trouble getting things done,” Rothkopf said.
“And you know, his main goal is to lash out,” Rothkopf said. But whether Miller will be able to rally support is another story.
“He’ll turn around and say, you know, ‘Are you with me?’ And there won’t be anyone there,” he said.
That reputation, Rothkopf added, could ultimately lead to Miller’s downfall.
“I think he won’t survive 2027 in this position, simply because he will lose too many people,” he said. “He is the point person for Congress. Trump will realize that any remaining reputation or relevance he has is up to Stephen Miller.”
Miller will not remain chief of staff beyond 2027 because of his abrasive nature, Rothkopf predicted.
Unlike his predecessor, Wiles, who was widely seen as a more traditional political player, Miller built his reputation on ideological confrontation. Rothkopf suggested that this approach could prove particularly problematic as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress in January, leaving the White House facing a more hostile legislative environment and the prospect of congressional investigations.
Rothkopf also predicted that Miller’s leadership could trigger a wave of damaging leaks from inside the White House.
“Trump is going to have a problem because there will be leaks about everything he does within his own White House. And you know how I know that? Because the very first thing Stephen Miller did was say, ‘Anyone who leaks, we’re going to sue them.’ I mean, he’s terrified of it. And he immediately said, ‘We’re going to go after the people who do that.’
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Daily Beast that “David Rothkopf is a far-left loser who clearly suffers from a serious and debilitating illness known as Trump Derangement Syndrome that has completely rotted his peanut-sized brain.”
New episodes of The Daily Beast podcast air every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. YouTubeand on other podcast platforms the next morning. Follow our new feed on your favorite podcast platform at beast.pub/dailybeastpod and subscribe on YouTube to watch full episodes.
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