The way Stephen Miller and other top officials speak about the president does not suggest that they are encouraged to give him candid, reality-based advice.
The world will little note nor long remember what the new White House chief of staff had to say after getting the job — but maybe it deserves a little more notoriety.
It was the privilege of a lifetime to join President Trump all the way back in 2015 when he came down that golden escalator.
And let me tell you, if it wasn’t for President Trump, the United States of America would not exist right now. This man saved America.
He saved our military from collapse. He saved our economy from destruction. He saved our border from annihilation. And he saved our country from threats at home and abroad, which would have been the end of the American dream forever.
This man took a bullet for us. He faced down life in prison for us. He saved the Republican Party from the ash heap of history and has made it stronger, more popular, and more resilient than ever before.
We need to stand with the man who has stood with us and this country with every fiber of his being. It is the honor of my life to be President Trump’s chief of staff, and I swear to you, and I pledge to you, Mr. President, my absolute loyalty, my unwavering commitment, and my total devotion to your success and the success of this country.
There are several true, and even more plausible, things one could say in praise of President Trump. Miller hurtled light years beyond anything remotely sane.
We’re used to it by now. Trump aides speak this way about their boss so routinely that Miller’s comments hardly stand out, even though they would have in any other president’s administration, no matter how egomaniacal the president.
If the White House is this detached from reality, it would explain a lot. There are other possible explanations for why an intelligent adult might talk this way in public, or why his boss might want him to. Maybe Trump just enjoys flattery, or making his underlings abase themselves. Maybe he thinks it sends a useful message to other employees, or that it’s still important to cater to the fans who find this sort of thing amusing and delightful.
The way top officials in the Trump administration speak about the president does not give anyone not deep in the bunker confidence in him. It also does not suggest that these officials are encouraged to give him candid, reality-based advice. Which would also explain a lot.