During an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning, top Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller tried to defend President Donald Trump’s hiring practices after yet another one of his former top staffers, Steve Bannon, faced federal criminal charges. Bannon’s charges were related to a fraudulent crowdfunding scheme that he was a part of called We Build The Wall, which he and his co-conspirators pocketed money from. On Meet the Press, Miller tried to insist that Bannon’s charges did not reflect poorly on the president’s hiring practices, although NBC identified Bannon as the seventh person involved in some capacity with Trump’s 2016 campaign who has faced federal criminal charges.
Host Chuck Todd posed the question:
‘Why shouldn’t voters look at this and say the president seems to surround himself with people with shady instincts?’
Miller self-confidently replied, referencing the list of folks who’ve faced charges:
‘I disagree on that. I think you take a look at the great people that President Trump has surrounded himself with — some of the brilliant women, and some of brilliant leaders that we have within this administration, some of our Cabinet members, and I would say that overall, the president’s had a very good track record of hiring excellent people. There are a number of folks on that list… who have made some serious mistakes in their life that had nothing to do with President Trump, and they’re going to have to be accountable for that. When you look at the president and the people he has brought on board… these are some very solid people, who I think work very hard for the American people every day.’
Watch his comments below:
WATCH: Following Steve Bannon’s recent indictment, @JasonMillerinDC says President Trump has a track record of “hiring excellent people.” #MTP #IfItsSunday
“When you look at the president and the people he has brought on board … these are some very solid people.” pic.twitter.com/LjMzoRL8fg
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 23, 2020
Notably, Miller cited longtime Trump adviser Stephen Miller as a supposed example of the folks in the White House who are working hard on behalf of the American people and prove the supposed greatness of the president’s hiring practices. Miller is a draconian anti-immigrant fanatic whose “greatest hits” while advising the president include his role in the development of the “Muslim ban” and in the infamous Trump administration policy of separating immigrant children from their parents.
Awhile back, CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta memorably noted that the net result of Trump’s hiring and firing practices was that the only folks left at the White House were “Kool-Aid drinkers” and “next of kin.”
