Campaign Action
Take a look at the guy in the picture.
That’s Steve Miller, senior advisor to Donald Trump. He’s also an avowed racist.
Don’t take my word for it—that’s what his friends and family say. He hasn't been quiet about it at all: he has openly disparaged blacks, Latinos, and Asians throughout his school career, from high school to Duke University, where he palled around with white supremacist leader Richard Spencer.
He continued his racist streak when he interned with Jeff Sessions and now spends his days trying to out-bigot the other white supremacist named Steve in Trump’s White House. No wonder David Duke adores him.
Now look at the picture. I used a screen grab for the very same shot of Miller that was used in the headlines for The Guardian, New York Daily, and Washington Post just to name a few. He made headlines that day for defending the Muslim ban by saying Trump's actions “will not be questioned”!
That’s a topic for another day.
You might think that’s an odd natural gesture to make. And it is. What Steve is doing is completely intentional:
- The right hand, on top, is showing just three fingers: "W".
- His left hand curls to make the "P" formation.
- WP. White Power. White nationalists know exactly what that sign means.
- According to the Anti-Defamation League, this is a common white supremacist hand sign “particularly” used in California. (Stephen Miller is from Santa Monica.)
The sad thing is that I can’t even say this is the only time this month a racist hand sign was used in the White House Briefing Room. Earlier this month in front of the same podium, the racist Pepe hand signal was broadcast to racists and anti-Semites all over the nation. (See below and the original tweet at the end with the #Pepe hashtag.)
OK!! We get it!! White supremacists are calling the shots in the White House.
What I don’t get is how this isn’t being called out in the media. It’s not hard--I just did it. I gave the backstory, what the sign means, and have the pictures showing him doing it. That's quite a bit different than Obama fist-bumping his wife and having Fox News call it a “terrorist fist jab”.
I understand the hesitation: this is so over-the-top blatantly racist that it almost sounds fake. But this administration is demonstrably over-the-top blatantly racist. It’s not fake--it's just not normal. I’ve said this over and over—THIS.IS.NOT.NORMAL.
The media needs to stop being polite and not be afraid to point out what’s right in front of you. If you won't, then I will...
Thursday, Feb 23, 2017 · 3:46:28 AM +00:00 · SemDem
To be fair, I’m posting some alternate theories shared about the Miller photo: a) gesture was pure happenstance b) he was fiddling with his button c) he was playing with a possible microphone wire on the other side of his lapel. I still say Mr. Miller knew exactly what he was doing—he’s not an idiot and isn’t going to spell it out (unlike how Jim Hoft did in his tweet.) Nonetheless, unlike the current administration, I don’t perceive critics as my enemy. I'm happy to give a platform for those in the community who want to give Miller the benefit of the doubt.
