After electoral failure, Trump doubles down on radicalization

As the mentor of the repressive policy of hunting and deportation of immigrants, he signals the radicalization of the government in the next two years.

Miller's promotion to one of the most powerful positions in the presidential circle, replacing Susan Wiles, indicates the final stage of the second term marked by a profusion of decrees, vetoes and intense confrontations with the Democratic opposition that will dominate Congress. As Congressman Robert Garcia observed, Trump chose to double down, even after the disapproval of the American electorate.

"Trump learned nothing from his historic defeat. Stephen Miller is the architect of this administration's most barbaric and inhumane policies. He could not have made a worse choice," reacted current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called the new chief of staff “a dangerous xenophobe and a reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands.”

The Democratic dislike for Miller has a history: his name became synonymous with the repressive immigration agenda, by setting a target of 3,000 daily arrests, covering foreigners who are in an irregular situation and not just those with criminal charges. Miller was a staunch supporter of the declared war on Iran, also cited as one of the reasons that led to the Republicans' electoral failure

"We live in a real world that is governed by force and power. No one will stop the United States militarily," he declared in January, shortly after the US military operation in Venezuela, which captured former dictator Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. At the time, the then deputy chief of staff anticipated American military action to take control of Greenland.

At 41, Miller has been in Trump's orbit since his first term and influenced him on controversial measures, such as travel restrictions on Muslim-majority countries and the family separation policy at the border with Mexico. In his second term, he firmly fought inclusion and diversity actions and sustained the offensive against the rights of transgender people.

In other words, he acts as a hard-line ideologue, committed to expanding and protecting Trump's power. At this time of electoral debacle, the president seems to want to send a message of strength and not weakness, by bringing into his closest circle a more than loyal advisor who also cultivates a reputation as a brawler.