Stephen Miller, the influential architect of Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, is due to start as White House chief of staff today.
asserted
Miller → start → staff
His promotion has horrified many, handing even more power to the president’s most controversial aide.
asserted
promotion → horrify → aide
The 41-year-old has been with Trump since the beginning of the US president’s political career – serving as a speechwriter during his 2016 presidential campaign – and has long been seen as a hardliner on the right, serving as the driving force behind first-term Trump policies such as family separation at the US-Mexico border and the travel ban on people from many Muslim-majority countries.
asserted
old → serve → countries
Donald Trump said he thinks his administration was too aggressive on deportations and that he was open to an arrangement to allow some undocumented immigrants to remain in the US.
asserted
immigrants → say → US
The president said, in his first major interview since his party lost control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, that his deportation policy was part of the reason Republicans lost.
asserted
Republicans → say → reason
He told CBS’s ‘60 Minutes’ in an interview that aired on Sunday:
I think it might be too tough, yeah.
uncertain
it → tell → Sunday
And a lot of people would say that it’s great.
asserted
it → say → people
But a lot of people think it’s too tough.
asserted
it → think → people
The president’s comments were an unusually frank acknowledgment that one of the defining policies of his second administration had become a political liability.
asserted
one → define → administration
But they were seemingly at odds with his decision on Friday to elevate Stephen Miller, the architect of his immigration crackdown, to White House chief of staff.
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they → elevate → staff
Trump said that he thinks he could reach an agreement with the new Democratic majority, adding:
We would work something out.
uncertain
We → say → something
And I think it’s something - I think that’s something that’s actually doable.
asserted
that → think → ?
The president claimed that his policy “both helped and hurt”, since people gave him an “A+ for closing up the border” and “very high marks for getting the bad ones out”.
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people → claim → ones
But he admitted: “I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that created one violation, or breaking of the law, and that was that they came into the country illegally.”
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they → admit → country
His comments come as his most controversial aide Miller was due today to start his new role as chief of staff.
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aide → come → staff
In a social media post, Trump called Miller, 41, “one of my most trusted advisors” and praised the outgoing Susie Wiles for doing “an outstanding job”.
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Trump → call → job
On the race among Republicans to succeed him for the 2028 presidential election, Trump hinted at staying neutral.
asserted
Trump → succeed → election
Asked whether he’d endorse a potential successor, the president said “probably, not necessarily.”
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president → ask → successor
“We have a tremendous bench.
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We → have → bench
I have so many people that I have great relationships with,” Trump said in his CBS interview.
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Trump → have → interview
Trump said on Sunday that he “was only kidding” when he announced a day earlier that he had offered the job of White House press secretary to Dana White, the chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
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he → say → Championship
Speaking to reporters on his way back the White House from his beach club in Florida, Trump explained the premise of his joke, that if the UFC boss, who is a devoted fan of the president, took over the briefing room, flanked by six fighters, reporters “wouldn’t mess around with him so much”.
asserted
reporters → speak → him
Trump will meet with Qatar’s prime minister at the White House today, according to the White House schedule, as the conflict with Iran drags on and diplomatic efforts to end it face significant obstacles.
uncertain
efforts → meet → obstacles
Trump is due to meet with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who also serves as Qatar’s foreign minister, in a closed-door meeting.
asserted
who → meet → meeting
Vice-president JD Vance is also scheduled to meet with the Qatari leader, according to a US official.
uncertain
Vance → schedule → official
A US deportation flight of Iranian nationals bound for Iran by way of Pakistan was abruptly canceled Sunday morning, according to an attorney who spoke to some of the detainees slated for repatriation.
uncertain
who → bind → repatriation
At least eight Iranians were loaded onto a plane Sunday morning in Mesa, Arizona, for a deportation flight headed to the country of Georgia, then on to Pakistan, according to Ali Rahnama, an attorney with the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund who filed emergency motions on behalf of some of the Iranian detainees.
uncertain
who → load → detainees
The flight was canceled without explanation, he said.
asserted
he → cancel → explanation
The Aporia
