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Hilarious Twitter thread on Stephen Miller & his phone. Rare video of him in high school.
Link to tweet
?s=21
Link to tweet
?s=21
7 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
From “virtual loner” to the White House: An oral history of Stephen Miller’s days at Santa Monica High
https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/stephen-miller-samohi-oral-history/
Stephen Miller, senior advisor to Donald Trump, and architect of some of his most controversial policies, was born in Santa Monica and attended Franklin Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School, and Santa Monica High, aka SAMOHI. The 33-year-old was bar mitzvahed at Beth Shir Shalom and confirmed at the Santa Monica Synagogue. To understand how one of the country’s most liberal communities could have spawned the ultra-right-wing Miller, I asked as many people who knew him growing up as I could find for their memories of his formative years. Many said no or didn’t respond—most notably, the teachers and administrators at SAMOHI, from which he graduated in 2003 (I did, however, speak with two school board members). Miller, described by one of his Hebrew-school instructors as a born oppositionist, repeatedly challenged those administrators and tested the limits of their beliefs.
Fifty-plus former classmates turned down my interview requests, whether out of respect, fear, or distrust of media I have no way of knowing. But I spoke to 20 people, not all of whom are quoted here, who attended school or temple with Miller, who argued with him, who puzzled over him, and who watched with a sense of surreal recognition as he ascended to the White House and made himself instrumental in defining this administration’s unsparing stance toward immigrants and asylum seekers—positions so extreme that his own uncle and former rabbi have publicly criticized him. Some wonder how it was that Santa Monica produced Miller; to others his provenance makes perfect sense.
Born in 1985, Stephen is the middle child of Michael and Miriam, who, if they were once liberal, as has been reported, have not been so for well over a decade. The Millers manage a real-estate investment company and own and operate a handful of commercial properties as well as about 2,500 residential units under the name California Villages. As one family friend told me, Stephen pulled his parents to the right. The Millers supported Ted Cruz for president; they attended the 2016 Republican convention and were thrilled that their son—who was previously communications director to then-senator Jeff Sessions—wrote Trump’s acceptance speech. Friends say they were supportive parents to all three of their children. Their daughter, Alexis Miller Buese, is a partner at a Century City law firm, and their younger son, Jacob, is a litigator in Manhattan. Here’s what some others remember about Miller’s formative years.
Jenness Hartley
Samohi Class of 2004, Special Education Teacher and Organic Farmer
>I was friends with Stephen’s best friend, Chris Moritz, who is funny and charming, and from middle school on they were inseparable. They dressed identically, first in khakis, polo shirts, and clunky white tennis shoes, and, later, in suits. They were the only two dressing like that. Stephen never hung out with women, though I do remember having a great time with him at an eighth-grade barbecue, where he was entertaining and irreverent and said things that were entirely out of left field.
snip
a lot more at the link, great article
https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/stephen-miller-samohi-oral-history/
Stephen Miller, senior advisor to Donald Trump, and architect of some of his most controversial policies, was born in Santa Monica and attended Franklin Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School, and Santa Monica High, aka SAMOHI. The 33-year-old was bar mitzvahed at Beth Shir Shalom and confirmed at the Santa Monica Synagogue. To understand how one of the country’s most liberal communities could have spawned the ultra-right-wing Miller, I asked as many people who knew him growing up as I could find for their memories of his formative years. Many said no or didn’t respond—most notably, the teachers and administrators at SAMOHI, from which he graduated in 2003 (I did, however, speak with two school board members). Miller, described by one of his Hebrew-school instructors as a born oppositionist, repeatedly challenged those administrators and tested the limits of their beliefs.
Fifty-plus former classmates turned down my interview requests, whether out of respect, fear, or distrust of media I have no way of knowing. But I spoke to 20 people, not all of whom are quoted here, who attended school or temple with Miller, who argued with him, who puzzled over him, and who watched with a sense of surreal recognition as he ascended to the White House and made himself instrumental in defining this administration’s unsparing stance toward immigrants and asylum seekers—positions so extreme that his own uncle and former rabbi have publicly criticized him. Some wonder how it was that Santa Monica produced Miller; to others his provenance makes perfect sense.
Born in 1985, Stephen is the middle child of Michael and Miriam, who, if they were once liberal, as has been reported, have not been so for well over a decade. The Millers manage a real-estate investment company and own and operate a handful of commercial properties as well as about 2,500 residential units under the name California Villages. As one family friend told me, Stephen pulled his parents to the right. The Millers supported Ted Cruz for president; they attended the 2016 Republican convention and were thrilled that their son—who was previously communications director to then-senator Jeff Sessions—wrote Trump’s acceptance speech. Friends say they were supportive parents to all three of their children. Their daughter, Alexis Miller Buese, is a partner at a Century City law firm, and their younger son, Jacob, is a litigator in Manhattan. Here’s what some others remember about Miller’s formative years.
Jenness Hartley
Samohi Class of 2004, Special Education Teacher and Organic Farmer
>I was friends with Stephen’s best friend, Chris Moritz, who is funny and charming, and from middle school on they were inseparable. They dressed identically, first in khakis, polo shirts, and clunky white tennis shoes, and, later, in suits. They were the only two dressing like that. Stephen never hung out with women, though I do remember having a great time with him at an eighth-grade barbecue, where he was entertaining and irreverent and said things that were entirely out of left field.
snip
a lot more at the link, great article
