Trump’s senior campaign adviser Jason Miller said the president “has a very good track record of hiring excellent people” and somehow kept a straight face while uttering the absurd comments.
Miller was put on the spot by NBC News’ Chuck Todd on Meet the Press Sunday morning. Todd asked the campaign aide about this week’s arrest and indictment of former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon on fraud and money laundering charges and pointed out the slew of Trump’s cronies who have had “issues with the law.”
While presenting a rather stark graphic that included seven former Trump aides who have been either indicted or convicted of crimes, Todd asked Miller: “Why shouldn’t voters look at this and say, ‘The president seems to surround himself with people with shady instincts?’”
Laughably Miller replied, “I’d 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 the brilliant leaders that we have within this administration, some of our cabinet members,” the advisor said.
Then, with total disregard of reason, Miller added, “And I would say that overall the president has had a very good track record of hiring excellent people.”
TODAY: 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/idutnhdVUH
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 23, 2020
Miller followed his preposterous assertion by saying that although some of the people Todd had named “made some serious mistakes in their life. They had nothing to do with President Trump.”
But no, the president’s former fixer Michael Cohen was literally charged with a crime that had everything to do with Trump. Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal crimes, including campaign finance violations related to paying porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 during the 2016 campaign so she would keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
And in one way or another Trump did have something to do with each criminal name Todd mentioned to Miller–they all worked for his 2016 campaign and some moved on to work in the president’s administration, bringing their “shady instincts” with them.