Topic of the Week: Stephen Miller Named New White House Chief of Staff

President Trump announced last week that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was leaving the position, and he had appointed Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller to replace her. Our analysts rated media coverage in our Topic of the Week.

ABC News gives the facts about Trump’s announcement in an article on its website. The article includes comments from Trump, Miller and Wiles, and provides background on rumors before the midterm election about Wiles leaving the position. It also includes a profile of Miller and features reaction to his promotion from both Democrats and Republicans. Analysts rated the article as “simple fact reporting” with a “middle” bias.

Reporting from The Hill focuses on Miller. The article provides an extensive report about his background, including his time working for Republican Congress members and as communication chief for Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions. It describes Miller’s work in immigration enforcement and his role as key policy adviser to Trump. It describes his loyalty to Trump since 2016, and it includes criticism from Republican Sen. Tom Tillis and former Trump administration officials about the president’s decision to promote Miller. Analysts noted a critical tone about the selection of Miller throughout the article, which led to an overall bias score slightly to the left but still within the “middle” bias range. The reporting was rated as “analysis.”

An article from The Washington Examiner describes Miller’s appointment in the headline as Trump signalling “no retreat from MAGA agenda.” It includes comments from Trump’s first-term White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews, who is critical of Miller’s appointment. But much of the article features comments from Trump touting his accomplishments during the first two years of his term, and reaction from those who applaud Miller’s promotion and Trump’s work as president. Analysts rated the article as “analysis” with a “strong right” bias because a majority of the writing was framed positively toward Trump and Miller.

An article from Daily Beast and a video from the Harry Sisson YouTube channel earned similar scores in the categories of “opinion” with a “hyper-partisan left” bias. The Daily Beast article calls Miller’s appointment as chief of staff “Trump’s most dangerous move yet.” It features an interview with Michael Wolff, Trump’s longtime biographer, who says Trump’s choice is “yet another display of how much he values loyalty above all else.” Wolff says Wiles resigned from the job shortly after Trump had screamed at her, according to reports, and that forced Trump to replace her quickly so it didn’t look like she quit: “Stephen Miller is available and a sycophant, and was perhaps the only person ready at the drop of a hat to step into that job.” The article includes comments from CNN host Kaitlin Collins, who reports that “many people believe that Susie Wiles’ departure will only accelerate the shift in the balance of power in the president’s inner circle that is underway right now.” Analysts spotted left bias clues, such as a headline tag that calls Miller “Trump’s creepiest enforcer” and the inclusion of a graphic called “Trump’s Woman Problem” that describes all of the women who have left his administration this term. The graphic provides contextual facts about Wiles’ exit, and choosing to include it adds bias due to topic selection.

In the YouTube video, host Harry Sisson shows a clip of Miller swearing “absolute loyalty, my unwavering commitment and my total devotion” to Trump during a political event at Mar-a-Lago Club shortly after his promotion. Sisson reads extensively from articles by Wired and Daily Beast, and says, “Democrats are making it clear that they want newly promoted Steven Miller to face some justice.” Sisson says promoting Miller shows that Trump does not plan to work with Democrats moving forward, despite his previous comments: “Making Steven Miller your chief of staff indicates that that is absolutely not going to happen. And if Donald Trump wants a dog fight, then let’s give him a dog fight.” Sisson plays a video clip from the U.S. House oversight committee about immigration enforcement complaints and “abuses” by Trump and Miller. “Drag him in,” Sisson says. “…if Steven Miller is not sitting in front of a committee, the oversight committee within like the first two months, what are we doing?” Sisson says Trump is “on a destruction course” and “by appointing Steven Miller into this position, he’s doubling down on the insanity.” Analysts noted that Sisson is extremely critical of Trump and Miller, and is excited for Democrats to take control of Congress and investigate them, leading to the left bias designation. They described the video’s tone as sarcasm and snark, which lowers reliability.

YouTube host Benny Johnson says Trump “just ROCKED the world” with Miller’s appointment. Johnson says that in the midterm elections the MAGA base expressed frustration about the cost of living, and he suggests that Miller might be the right person to fix these types of domestic issues. He describes Miller as “a believer in ‘America First’ and Trump policies, but specifically Trump domestic policies, the domestic wins that come from focusing on the people and the problems of this nation… the ones that the MAGA base says is the Trump policies that define President Trump. These are Stephen Miller’s policies.” Johnson looks at Wiles’ record as chief of staff and reads from many social media posts that criticize her, including her connections to lobbyists and allegations that she “put the sand in the gears of a lot of the big-time Trump promises to the base.” Johnson says Wiles was a great campaign manager but wonders if Trump should have made Miller his chief of staff from the beginning. He reads many social media posts that are positive about Miller’s promotion and says he’s a “huge fan of this move.” Analysts noted Johnson’s effusive praise of Miller and described the video as “echo-chamber political commentary pulled from right-wing social media.” It was rated as “opinion” with a “hyper-partisan right” bias.

Want to see if you agree with our ratings? Follow along with our weekly Topic of the Week exercise by visiting our website. New Topics of the Week are posted each Monday. Read the articles and watch the videos yourself, then come back on Wednesday to compare your scores with our analysts. Learn more here.

Beth Heldebrandt is director of communications at Ad Fontes Media. She has more than 35 years of experience in the fields of journalism and public relations, and was an adjunct instructor of journalism for 17 years at Eastern Illinois University. Beth has a B.A. in journalism from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and an M.A. in English from Eastern Illinois University. She’s a mom and grandma, and enjoys traveling, puzzles and reading.