Current Reading: Hatemonger by Jean Gurrero

 

Last night I finished Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda. I think Miller is a disturbing figure -- one among many in the Trump administration, but an important one to learn about. I felt that this book would be important to read as part of Hispanic Heritage month because the Trump administration's immigration policy is having a huge influence on LatinX people across the United States.

However, compared to other presidential advisors in the past such as Barack Obama's Valerie Jarret, or Franklin D. Roosevelt's Harry Hopkins, it is hard to see what positive results Miller's hard work, and he has worked hard, have resulted in.

From Guerrero's book I learned about Miller's upbringing in Santa Monica, California. He became fond of drawing attention to himself by doing and saying outrageous things. His early mentors included Rush Limbaugh, Larry Elder, David Horowitz, and Robert DeNiro's Sam "Ace" Rothstein in the movie Casino.

 

In high school, Miller had framed posters from the Martin Scorsese movies Goodfellas and Casino in his bedroom. (Guerrero notes that teenage boys at that time would have been far more likely to have posters of girls in bikinis or rock stars instead.) Miller seems to base his wardrode and gestures on DeNiro's Rothstein character. One student who attended Duke University with Miller mistakenly referred to Miller's gesture as Miller channeling Monty Burns. However, Miller apparently failed to recognize that the movie was a tragedy about greed and that everyone in the movie died or suffered terribly by the end of the movie.

Despite the fact that I learned a lot by reading Guerrero's book, I think it has flaws. The book feels rushed and, at least in my opinion, should have been thirty or forty pages shorter. The author spent way too much time describing Miller's grandparents and other relatives. At times, Guerrero will just state something without providing any evidence. For instance, on page 183 she refers to "right-wing senator Chuck Grassley" without saying a word about his voting record, public statements, or any other evidence that would show that Grassley is more right of center than any other Republican member of congress. 

The author also sometimes provides details that seem pointless, but provides evidence of those details. On page 268, we learn that Miller attended a meeting with Guatemalan leaders and that "Miller dressed colorfully, with a  bright navy blue suit and a banana-yellow tie covered in blue polka dots." I am not quite sure why it was important to know what colors Miller was wearing for this meeting, but Guerrero provides these details and has a footnote so that one can verify this information by comparing it with a photograph from the event.

In the book, we learn that Miller fell in love with and married Katie Waldman. Presumably, Waldman (now Miller) shares Miller's views about the dangers of immigrants from the global south coming to this country. And we learn that both are Jewish. But there is not much more detail provided in the book about her. Waldman is now press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence. Does Pence share the views of Miller and Waldman? I do not know the answer to this question and it is not answered in Guerrero's book.

Overall I liked Hatemonger, but I think the book was rushed and could have been better written. Last year I read Andrew Marantz's book Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation. It is not really about Stephen Miller, but it is a much better written book about the alr-right and their presence online which I do recommend.