Stephen Miller defends Trump’s America First policy over Iran: ‘We will avenge American blood’

WASHINGTON, DC: Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller praised President Donald Trump’s approach to national security during an appearance on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show on Wednesday, March 4.

In the discussion, he spoke about recent military actions on Iran and the broader strategy behind them. The comments came after Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran on February 28, targeting its leadership, ballistic missile program, and armed forces. 

Stephen Miller on Trump’s military doctrine and 'America First'

During the interview with Hannity, Miller said the president has made clear that he believes America’s “awesome military might” should be used to protect and defend America’s interests.

He stressed that the goal is not to "surrender the world to our adversaries, to our enemies, to those who would do us harm. Not to surrender the world's resources, lanes of commerce, or capacity to keep our citizens safe."

Miller said the principle of “America First” means that "America will be the greatest, most unquestioned, unmatched power in the world." He added that the doctrine also means the US will defend American lives and “avenge American blood.”

He said Iran has waged war against the "American people for 47 years." In his remarks, he also listed several incidents he attributed to the Iranian regime, including the American embassy hostage crisis, the bombing of US Marines in Beirut, and the kidnapping and murder of the CIA station chief.

Miller stated that all of this represents "American blood spilled by the regime." He added that Trump has for years said, "We will not allow a regime that sheds the blood of our citizens, that menaces our people, that spreads terrorism around the world, that trains proxy armies."

Stephen Miller on Trump's decision to block Iran from strategic weapons

Miller said Trump has stated, "We will not allow that regime to have missiles that can reach our troops, that can reach our bases, that someday in the future could reach the American mainland, and certainly will not allow that regime to have nuclear weapons."

He also said that what people are seeing now is a military under Trump’s leadership that is “not fighting politically correct” and is not operating with its hands tied behind its back. He argued that some people lost faith in the military’s ability to defend the country because, in his view, there had been a “woke Pentagon.”

He clarified that the criticism was directed at leadership at the highest levels rather than the warfighters themselves. According to Miller, those leaders had forced the military to fight a “less than full fight.”

He told Hannity that the current approach represents a military that has been “unleashed in all of its lethal prowess” to seek out, destroy, and kill the enemy. He concluded by saying that this is what "militaries are for."