Stephen Miller criticizes Obama for ‘shockingly political’ remarks at John Lewis funeral
White House adviser Stephen Miller criticized former President Obama on Friday for his “shockingly political” remarks about voting rights at the funeral for the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) the day before.
Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was one of three former commanders in chief who delivered a eulogy at the civil rights icon’s funeral. Obama railed against racial inequality and ongoing voter suppression, an issue Lewis dedicated his political career to fighting.
Miller took issue with Obama saying that “restrictive ID laws” and “undermining the Postal Service in the run up to an election” were suppressing voters.
“That was shockingly political for a funeral service, but it’s also totally disconnected from reality,” Miller said on “Fox & Friends.” “It is scandalously, outrageously false.”
Miller said that proving “you are who you say you are, you live where you say you live” is not a form of voter suppression, though voting advocates have argued that large swaths of eligible voters lack a photo ID.
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“It’s a simple principle: one citizen, one vote. Emphasis on the word ‘citizen,’” said Miller, an immigration hard-liner.
The White House adviser echoed concerns from President Trump and other Republicans in saying that universal mail-in ballots invite voter fraud. The president has repeatedly stated without evidence that voting by mail is rife with fraud, and he drew bipartisan criticism on Thursday for suggesting the November elections be delayed until in-person elections can be held safely.
“Universal mail-in ballots are an attempt to dilute the vote of your viewers,” Miller said on Fox News. “It’s an attempt to dilute the vote of Americans who want to have their identities verified by allowing for massive endemic fraud.”
When asked about the state of stalled negotiations on a coronavirus stimulus package, Miller slammed Democrats for including stimulus checks for those with individual taxpayer identification numbers — as opposed to only Social Security numbers — in the package that the House passed in May.
“Their legislation includes handouts to illegal aliens while Americans need relief and need support,” Miller said. “It’s a question of Democrats needing to reject the extreme voices in our own party. If they do that, we’ll have a deal tomorrow.”