Press Briefing: Stephen Miller Speaks to Reporters Outside the White House - July 24, 2026

I don't see any need to take more than a couple questions. But you look sharp, you're getting ready.

I dressed up just for you, Stephen.

[Laughs]

Uh, asking you about the Saudi deal that you were just talking about on Fox. Why did the president [Inaudible] today after it had been announced? Why wasn't that announced as part of the deal by Chris Wright? Is it a way to box Saudi Arabia in?

Well, I think the president probably already answered, uh, the questions on this, so I'll just, and it, it might be unsatisfying to you, so I pre-apologize. But the, the president has been very clear with Saudi Arabia since not just this term, but going back, his expectations, timelines, and commitments on their normalization of relations with Israel and they're entering the Abraham Accords.

And the president, better than any American alive, understands the psychology of the kingdom, the players in the kingdom, and what that relationship looks like. So when you think about, I'll just say this, when you think about where Saudi Arabia is today, going back to the Riyadh speech in 2017, and leaning on them to be a bulwark against violent terrorism in the region, President Trump has helped work with Saudi Arabia to become the nation, the kingdom, one of the foremost pillars of stability in the area.

So he understands Saudi psychology, he understands the Saudi plan, the future, so we should just assume and trust that the president knows exactly what to do and how to do it to ultimately achieve what would be a, a watershed moment in, in a region that has been filled with watershed moments. Two more questions.

Mr. Miller. This may, may not be the top of your mind at the moment, but obviously you, you're aware that Nicaragua, Ortega shut down elections, no more elections in Nicaragua. What is the administration's response to that? What do you think the US should do, uh, as a result?

Well, not surprising. And, of course, you know, the, uh, there's a, there's an axiom that is said over and over and over again that with increasing frequency lately, which is that you can vote your way into socialism or communism, but you can't vote your way out of it. This is unfortunately an illustration of that point, right?

So socialist parties, communist parties, uh, will use all manner of tactics and techniques to try to gain favor with the ballot box, and then once they're in, that's ultimately when the beginning of your freedom occurs. With respect to that, uh, the State Department, of course, Secretary Rubio, uh, outlined a very clear US foreign policy on the issue.

I think it's important to put this in the context of what we're doing overall in the region with the Shield of the Americas, as well as the ACCC, the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition. So as many have written, and I think the, uh, right, left, and center have said and acknowledged, the Western Hemisphere is going through a dramatic realignment right now, which, of course, Nicaragua is a legacy exception.

A dramatic realignment towards America, towards the West, and towards President Trump. And so we've seen in election after election after election, which, of course, is why your example [Inaudible] because they canceled the election, the, the region has chosen leaders who are campaigning on President Trump's security and prosperity strategy.

So we're in a better position than ever to leverage those relationships to help get a better future for the people of Nicaragua. But the bigger point in all of this is that regardless of what some individuals may do in the region, the region has spoken clearly across nations that they want to align with America and the Trump agenda, and that's what the people want.

So I'm not surprised at all that there are individuals who are afraid of the voters in Western Hemisphere after seeing in Colombia and in Honduras and in Costa Rica and in Peru and in Ecuador, et cetera, et cetera, the continued alignment of the peoples of the Western Hemisphere with the United States. One last question.

Mr. Miller, over here. Um, I know you were at the White House Correspondents' Dinner back in April. Do you plan to vote tonight, and how are you feeling, if so, about the security posture? And then secondly, just on a policy-related matter, I believe you were up on Capitol Hill earlier this week, right before House Republicans voted on the reconciliation bill.

Do you plan to do the same in the Senate before the August recess, and do you feel like you're getting enough cooperation from Leader Thune?

Well, the, uh, our legislative affairs team, for [Inaudible], have done a spectacular job, and so I would, uh, I would direct any questions you have to them on handling the next phase of negotiations. President Trump has been, you don't need me to tell you, he has been absolutely unequivocally, unmistakably clear on his expectations for the passage of the SAVE America Act one way or another.

On your first question, the, uh, the answer is that, uh, yes, I am going to be attending. Very excited about it. Very much looking forward to President Trump's remarks. And I think that, uh, may not be a very exciting answer, but my answer is just that, uh, very grateful to law enforcement, very grateful to Secret Service, as I know they've put a lot of work into making sure this could be a safe event for everybody where we can have fun, we can tell some jokes, and yes, believe it or not, we can celebrate all of you guys, differences notwithstanding, and have a good fun night.

And we're all looking forward to it. So on that very happy note, I'll say thank you and see you tonight.

Thank you.