Press Briefing: Stephen Miller Speaks to Reporters Outside the White House - August 21, 2026

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-- when the sanctions towards Iran are gonna fully take in effect, the economic, uh, meltdown in Iran is gonna take place, and does he have a plan B in case it does not happen?

Well, so I think as you've seen from public source reporting, the blockade, economic sanctions, and the economic pressure campaign on Iran has already yielded extraordinary results. Every day that passes, the position of the regime grows weaker, and weaker, and weaker, while America's position continues, as it already is, at a, a record strength, continues to gain even more strength.

And so you see, for example, again, public source reporting in the Strait of Hormuz, how the United States has been able to ensure freedom of navigation, been able to ensure freedom of movement through the Strait of Hormuz, again while maintaining a complete and total blockade on anything coming and going to and from Iran.

So it's been one of the most extraordinary military ch- -- achievements .alongside one of the most extraordinary economic achievements. Next question.

[Crosstalk]

Sorry [Inaudible] two things at the same time. Um --

[Inaudible]

Three things. Start here, and we'll work our way to the left.

[Inaudible]

Thank you.

Uh, can you tell us how the talks with the Can- -- uh, the, the Canadians are going? The president has extended that deadline --

Yes.

-- until the [Inaudible]

Uh, I don't have a lot to cover, except to say that the talks are going very well and that, uh, President Trump has already achieved the historic rebalancing of our trade relationship in the Western Hemisphere and that we're on the verge of taking that to a place of even, um, a greater parity. Yes?

Stephen, does the White House believe that Stars and Stripes should have the editorial independence it has always enjoyed when covering the military?

Could you give me some more context for the question that you're asking?

Sure. Stars and Stripes, the publisher --

I'm familiar with the publication --

-- editor-in-chief --

-- but is that, is it, is that predicated on something --

Well, there were --

-- in particular?

-- multiple people who were fired, and they were told that it was because they spoke out, um, publicly against being censored, um, and, and said that [Inaudible]

I'm confident if anybody was fired, it was for just cause, and I am 100% confident, a million percent confident, in the leadership of DOW's decisions about everything that is necessary to maintain and ensure the national security of the United States and our troops. Yes.

Stephen -- Uh, on Flock, the president said he's still trying to come up, uh, with the approach that the federal government's gonna have. Would you like DHS, ICE, the federal government to be able to use Flock?

Well, all I can say is that the Trump public safety strategy, so I can speak to this administration and this president has presided over the largest reduction in violent crime in American history, and you've seen, obviously in Washington, DC, the largest reduction in violent crime in the history of our nation's capital, and the Trump administration has done that by a narrow, unrelenting, unceasing focus on the true criminal element in this country, which is what law enforcement must be, and I think a lot of the issues with respect to public attitudes and views on this stems from the fact that you have parts of this country run by the left where they make the good guys into the bad guy and the bad guys into the good guy.

And the key to the Trump administration's policy is we protect the good guys and we punish the bad guys. And that's --

Stephen --

-- the core of everything.

[Inaudible] Could I ask you [Inaudible]

Yes.

There's been some criticism of Secretary Markwayne Mullin and the comments that he made about using immigrants to address labor shortages. Does the president still have confidence in him as a secretary, and do you agree with some of the statements that he made on that?

Well, I never heard that statement. All I know is that President Trump has been thrilled with the fact that we've had record deportations under Markwayne Mullin.

[Inaudible] the census report on noncitizen voting. Do you have any role in that? We had, we had some reporting, um, NBC, that you may have been interested or, uh [Inaudible] in the noncitizen voting report --

Well, I, I think that the whole government is interested in the problem of noncitizen/illegal alien voting. Uh, was there another question --

[Inaudible]

-- over here?

There's a census report that you're, that you're involved in, and could you talk a little bit more about that? [Inaudible]

Well, I'm not checking that specific thing, but we're concerned about illegal alien voting, and every day, we find out that even more illegal aliens voted than we previously thought voted. So it really is one of the greatest crises facing our election system.

[Inaudible] But you're not --

Yes?

-- involved in the report? [Inaudible] several senators asking for an IG investigation into unaccompanied minors that no longer have representation for their immigration judges in the court? Is that something that's rising to your level? Is that a concern for the White House at all?

Well, I'm, I am familiar with the fact that half a million children were illegally trafficked and smuggled into the country under Joe Biden, whereupon almost all of them have been lost, and that Democrats aided and abetted the greatest child labor, human, and sex traffic conspiracy in world history, which we both shut down, we stopped the cartel smuggling and trafficking of children, and we're expeditiously reuniting and returning children to their parents and their families in their home countries, which is the only lawful and humane thing you could possibly --

[Inaudible]

-- do. Yes?

Could you help us understand how the coverage of Natalie Harp this week, including The Daily Beast publishing letters --

Well, I'll just save you some time. Natalie is one of the most incredible, extraordinary people I've ever had the privilege of knowing and working with. Uh, the attempts to, to defame and to assail her are among the most vile things I've seen in American politics, and everybody loves Natalie, everybody adores Natalie, and she's been an extraordinary asset to this administration.

Yes?

Stephen, the legal moves against the Center for American [Inaudible] being characterized by [Inaudible] attempt to intimidate or quash, uh, rumors that were coming out of an analysis that the administration doesn't like. What's your response?

I wasn't familiar with the, the moves in question, but, um, as soon as I can get familiar with it, I would love to answer the questions. Yes?

Oh. Um, following up on, uh, Natalie Harp, do you believe that the letters that were published are, are --

Well, I haven't --

[Inaudible]

I, I haven't r- -- I [Laughs] I haven't read or looked at it at all, because again, the whole thing is so, um, the attacks on her are so odious and distasteful. But I do appreciate the opportunity as someone who has worked with Natalie effectively every single day for years now to say she's one of the, the brightest, most talented, um, and in a, in a, like, a human level, one of the loveliest people, in other words, in terms of being bright, affable, gracious, courteous, that you'll ever possibly meet.

And to, look, it's one thing to go after people who are in a public-facing role. I can't think of any time, I mean, I really can't, in presidential history where somebody in a, uh, I mean, for lack of a better term, it doesn't really encompass all of her, um, responsibilities, but in an administrative role, to, um, to have those kinds of personal attacks, someone who's not sought the limelight in any way, a courageous cancer survivor.

Again, the whole thing is just really, uh, disturbing.

[Inaudible]

Do you have anything to add?

Who's going to be the next press secretary and how soon --

I have no news on that, but we all, uh, we all love Karoline, yes.

Did, uh, Prince Harry ask for a meeting with President Trump? He was in Arlington Cemetery.

Not, I don't know. I honestly, I honestly don't know.

[Inaudible]

[Inaudible] 50% tariff?

Well, I think I already answered with all I have on Canada. Now, we'll take, take, take two more.

[Inaudible]

How do you respond to --

So, well, I think you haven't had one yet. Did you?

No, I had one over there.

Oh, you --

[Inaudible]

[Laughs] Okay.

[Inaudible]

[Inaudible] Yes.

How do you respond to some of the criticism of the president's beef plan, the concerns about importing beef to lower prices in the US?

President Trump has, over the last two years, undertaken historic af- -- uh, uh, actions and efforts to protect American ranchers in terms of access to grazing lands, uh, reducing the cost of inspections and compliance, uh, pursuing a country of origin labeling program, uh, reducing bureaucracy at the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture, and many, many other things.

Uh, what you're talking about here is a, a specific program to get s- -- access to specific cuts that are not currently available to meet demand in the US market due to a variety of factors, most notably, of course, because of the, uh, the screwworm infection in Mexico. And that screwworm infection in Mexico, which the president and this administration did an extraordinary job handling, obviously throttled supply in a way that was not natural or normal.

Um, let's take, we, follow up with you.

[Inaudible] said that it would hurt --

Yes.

-- it will hurt ranchers. What do you --

Wait, sorry. Follow up with you and then we'll go to you. Uh, but I already answered the question on that. Again, no administration has been more pro-rancher than this administration, taken extraordinary actions under USDA to protect and ensure the security of our food supply chain. But again, there's been a, there was an outbreak of screwworm in Mexico.

So for two years, people don't know this, but there was no movement of cattle between Mexico and the United States, which had the effect of significantly curtailing far, far less than would normally be the case, access to these particular kinds of cuts in the US consumer market. And again, this is just a specific temporary deal to address an acute issue.

And, um, it cu- -- occurs in the context of an administration that is relentlessly and unwaveringly committed to the defense of American agriculture --

[Inaudible]

-- and ranchers. Yes.

The president is welcoming President Xi and, uh, I'm wondering if you can sp- -- speak to what he hopes to get out of that meeting and whether you, the administration [Inaudible]?

Well, I would just, I would just take that as an opportunity to, again, talk about how President Trump has done more than any administration in history to protect our supply chains and re-shore our jobs and re-shore our industry. We're also finding areas where we have common ground and interest, uh, with another nation, in this case, China, to ensure that we maintain stability and peace around the world.

Um, so I think you had a follow-up to your question earlier, and then we can go to you and then we can wrap. Yes, you.

Me?

Yep.

Uh, follow up was just talking now about children that don't have, uh, representation. Is, is that a concern? Uh, you talked about the path, the Biden administration --

Yeah, so I think that the, um, so two answers to that. One is that, um, the Department of Justice and ICE rigorously comply with all rules, regulations, and procedures concerning access to counsel. But I would flip the question back onto you without getting specific about, about this at all, but you can, you can follow up with, um, HHS or DHS on. But, uh, most of the illegal aliens that the Biden administration smuggled into the country came from Mexico and Central America.

Could you articulate, in your view, what would be a legitimate asylum claim for an illegal alien from Mexico or Central America? What would that look like?

I'm not, I'm, I'm not in a position --

Can anyone here?

um. --

Can anyone venture a guess what that would be? So let's say you're illegal alien, you're 19 years old now, you came from Tijuana. What is the, what is the basis for which you're even requesting asylum? What is it that Mexico is doing that you're requesting asylum from?

My question is just about --

Well, because I'm asking the question. Does anybody know? I know you can't think of anything. The answer, the answer is, not getting into the specifics here, is that there's no such thing as government state-sponsored persecution in any of these nations. In other words, Mexico doesn't persecute based on race, ethnicity or religion.

Honduras doesn't. Guatemala doesn't. El Salvador doesn't. And so for years, I mean, even decades, we've had frivolous, improper, fraudulent claims filed in court that are abuse of the system. You know, for the cost of processing one fraudulent asylum claim, you could get any child in America free cancer treatment.

So the question we have to ask ourselves is, what would you rather do? Give American children free cancer treatment or endlessly tolerate abusive and frivolous and meritless asylum claims? But again, HHS, DHS, DOJ follow every rule and every regulation that exists concerning this. I gotta run. Thank you.

[Inaudible]

[Inaudible] the ballroom, Stephen?

Comment on the ballroom?