Stephen Miller’s twisted definition of ‘America First’ just dropped, and D.C. is scrambling to process it

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, recently offered a pretty intense definition of President Trump’s “America First” policy. Per The Hill, he stated that it means the U.S. will “avenge American blood.” This statement definitely sent some ripples through Washington, sparking discussion about the true meaning of the administration’s foreign policy stance.

Miller explained that “America First” isn’t about isolationism at all but an assertive and powerful global posture. He believes it’s all about making sure “America will be the greatest, most unquestioned, unmatched power in the world,” and crucially, that the U.S. will always defend American lives and yes, even “avenge American blood.”

He expanded on this, saying that Trump is clear that America’s formidable military power should be used to protect and defend U.S. interests. For Miller, this agenda means refusing “to surrender the world to our adversaries, to our enemies, to those who would do us harm.” It’s also about not giving up “the world’s resources, lanes of commerce or capacity to keep our citizens safe.”

It is a crazy take and not everyone is on board with it

Andrew Day, a senior editor at The American Conservative, took to X to express his disagreement. “That’s not what America First means.” He argued that the policy should mean the U.S. government, deriving its power from the American people, should advance their interests, not Israel’s. This alludes to comments made by Marco Rubio, who suggested the U.S. preemptively struck Iran because there was an expectation of an Israeli action.

Conservative commentator Matt Lewis also weighed in on X, pointing out that it seems “‘America First’ can mean whatever you want it to mean.” This really gets to the heart of the debate, doesn’t it? When a core policy can be interpreted so broadly, it can lead to confusion and differing expectations.

President Trump himself has consistently said that his foreign policy is all about what’s best for the U.S. Last year, he was quoted saying, “Considering that I’m the one that developed ‘America First,’ and considering that the term wasn’t used until I came along, I think I’m the one that decides that.” He made these comments around the time the U.S. and Israel reportedly bombed Iran’s nuclear sites in June.

It’s interesting to note that the term “America First” actually has a history that predates Trump. Records show it was used by former President Wilson and by anti-World War I isolationists. Wilson even campaigned on keeping the U.S. out of the war during his 1916 reelection bid, though the country officially declared war and joined the conflict in 1917. So, while Trump believes he coined the phrase, its roots run much deeper.

This isn’t the first time that Stephen Miller has made controversial remarks in support of Trump. He has gone on record to state that Greenland should be part of the US and even picked 8-hour-long fights with Podcasters.