Vice President JD Vance and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller have zeroed in on fraud, but an analyst on Friday revealed what has motivated the move.
Salon's Amanda Marcotte pointed out how, as President Donald Trump has become more "impatient" with Vance, the vice president has pivoted to the "tough guy act" with Miller, looking to capture MAGA's attention using accusations that immigrants are scamming the United States "on a scale that, if true, would rate as one of the worst corruption scandals in history."
"Vance, along with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, are similarly embracing the view that law, morality and ethics should not get in the way of their radical political agenda," Marcotte wrote.
The two men have created a "task force" to look into the alleged fraud and "false claims," but it was mostly a "press stunt," Marcotte explained.
And although there is a real problem around fraud in health and welfare spending, Marcotte described how it's unlikely the White House has deep concern for the issue. But for Vance and Miller, that's not exactly the point — it's a way to reach right-wing circles and MAGA voters.
"And while Vance and Miller speak in vague terms, they’re relying on popular MAGA propagandist Nick Shirley to fill the [SIC] in the immigrant-baiting gaps for their audience," Marcotte wrote.
"It’s all to spin a larger, false narrative of evil immigrants overrunning blue states, aided by daft Democratic leaders too dazzled by wokeness to recognize the alleged truth that only racists will admit: Immigrants are out to prey on white Americans," Marcotte wrote. "But as anyone familiar with MAGA social media knows, the truth doesn’t really matter. Any content alleging 'fraud,' especially if a non-white face can be forefronted in the images, quickly goes viral in right-wing circles."
"The right’s war on immigrants is about racism and bigotry. But it’s also a pathetic bid for power from Vance and Miller, who both seem to see the immigration issue as a way to keep the MAGA gravy train going after Trump," Marcotte wrote. "But they are likely to be mistaken."
For the two men eyeing political life after Trump, it's the next step.
"The right’s fixation on immigrant fraud is a real Russian nesting doll of lies," Marcotte wrote. "If Vance and Miller were actual stewards of the public trust, they wouldn’t work for Trump."