to the editor: After reading Gustavo Arellano's excellent column, I was initially ready to write an enthusiastic letter of praise, but my joy quickly turned to sadness (“Trump says he wants to get rid of ‘the worst of the worst.’ Start with Stephen Miller.” January 29). I realized that while Arellano was very right, he forgot to mention other important facts.
In September 2024then-candidate Donald Trump told the United States that “it has nothing to do with Project 2025,” that he had not read it and had no intention of doing so. But by some miracle or coincidence, Stephen Miller and several of his co-authors or contributors to Project 2025 were appointed to key positions in his administration. While I might suggest that Miller is much worse than a “hate-filled demon,” it would personally be a big challenge to name him the worst.
While I read daily news stories in the Los Angeles Times about other Project 2025 contributors (border czar Tom Homan, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt), it almost seems like an impossible task to name the worst. When one considers Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (with dishonorable mention to Elon Musk), it becomes even more difficult.
I would welcome a section of the Sunday supplement detailing the incredible decisions and actions of the above so we can make an intelligent decision about who deserves the dubious title.
Karen Oliver, Santa Paula
..
to the editor: Amen to Arellano's plea to rid the country of the influential Miller, the native son of Southern California who seeks to embarrass himself. Unlike Homan and Noem, the Machiavellian Miller has masterfully endured Trump and consolidated his power.
His fatal flaw lies in his arrogant inability to read the country. Unlike him, most Americans feel empathy. The video of troops of masked ICE agents killing and maiming Americans in public disgusts us. These actions arise directly from Miller's out-of-touch dystopian vision of an America beset by violent crimes perpetrated by foreign bad actors, at a time when violent crimes is decreasing.
Miller's policies have become political kryptonite and Republicans are finally starting to take notice. These policies have no place in the White House and deserve to be banished.
Sharon Rosen Leib, Playa Solana
