Saturday, April 29, 2017

"The Time I Went to Summer Camp With the Future Mini-Trump"

CNN:
The future senior adviser to President Donald Trump was a fellow delegate with me at "Boys State," a weeklong summer program in California for rising high school seniors interested in civics and government.

...


Unlike his competitors, Miller didn't speak in clichéd generalities. He had a plan. He declared that he would organize a "black ops" force to spy on and infiltrate the other counties in an effort to -- I suppose? -- sabotage them. To Miller, the other boys in the camp weren't here to cooperate in the spirit of forming a more perfect union, but were to be dominated. They weren't "us." They were the enemy.

His raucous speech was a tremendous success. Miller knew his voting base: A hoard of testosterone-fueled teenage boys itching for something to believe in, even if it was just made up. Miller whipped us into a frenzy, and the crowd, myself included, cheered on the ridiculousness.

Once he had most of us firmly on his side, Miller let loose his catch-phrase.

"It's Miller Time!" he declared