In an exchange shared by the White House rapid response team, News host Jesse Watters reminded Miller of Hegseth’s lack of trust in him as a caregiver.

“Did you just say that anyone can take care of my kids except Miller?” Watters asked the White House deputy chief of staff.

“I think, to be fair, he’s worried that if I babysit his kids, I’ll come back after a couple of hours and say, ‘Dad, why don’t you send the military to Minnesota to help us with the Somali refugees?’” Miller joked.

Miller’s light-hearted reference to the Trump administration’s new attacks on Somali immigrants in Minnesota may not have gone as many expected.

After an Afghan national who once helped the CIA was charged with shooting two National Guard soldiers, President Donald Trump has escalated hate rhetoric and threats against non-white people from other nations, including Somalis. ICE raids in Minnesota are already underway, even though 95% of Somalis living there are American citizens, according to Minneapolis City Councilman Jamal Osman.

As one of the influencers behind Trump 2.0’s immigration crackdown, perhaps the White House deputy chief of staff’s insensitivity should come as no surprise.

Stephen Miller took his opportunity to respond to Pete Hegseth's comment that, of all the Cabinet members, he wouldn't leave his children in the hands of Miller or Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Stephen Miller took his opportunity to respond to Pete Hegseth’s comment that, of all the Cabinet members, he wouldn’t leave his children in the hands of Miller or Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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The joke began earlier this week when Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer, appeared on the podcast of Miller’s wife, Katie, a former Trump administration spokesperson.

“Who would you trust to take care of your children? This can only be another member of the cabinet,” Katie Miller asked Hegseth.

“Not your husband,” Hegseth responded. “O frame [Rubio].”

That got everyone laughing, but the embattled defense secretary has been in serious trouble lately.

He and the president have been accused of overseeing legally murky lethal attacks on suspected drug traffickers at sea. Recently, Hegseth came under scrutiny for a follow-up attack to kill survivors of one such explosion, a possible war crime. He said an admiral ordered the second attack.