Internet erupts at Stephen Miller's wild claim about Trump slush fund: 'Textbook fascism'

Onlookers were outraged on Thursday after one of President Donald Trump's top aides made some remarkable claims about the president's fund to pay allies.

This week, the Trump Department of Justice established a $1.776 billion fund that will compensate people who claim they were wrongfully prosecuted by the federal government. Trump allies like Michael Caputo, a former campaign aide, and Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, have said they will seek retributive payments through the fund. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was given the lengthiest sentence for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, has also said he will seek a payment.

Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy, told reporters that the settlements are "a small measure of the justice they are owed."

"We lived through four years ... of unimaginable weaponization of the federal government against innocent people," Miller told reporters outside the White House. "So many lives destroyed; so many livelihoods ruined; so many people who were deprived of their fundamental rights as American citizens."

Political analysts and observers reacted to Miller's comments on social media.

"It's s--- like this that is just textbook fascism," Jake Schwitzer, executive director of North Star Policy Action, posted on Bluesky. "In-group/out-group notions of justice. The people of Minnesota haven't seen any justice for the crimes you directed against us, Stephen. But we will."

"They assaulted police. 140 were injured. Five ended up dead," Huffpost reporter S.V. Daté posted on X.

"This is the Homeland Security Advisor defending rewarding adjudged terrorists," journalist Marcy Wheeler posted on X.

"Just for the sake of argument, f--- you," philosopher Chris Dashiell posted on Bluesky.