Two decades before he became a Homeland Security advisor, Stephen Miller was a normal high school student. However, his political thoughts at the time were anything but normal.
A video from Miller’s teenage years has resurfaced on social media that does not reflect favorably on his public image. Recorded in 2003, the clip shows a young Miller discussing how the U.S. should deal with its enemies. As the Iraq War was at its peak at the time, Miller, a Republican, vouched for torturing Saddam Hussein and his allies.
Miller is heard saying in the video, “To the issue of the Iraqi civilians. I think that as many of them should survive as possible, because the goal of any military conflict is to kill as few people as possible. But as for Saddam Hussein and his henchmen, I think the ideal solution would be to cut off their fingers.”
17-year-old Stephen Miller: “Torture is the way to go…Torture is a celebration of life and human dignity.”
pic.twitter.com/xQV6CrPLjt
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 8, 2026
He then reaffirmed that people should be tortured instead of being killed and called it a ‘way to respect life.’ Miller said, “I don’t think it’s necessary to kill them entirely, we’re not barbaric people, we respect life. Therefore, torture is the way to go. Because tortured people can live. Torture is a celebration of life and human dignity.”
The footage first came out in 2017 and has since gone viral on a number of different occasions. Now that Miller has supported Trump’s military action in Venezuela and has also vouched for taking over Greenland, the clip is doing the rounds on social media again.
People are highlighting how teenage Miller’s thoughts have impacted his government policies all these years later. One user responded to the video on X by writing, “I felt like I was watching one of those crime documentaries about a serial killer, seeing the “we should have seen it coming” clips from before they became a murderer.”
Another one penned, “Long before Stephen Miller became the apple of Donald Trump’s eye, sending immigrants to be tortured in tyrant Nayib Bukele’s CECOT in El Salvador, he said “torture is the way to go.” Miller was a “psycho” all along. Now he’s a “psycho” with power, like they had in Nazi Germany.”
Stephen Miller: “Torture is a celebration of human life and dignity.”
Leaked video shows the current White House Chief of Staff at 17, describing the torture of Iraqis in gruesome detail as the group erupts in laughter. ‘ still the same person today just a hate filled person
— Gri P (@GriP1776) October 7, 2025
One user also remarked, “This is a terrifying glimpse into who Stephen Miller really is at his core and how his distorted ideology on all geopolitical issues manifested. This is a fascinating case study for every behavioral Psychologist out there.”
However, when the video first came to the public light in 2017, the then-White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders came to Miller’s defense. Sanders argued that the video was a comedy sketch made by a bunch of high schoolers and should not be analyzed to judge anyone’s current political views.
She said in an interview with VICE, “This is clearly a sketch comedy routine performed by teenagers and for teenagers as part of a video year. This teenage skit does not reflect any policy position, past or present, held by Stephen Miller. This is another comical overreach by the media.”
