MENDON, Ill. — When freshman U.S. Rep. Mary Miller took to a county fair stage Saturday night to thank former President Donald Trump for appointing conservative justices who led the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, she called it a “historic victory for white life.”
Miller, who has Trump’s endorsement in challenging five-term Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis in Tuesday’s primary, did not elaborate on the “white life” comment she made on stage. Later, a campaign aide said she meant to say “right to life,” but misspoke.
Miller’s quote, with its racist overtones, was delivered on a national stage amid a time of deep political divisions exacerbated by the high court’s abortion ruling. In Congress, Miller has aligned herself with the far-right extremes of the national GOP, a factor in winning Trump’s endorsement. Her comment Saturday quickly spread on social media to become the top trending political subject on Twitter. That prompted her campaign to complain that “the fake news vultures are out” to get her.
