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MEDINA, Ohio — As November’s midterm elections approach, Republican Max Miller, a former aide to President Donald Trump, spoke exclusively with Spectrum News about his race against Democrat Matthew Diemer in Ohio’s 7th District.
A full, uncut conversation can be watched above or read the full transcript below. The interview took place on Aug. 23, 2022.
Watch the full report on the race in the 7th Congressional District by clicking here.
Taylor Popielarz: Thanks for the time again.
Max Miller: Yeah, thanks for having me.
Taylor Popielarz: I’ve been covering your race for a while, but as you’re introducing yourself to constituents, what’s your elevator pitch for why you’re running and deserve to be elected?
Max Miller: Yeah, absolutely. So with my background in the Marine Corps, in the infantry, and six years on the reserve side, and working for Senator Rubio, and my time in the White House, I’ve been in these meetings with the president and other cabinet secretaries. And the reason why I’m running for office is because of what I saw when I was there. We send people to Washington, D.C. to represent our values, and for the most part, what we see as regular Americans is they don’t. They’re out of touch with reality. And for the most part, these individuals only go there to benefit their own way of life. And they lose sight of everyone that they were sent there to represent. And I saw that throughout the four years that I was in Washington, D.C. in the White House, and it was extremely eye-opening. So, when I saw this race, and there was a target of opportunity because an individual took a bad vote, I knew that I could do better for the constituency. So that was the main driver of why I wanted to run for office. Really, to do better and to really never betray our constituents’ values. To always fight for them and to fight for what they believe in. And I believe I’m the right guy because I’ve been in these situations. I’ve been in North Korea; I have been in Iraq, bouncing between Al Asad and Erbil; I was in Afghanistan negotiating with foreign delegations on behalf of the president. And I have been in the pressure cooker. And that is a unique perspective that when most people run for office, they don’t have that in their background, but I do. And I know that I could use that to my advantage and not get taken advantage of by leadership or by the system, but always do what’s right by our constituents.
Taylor Popielarz: What would you say right now is the top priority for this district? Top issue facing it?
Max Miller: Top issue, hands down, is inflation and the economy. Right now, this country, altogether, has $67 billion of credit card debt. And my biggest concern is that at this time next year, too many Americans and tens of thousands are going to be filing for bankruptcy. And if you look at the average median salary of someone in our district, it’s around $62,000. If you factor in what is now 8.5% inflation, which is outpacing 5.6% wage growth, the majority of our constituents are factoring in a $10,000 deficit on a credit card. And the sad thing is, as interest rates continue to rise by the Fed, so do credit card rates. And this is going to compound at an insane rate that Americans are not going to be able to take on because of the economy, that I believe is self- inflicted from everything we’ve seen over the last 19 months by the Biden administration.
Taylor Popielarz: Obviously, this district—I know it’s a new district in terms of how it’s been drawn—but predominantly Republican. For voters who are maybe trying to look elsewhere and they look at your opponent—his campaign isn’t, I would say, as legitimate as yours—but they say, OK, he’s a Democrat, he might vote with Democrats. What’s your argument for why it’s the right choice to stay with you on the Republican side, rather than look at your opponent?
Max Miller: Yeah, absolutely. I’m focused on the core issues of how we can get our country back on track. What do we want in this country? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That is what the Republican Party embodies, and that is what I embody. If you’re looking for somebody who has already been in the pressure cooker, that is not going to be manipulated by all—and they are animals and vipers in D.C.—I mean, I’ve been in many meetings where you could sit down with somebody, and you could think that you’ve won, right, in your argument. You can think you won in your negotiation, but the moment that you walk up from the table, you realize that they just took your lunch from you, and there’s nothing that you can do about it. If you’re looking for a principled, conservative leader that can work with both sides of the aisle, then I’m the right fit for that. I mean, I have worked with both sides of the aisle while I was in the White House. It wasn’t just a partisan White House. We worked with the Democrats on a consistent basis, almost every single day, and I’m proud about that. But there’s a certain subject that we need to focus on that matters, and that really is dealing with, in my opinion, with energy independence, inflation in the economy, our supply chain issues, our shortage of labor that we see, and our southern border. Which is, you know, killing more people with fentanyl in the state of Ohio than anything else for the most part in overdoses. And people like to make fun of me and poke fun that I say Ohio is a border state. But you know, three pounds of fentanyl, as we talked about earlier, was found in Beachwood, Ohio, by the drug cartel from Mexico. That is a border state, regardless. And these are policies that are going to damage our country from the inside out. And this is all self-inflicted when it doesn’t need to be.
Taylor Popielarz: You talk about the importance of bipartisanship, trying to work across the aisle when you can. You also mentioned why you first launched your campaign, because of Anthony Gonzalez’s vote to impeach Donald Trump. You were the first candidate Trump endorsed after he left office. You were the first candidate he held a rally for. That was, you know, your foundation, initially. When voters, especially since the district has been reconfigured, realize that and learn that part of the story and they say, well, clearly, then Max is kind of just in Trump’s pocket. He launched his campaign strictly to kind of push somebody away who wasn’t loyal. There’s no way he’ll be bipartisan. What do you say?
Max Miller: Sit down with me. Get to know who I am. Understand why I’m running for office. You know, part of our platform is I’m giving 25% of my salary, which is roughly $43,000, back to the district. And that I’m going to set up technical education for scholarship funds throughout our district. And that’ll be able to give 10 to 12, you know, hopefully 18-year-olds, their first start with debt free education or vocational training school to get our labor back. I’m never taking a federal pension. And I’m putting every single dollar that I own in a blind trust to be as transparent as I can with the American people. Now, you know, directly answering your question, I didn’t run or get into this race because of Anthony Gonzalez’s vote. I got into this race because of the manipulation and the maneuvering that I saw in Washington, D.C., of people who got too fat and happy taking advantage of the system. And you continue to see publicly elected officials go ahead, and they’re worth, you know, maybe a couple hundred thousand, maybe a couple million, or maybe nothing at all. But by the time they leave office, they’re worth millions and millions of dollars, upwards of eight figures that you see on a consistent basis. And you know, if you look at somebody like Liz Cheney, right? I’m just using her as an example. I believe she was worth something around $6-7 million when she went into Congress. Now she’s leaving upwards—I believe it’s more than $50 million. And she’s doing that as a public servant. That’s not a public servant, that’s a self-servant. A public servant is someone like me, who’s giving more of their time and treasure back to the community to establish relationships and partner with these individuals. Because I know at the end of the day, I’m not a subject matter expert on everything that everyone is. And that’s OK. And I acknowledge that. But we can use that to our advantage with partnering with these individuals and creating and establishing great policy and legislation that we can work with together. And every relationship that I meet within the district, I’ve used a partnership and an educational tool that is going to help elevate me and us as a community, because it’s a team fight to the next level to do better for every constituent within the 7th District.
Taylor Popielarz: Your background is unique because you’ve already spent some time in Washington. You got covered as kind of a more high-profile name in a presidential administration. So just a couple questions about that. Your ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Grisham, who also worked in the Trump White House with you, she has alleged some pretty serious things related to you. That you’ve slapped her, pushed her, threw a dog toy at her, cheated on her. I know you’ve denied all of that. You filed a lawsuit at one point. Do you still deny all of it? And if so, why do you think she would make those serious allegations up?
Max Miller: To be clear, we’re handling this in litigation, and her motion to dismiss was denied. So, the case will be heard. So, we’ve already won our first battle in that hurdle. And to be clear, she herself has never articulated the allegations. It was all hearsay by second- and third-party sources. She has never gone on the record to acknowledge that. And yes, I vehemently deny those things. And I think it’s an awful thing. And you know, those allegations came out the same day of her book, and the allegations were not put in her book. So, I hope the American people can continue to see through all of this nonsense that’s being said about Republicans who are running for office. It’s not just me who they’re targeting. It’s not just the media who they’re focusing on. You know, all of these individuals and all of these spurned Trump appointees, who then left and felt a certain way, I unfortunately think, are trying to get a larger platform in order to elevate themselves and to make money. And it’s sad. And the most hurtful thing is, in all seriousness, is that this does affect my life. It does affect my future wife’s life and family. And things like this—and that’s why I’m handling it in litigation—because people need to be held accountable. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen. And we will let the legal process play out. And when this is all, you know, said and done, I fundamentally believe and I know that we’ll be on the right side.
Taylor Popielarz: There was also a pretty lengthy POLITICO Magazine piece about you last year after you had entered the race. And there was a quote that stood out to me, where, talking about you, it said: “He has a record of speeding, underage drinking, and disorderly conduct. Documented charges from multiple jurisdictions that include a previously unreported charge in 2011 for driving under the influence that he subsequently pleaded down to a more minor offense.” I know you addressed this in a Washington Post story a couple of years ago, and you said we all make mistakes—I’m paraphrasing—but we make mistakes when we’re younger, and you’ve changed. For voters who may learn about that and see that paper trail and are still concerned about it, what’s your message to them?
Max Miller: My message is who I was back then is not who I am now. And to be clear about what you referenced about the OVI charge, if you actually pull the court case, they did take a blood sample and my BAC level was well under the legal limit. What had happened was, I was looking—back then, there wasn’t navigation within your car. And I was looking at my phone and I veered off the road and unfortunately, I got into an accident. But if you go through the entire case docket, you will see that my blood alcohol content was well under the legal limit. And I didn’t plead down to that charge, it was the correct charge that they issued to me for reckless driving. And it was not an OVI.
Taylor Popielarz: Two more quick topics. Obviously, you were a close aide to President Trump, both on the campaign side and in the White House. You worked for him until he left office. What do you make of the FBI executing a search warrant on his home recently?
Max Miller: I think it’s a two-tier justice system. I fundamentally believe that we need to see the affidavit. And once that’s released, I think things will become more clear. But what I don’t like about what’s happening right now is the speculation. You know, people like to label people, right? You just went through a host of things that people have said about me, and they label you. And that’s what you get stuck with. And unfortunately, that’s the reality that we’re here today. And that’s what we need to fix. This is woke and cancel culture. This is how they continue to root people out of our country and to suppress them to get the end result that the Democrats or whoever your opponent wants. But it’s not going to work with me. I’m focused on the mission. I know why I’m running for Congress. People can say whatever they would like about me, but at the end of the day, I know who I am. And what’s going on with President Trump and the FBI, we need to have some legal clarity. And I believe that will play out as well. So, for everyone who wants to speculate, let’s let the tape run through. Let’s see everything that’s happened. And we’ll go from there.
Taylor Popielarz: From what you saw behind closed doors, in places very few Americans got to see in the White House, how did the president handle classified documents?
Max Miller: That I exactly wasn’t privy to. I mean, at that point, you know, he was the president of the United States, so every classified document that he had was mostly handled by staff [secretary]. It was not handled by me as director of advance or as a senior adviser. So that—I’m sorry, I can’t answer.
Taylor Popielarz: One other Washington question. You received a subpoena from the Jan. 6 Committee. A quick portion of your testimony was featured in one of the public hearings. Kind of broadening that out, when you look at Jan. 6, do you condemn what happened that day?
Max Miller: By condemning, I think it was an awful thing that happened. But do I think that it was a coordinated insurrection from inside that White House with outside entities, in order to overthrow the federal government systematically? No. What happened was an unfortunate riot and people who broke into the Capitol and breached it need to be held accountable. But I fundamentally do not believe it was really an insurrection, it was a riot that got out of hand. And what I want to know is, you know, the White House had anti-scaling fencing up. And we always coordinate with multiple entities within Washington, D.C. We coordinate with MPD, we coordinate with National Park Police, we coordinate with Capitol Police Department and many other entities that are within D.C. We had told everyone our posture for that day, no one decided to mimic it. So, I fundamentally believe that we need to—the committee that’s going on right now, we would like to ask some questions. You know, I would like to talk to Muriel Bowser as to why maybe she waited to activate the National Guard. Both sergeant at arms within the Capitol and Speaker Pelosi herself—people who need to be asked the questions. Because right now, what we’re seeing is a one-sided story. And I think every American right now is seeing that through a TV produced ABC or NBC producer whom they hired to put it on prime-time. That isn’t an investigation. What they’re doing is they’re publicly embarrassing people. I have made the claim, and I have said publicly and I will say it again, I have nothing to hide. They can release my transcript. I’ve said it many times, but they won’t. Because my truth doesn’t fit their narrative. And everything that you see that they’re doing, in my opinion, is they’re embarrassing people. They’re playing clips to publicly embarrass them, but not find out the truth. And that’s why they’re now going down this rabbit hole trying to get President Trump on dereliction of duty. If this was, in my fundamental opinion, held in a legal court, this case would most likely be thrown out.
Taylor Popielarz: And just for the record, for the D.C. National Guard, it’s the president who can activate them, the mayor cannot. Just to clear that, because I’m going to publish this full interview. Related to that, because you helped, I believe, from what I’ve read, you were in discussions leading up to the president’s speech on the ellipse that day, maybe involved in some of the planning. Were you ever personally aware of legitimate concerns for violence on Jan. 6 before Jan. 6?
Max Miller: No. And I wasn’t read into that level. So, I can’t answer that question.
Taylor Popielarz: Got it. And then last question for you, bringing it back home. People are familiar with your family. You come from a pretty prominent family in Northeast Ohio. You’ve loaned your campaign, last I checked, at least $650,000. What do you say to constituents who might feel you’re trying to use your family connections, your own personal wealth, to get this seat?
Max Miller: Yeah, I think that’s absolutely ludicrous. The reason why I’ve loaned my campaign money, and I’m glad you asked that question, is because if you look at the body of fundraising that we’ve done, I’ve contributed $600,000 at this point, right? That’s one third of what I’ve been able to raise. On top of the $600,000, we have raised over $2 million by individual donors across the country. And so, when people like to say that, I’m putting my money where my mouth is, because if I’m asking other people for their money, that they’re not going to get a tax writeoff on, then I feel as if I should invest some of my own to show them that I am as committed to running this race and as serious as I am, as they are, in investing in my future and our future together in the 7th District.
Taylor Popielarz: Alright, we covered a lot. Thanks so much.
Taylor Popielarz: Appreciate it, man.