The Guardian · US news · Original story
‘Brilliant James’ helped return Trump to the White House. Can he conquer the midterms?
James Blair’s data-driven approach delivered victory in 2024 but president’s unpopularity and idiosyncratic style do not bode well this time
They are both young, bald and fathers of four. They are also the brains behind Donald Trump. But while Stephen Miller is infamous as the US president’s ideological enforcer, James Blair could, in the words of Time magazine, “be the most important person in Donald Trump’s Washington you’ve never heard of”.
That imbalance is deceptive, however. Blair has sufficiently impressed Trump to earn the nickname “Brilliant James”. And a well-positioned source told the Guardian: “I would say that James is probably twice, five times, 10 times more effective than Stephen Miller.”
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David Smith in Washington · Sun, Oct 25, 2026, 4:00 AM
US news | The Guardian
James Blair’s data-driven approach delivered victory in 2024 but president’s unpopularity and idiosyncratic style do not bode well this time
They are both young, bald and fathers of four. They are also the brains behind Donald Trump. But while Stephen Miller is infamous as the US president’s ideological enforcer, James Blair could, in the words of Time magazine, “be the most important person in Donald Trump’s Washington you’ve never heard of”.
That imbalance is deceptive, however. Blair has sufficiently impressed Trump to earn the nickname “Brilliant James”. And a well-positioned source told the Guardian: “I would say that James is probably twice, five times, 10 times more effective than Stephen Miller.”
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