California Governor Gavin Newsom has clapped back at Katie Miller, wife of White House adviser Stephen Miller, after she blamed him for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.
Miller's Accusations
Katie Miller appeared on Fox News Monday night, where she described how her husband shielded her and their unborn child as they fled the Washington Hilton ballroom Saturday night after a gunman rushed security armed with multiple weapons. After praising her husband’s heroism, Miller blamed the shooting on Newsom since the suspected gunman, Cole Thomas Allen, is from California.
“It’s no mistake this man hails from the state of California and that of Gavin Newsom, who is one of the worst offenders of this violent political rhetoric that we see that sparks this man’s imagination,” Miller told Laura Ingraham.
Newsom's Response
Newsom condemned Miller’s “absurd statement” in a post on X. “Political violence is NEVER acceptable. PERIOD. What Cole Allen did was reprehensible and we’re grateful the President was uninjured,” the governor wrote. The California Democrat slammed “finger pointing from people like” Miller for amplifying President Donald Trump’s “dangerous rhetoric.”
“The President has openly celebrated the deaths of his political opponents, called Democrats and immigrants ‘vermin,’ ‘demonic’ and ‘evil’ ‘animals’ who are ‘poisoning the blood of our country.’ He regularly uses violent language, threatens to arrest and jail his political enemies — while describing the attempt to overthrow our democracy on January 6 as a ‘beautiful thing,’” Newsom wrote. “The same folks cheering Trump’s threats don’t get to rewrite the narrative now,” he added.
Background on Katie Miller
Miller, a conservative podcaster, has previously been critical of Newsom. In January, she lambasted him for attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Of course Gavin Newsom is going to Davos,” she wrote in an X post. “Nothing quite says America First like commiserating to the crowd of the World’s Elites. You either stand up for America or you should sit down.”
Social Media Controversy
Ingraham also asked Katie Miller about images of the couple amid the chaos of the shots being fired which appeared to show her husband hiding behind her — and even groping her — as they were escorted out of the ballroom. The images gained traction on social media, where people questioned whether Miller was using his pregnant wife as a “shield” during the shooting.
Miller addressed the online criticism with Ingraham. “First and foremost, my husband did a phenomenal job. Anyone who wants to say otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” Miller said at the start of her interview Monday. Miller, who is eight months pregnant, described a reporter pulling her to the floor before her husband joined them, putting his body over hers to protect both her and their unborn child. Their security detail eventually told the couple they should quickly exit, with her walking in front of him because the threat was behind them, Miller said.
“So what everyone sees is my husband maybe copping a feel. But what I would say is that he wasn’t going to put his hands on my stomach because that’s where our baby is. So he just moved his hands upward,” she said. “And of course, you don’t notice that in the moment.” Ingraham noted: “They were saying he was using you as a shield.” Miller replied: “He was behind me, protecting me, and our baby.” She added: “They really can’t let Stephen Miller have a good news cycle.”
The Shooting Incident
The president, First Lady Melania Trump and numerous top Trump officials were all evacuated from the dinner after the attack. According to court documents, the gunman was allegedly looking to target members of the Trump administration. He shot one Secret Service agent before he was detained. The agent was taken to hospital but has since been released.
Allen, a 31-year-old computer engineer from Torrance, California, was charged with attempting to assassinate the president, as well as two weapons charges, in court Monday. Allen could face up to life in prison if found guilty on the assassination-related charge.
