California Governor Gavin Newsom hit out at White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller's wife after she blamed him for sparking the 'imagination' of the man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Katie Miller's Accusation
Katie Miller, who previously served as a spokesperson for the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency, spoke with Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Monday night about her experience at the annual gala when she took aim at the Democratic governor.
'It is crazy as we just saw [in] your intro about the political violence and political rhetoric in this country,' Miller said. '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 rhetoric that we see that sparks this man's imagination.'
Newsom's Response
Newsom quickly responded in a lengthy post on X, condemning her 'absurd statement' and asserting: 'Political violence is NEVER acceptable. PERIOD.'
'What Cole Allen did was reprehensible and we're grateful the President was uninjured,' he said of the suspected gunman before criticizing 'people like' Miller who he said are amplifying President Donald Trump's 'dangerous rhetoric.'
'This finger-pointing from people like Katie who haven't just tolerated but amplified Trump's dangerous rhetoric is offensive,' said Newsom, who is widely believed to be running for president in 2028.
'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,"' the governor continued. '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."'
'The same folks cheering Trump's threats don't get to rewrite the narrative now,' he concluded.
White House Press Secretary's Remarks
But Miller's remarks echoed those of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who had earlier read out a long list of Democratic lawmakers' posts in which they allude to violence as a practical solution to countering Trump.
That rhetoric, she said, is responsible for radicalizing individuals to lash out at the President.
'This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of him and his supporters by commentators, yes, by elected members of the Democrat Party and even some in the media,' Leavitt declared, condemning the hostile language about Trump.
'This hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump, day after day after day for 11 years, has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this dark moment.'
'When you have people in positions of power that are saying things like this every single day for years, you are inspiring violence by people who are already mentally ill.'
The Suspect and the Attack
Allen, 31, had apparently planned to target members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet at the annual dinner, according to a manifesto he sent to family members moments before the planned attack.
'Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I'm not the person raped in a detention camp. I'm not the fisherman executed without trial,' it said, according to the New York Post. 'I'm not a schoolkid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor's crimes.'
'In order to minimize casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls).'
After apparently penning the manifesto, authorities say Allen checked himself into the Washington Hilton, where the star-studded gala was set to take place, armed with a handgun, a Mossberg Maverick 12-gauge shotgun and knives. He is said to have avoided the hotel's highly-monitored corridors by slipping through an internal stairway that was less closely surveilled than the hallways and elevators.
After running down around ten stories in the stairwell, the alleged gunman emerged on a lower level close to the initial screening area where magnetometers and Secret Service were stationed. He was then tackled to the ground by Secret Service agents just yards from where the president, first lady and members of the Cabinet were sitting.
Security Concerns and Aftermath
The apparent assassination attempt - the third aimed at President Trump in three years - has now led to renewed concerns about the president's safety, with the president saying the venue was not particularly secure.
But since the first two assassination attempts on Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign, several security lapses have roiled the Secret Service, including a group of protestors getting within feet of the President at a DC restaurant last year as well as breaches at Trump's Florida home.
In late February, USSS and local law enforcement shot and killed Austin Martin, 21, after he breached the secure perimeter of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home with a shotgun. In September 2025, the President was confronted by a group of screaming protesters at Joe's Seafood in Washington. The Code Pink activists were able to get within feet of Trump, prompting concern over how they knew about the President's impromptu visit to the restaurant.
A senior White House official has now told the Daily Mail that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has called for a security meeting with USSS and the Department of Homeland Security to discuss the Saturday shooting.
'President Trump has said he personally thinks they did an excellent job neutralizing the shooter and moving the President, First Lady, Vice President and Cabinet to safety,' the senior White House official told the Daily Mail. 'Nevertheless, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is convening a meeting early this week with the White House operations team, USSS, and DHS leadership to discuss protocol and practices for major events involving POTUS.'
