California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office has once again sparked a political firestorm, drawing furious calls for accountability from Republicans and lighting up social media with debate over whether he crossed a line.
The uproar escalated quickly over the weekend, with GOP lawmakers accusing the governor of engaging in dangerous rhetoric and even suggesting his actions could amount to a crime. One Republican congressman went so far as to invoke federal statutes on domestic terrorism to make his case.
The trigger? An all-caps post on X from Newsom’s official press office declaring: “STEPHEN MILLER IS A FASCIST!” The post, which has now been viewed more than 31 million times, set off a storm of outrage and led Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden to demand Newsom’s arrest.
“At this point, this reaches the threshold of domestic terrorism,“ the 56-year-old wrote. “This is no longer ‘inflammatory’, it is criminal.” He cited 18 U.S. Code § 2331 and attached a screenshot of the statute, highlighting the clause that defines domestic terrorism as activities that “appear to be intended … to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.” Van Orden added: “No one is above the law, @CAgovernor.”
South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace also condemned the post, calling it “violent rhetoric.”
Newsom’s office pushed back forcefully, writing on X: “DING DONGS IN THE WHITE HOUSE: IF YOU DON’T WANT US TO CALL YOU A FASCIST THEN STOP DOING FASCIST THINGS!”
The account has ignored calls to delete the post and later shared a meme of Disney’s Cinderella with Miller’s head superimposed, showing the Grand Duke sliding a shoe labeled “fascism” onto his foot.
Miller himself has often used the fascist label against Democrats.
In March 2024, he declared, “The Democratic party is now a Facist party. Using corporate and government power to punish dissent and dissenters.”
More recently, when President Joe Biden was still in office, Miller said: “We are dealing with a president right now who is himself a fascist.”
Newsom’s office was not backing down. Miller posed a question in response to the initial post, “Why do you think they posted this?” The unapologetic response came quickly, “because you’re a fascist.”
Miller followed up once more when he appeared on Hannity that same evening.
“It is a message that his team is sending to all the crazies and lunatics out there,” he said.
“We’re not going to absolve Democrats of responsibility anymore. There’s a reason why all of these killers and lunatics and terrorists adopt the same language. They say they are trying to kill the fascist and stop the fascists. This is deliberate.”
Critics noted the irony, pointing to frequent Republican use of the same inflammatory rhetoric.
Trump himself has leaned heavily on the term when targeting Democratic lawmakers. During the 2024 campaign, Trump said of then-Vice President Kamala Harris: “She is a Marxist. She’s a communist. She’s a fascist. Do we have to explain who this woman is?”
Despite this, Republicans continued to take aim at Newsom.
“If the shoe fits,” one person wrote on Threads, echoed by, “Truth hurts.”
Others added, “If he didn’t want to be labeled a fascist, he shouldn’t be spending literally all of us his time being a fascist.”
“All these MAGAs dudes get all caught up in their hair follicle envy with Gavin. If Stevie doesn’t wanted to be called a Fascist Nazi… he should stop acting like one… he’s a hateful little sh!t,” wrote another.
One longer post criticized both parties.
“MOCKERY WITHOUT PROOF is most damaging. Trump started off on this Trend calling everyone names, The Press, Senators, Film Stars literally anyone that made him angry now look at you! Your as much bastards as he, you were tricked. Dry up. Your not doing your Party any justice.”
The fight over Newsom’s latest clapback follows another recent flare-up last month, when his press office tweeted about Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“Kristi Noem is going to have a bad day today. You’re welcome, America.”
Newsom later unveiled legislation in Sacramento limiting federal immigration enforcement, including a ban on law enforcement officers wearing masks while on duty except during undercover or tactical operations. His office argued the policy gave context to the “bad day” comment, pointing to its direct impact on DHS operations.
Nevertheless, the remark triggered performative alarm inside DHS and a referral to the Secret Service from acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “There is zero tolerance for threats — direct or implied — against government officials,” Essayli said. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin called the post “ugly.”
Newsom’s office countered by resurfacing a Trump tweet from March 2020 in which he wrote: “Going to be a BAD day for Crazy Bernie!” — highlighting the double standard Republicans were using to gaslight the public.
In that episode, social media critics argued the “bad day” post was clearly political, and not a call for violence. “Threat assessment should take all of 10 seconds. It was clearly a political comment about political consequences. Interpreting it any other way is just gratuitous,” one person wrote.
Noem claimed in an interview with Sean Hannity that her family “panicked” after seeing the post. “It was cryptic. And it was really menacing. It immediately panicked my family and friends,” she said. “Within a couple minutes of that being posted I started to get text messages and phone calls. My kids saying, ‘Are you OK, mom?’”
