California Governor Gavin Newsom has once again thrown himself into the national spotlight, escalating his ongoing feud with the Trump administration through a series of pointed social media posts and memes. The latest salvo began on Thursday, October 2, 2025, when White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with a rallying cry: “Sign up to become a homeland defender.” Miller’s post, which encouraged Americans to join the Department of Homeland Security, was swiftly met with a biting response from Newsom’s press office.
Newsom’s team replied with a meme featuring Miller’s face adorned with rainbow sparkles and a nail polish emoji, captioned, “The guy sitting in the hotel armchair wants you to defend the homeland. Slay queen!” The jab didn’t come out of nowhere; it echoed a similar Democratic Party post from May 2025, which tagged Miller and featured an empty hotel-room chair, poking fun at his perceived detachment from the realities of national service. According to The Independent, this meme war is just the latest in a string of satirical exchanges between Newsom and Trump’s inner circle.
The humor, however, is laced with deeper political undertones. Miller, often cited as the architect of some of Trump’s most hardline immigration policies, has long been a lightning rod for criticism from Democrats. Newsom’s meme not only lampooned Miller’s online bravado but also subtly referenced ongoing scrutiny of Miller’s personal life. As reported by The Daily Beast, Miller’s wife, Katie Miller, left her role in the Trump administration earlier this year to work for Elon Musk before launching her own podcast in August. The Democratic Party’s May meme, featuring the empty hotel-room chair, amplified stories about Katie Miller’s career moves and the couple’s high-profile marriage, which has been the subject of media attention since both served in the first Trump administration.
Katie Miller herself has embraced the spotlight, appearing recently on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime. There, she and the host exchanged light-hearted banter about her husband’s “bedroom prowess,” with Watters quipping that she was “the envy of all women” for being married to Stephen Miller. She responded, “The sexual matador, right?” before adding, “He’s an incredibly inspiring man who gets me going in the morning with his speeches, being like, ‘Let’s start the day, I’m going to defeat the left and we are going to win.’ He wakes up the day ready to carry out the mission that President Trump was elected to do.” These remarks, according to The Daily Beast, have only fueled the public fascination with the Millers’ dynamic, making them recurring figures in the culture wars playing out online.
But Newsom’s penchant for trolling doesn’t stop with Miller. Over the past several months, he has repeatedly targeted former President Donald Trump himself, using the governor’s official X account to deliver sarcastic jabs and memes that mimic Trump’s own bombastic style. Just last week, Newsom’s press office mocked Trump after an embarrassing moment at the United Nations, where an escalator malfunctioned as Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attempted to make a grand entrance. “DOZY DON WAS DEFEATED BY THE ESCALATOR, POOR GUY!” Newsom’s team posted in all caps, a nod to Trump’s trademark Truth Social tirades. The U.N. later clarified that a videographer may have accidentally triggered the escalator’s safety stop, but the damage to Trump’s image—at least in the social media arena—was already done.
Newsom’s attacks took on a sharper edge on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, when his press office criticized Trump for continuing construction on a $200 million White House ballroom during the ongoing government shutdown. In a move that drew both laughs and outrage, Newsom’s team posted an AI-generated image of Trump as 18th-century French Queen Marie Antoinette—a historical symbol of oblivious privilege and self-indulgence. The meme was captioned, “Trump ‘Marie Antoinette’ says, ‘no health care for you peasants, but a ballroom for the queen!’” According to The Independent, this critique was aimed squarely at the Trump administration’s decision to prioritize the opulent ballroom project while federal services and healthcare programs languished amid the shutdown.
Despite the government shutdown, construction on the ballroom has continued, a fact that’s raised eyebrows among critics. The reason? The project’s funding is not tied to the 2026 fiscal year appropriations, allowing work to proceed while other essential services are frozen. Democrats, including Newsom, have seized on this contrast, arguing that the administration is neglecting the needs of ordinary Americans in favor of luxury and spectacle. “If the peasants are poor, maybe they should start a reality show like our queen! Worked out beautifully for her. Now she’s rich, and you losers are about to lose your health care!” Newsom’s press office blasted in another all-caps post on Friday, October 3, 2025, again pairing the message with the Marie Antoinette image.
The ballroom controversy has become a flashpoint in the broader debate over government priorities during times of crisis. While Trump’s supporters argue that the White House is entitled to maintain and improve its facilities—especially for state functions and diplomatic events—opponents see the project as tone-deaf, if not outright insulting. As The Independent notes, the symbolism of building a lavish ballroom while federal employees go unpaid and healthcare programs face cuts has not been lost on the public or on Newsom’s digital strategists.
This kind of meme-driven political theater is hardly new, but Newsom’s relentless approach has set him apart in the current landscape. His willingness to engage in online banter, often with a heavy dose of sarcasm and pop culture references, has boosted his profile far beyond California. It’s also drawn a mix of praise and criticism. Supporters see Newsom’s tactics as a necessary counterbalance to Trump’s own social media presence, while detractors argue that such antics trivialize serious policy debates.
Underlying all the memes and mockery is a very real contest for public perception and political momentum. Newsom, widely seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, has used his platform to position himself as a vocal critic of Trump-era policies and the personalities that drive them. By targeting figures like Stephen Miller and highlighting issues like the White House ballroom amid a government shutdown, Newsom is not just trolling for laughs—he’s staking out a clear stance on what he believes government should stand for.
As the shutdown drags on and the meme wars continue, it’s clear that the battle for America’s political narrative is being fought as much on social media as in the halls of power. Whether Newsom’s approach will sway voters or simply add more noise to an already raucous political environment remains to be seen. But for now, the California governor shows no sign of dialing back his digital offensive, keeping both his allies and adversaries on their toes.
The line between politics and performance is blurrier than ever, and if recent events are any indication, neither side is ready to cede the stage.
