Representatives of California Gov. Gavin Newsom went scorched earth against one of President Donald Trump’s most loyal advisors with a brutal takedown of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Miller, 40, is the Democratic politician’s most recent target after the right-wing policy maker was featured in a Vanity Fair article covering the inner circle of Trump’s second administration. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s team did not hold back when trolling White House advisor Stephen Miller over his viral photos. (Photos: JP Yim/Getty Images for Clinton Global Initiative; Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images) ‘Wow’: Gavin Newsom’s Latest Shot at Trump Backfires on Pete Hegseth Too, Leaving Fans Zooming In on the Unexpected Twist and Laughing at the Fallout Newsom, 58, has taken aim at the 79-year-old president and members of his administration throughout 2025. But the highly publicized profile of the political insiders came complete with published images of Miller taken by photographer Christopher Anderson, adding more ammo for his camp. On the morning of Dec. 16, the Newsom Press Office page on X re-posted Anderson’s photo of a seated Miller dressed in a gray suit with a white shirt and a Trump-esque red tie with no caption. That led to the verified War Room account of Trump’s political operation re-tweeting the Newsom Press Office, along with an edited version of the Miller photo. Newsom’s staff fired back with another altered picture of Miller with the face of Lord Voldemort, the iconic villain character of the “Harry Potter” film franchise. pic.twitter.com/vpUJHIbqAE— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) December 16, 2025 The online back-and-forth between Team Newsom and Team Trump sparked other X users to jump into the fray and give their takes on the digital feud. One Newsom fan responded, “Ok, this is epic.” “That’s not fair to Voldemort,” a second individual jokingly tweeted. Another person posted, “Cool pic, but it’s clearly been altered. Miller has never looked this good or less creepy in his life.” In contrast, a MAGA account defended Miller by hitting back with, “So he’s an all-powerful wizard that the left are too scared to say his name?” That led to one replier to clap back, “Lol, so really embodying the villain arc huh.” https://t.co/MUZx5UajaX pic.twitter.com/S1zC7N4bI9— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) December 16, 2025 While the meme war was raging on the Elon Musk-owned platform once known as Twitter, commenters on Threads were more focused on Miller having a noticeable bulge under his dress shirt in the Vanity Fair spread. One person asked, “How did nobody catch that? They are fighting over the wrong body part.” “I’d like to give a shout out to today’s best supporting player – Stephen Miller’s GUT hangs on every day despite what it is subjected to,” read a Threads post that included two pictures of the Trump administration official with yellow circles drawn around his stomach. The obviously anti-MAGA poster continued, “We can only imagine what it sees, hears, and lives through, and those thoughts alone are scary as hell. Congratulations to this hard-working, [under-appreciated], yet sad little GUT for being showcased in today’s @vanityfair article.” Miller faced more ridicule from like-minded critics in the replies. One jokester proclaimed, “[His] gut is the least repulsive thing about him.” He was also called “Pillsbury Proud Boy” and a “Tubby bald bastard.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by VANITY FAIR (@vanityfair) Miller has become one of the most controversial figures of the modern conservative movement. The Duke University graduate joined Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign as a senior policy advisor before following his boss to Washington, D.C., for Trump 1.0. When Trump reentered the White House for a second, non-consecutive term in January 2025, Miller returned as part of the administration’s so-called “junkyard dogs” along with colleagues such as Vice President JD Vance and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Miller is a constant whipping boy of left-leaning activists and pundits for being seen as the architect behind several of Trump’s most polarizing policy decisions. Meanwhile, Newsom is despised by many on the right for his approach to governing in California and his unwavering mocking of the president. Newsom versus Trump has played out on social media and the press repeatedly since the inauguration on Jan. 20. Politics junkies claimed to sense some tension between the two national leaders just days after Trump was sworn in when they met on the tarmac of Los Angeles International Airport. ‘How Did Nobody Catch This?’: Newsom’s Brutal Fight With Trump’ Team Triggers MAGA — Until They Zoom In on Stephen Miller’s ‘Gut’ No One Can Defend ...read more read less