California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) did a stop in Atlanta for his 2028 presidential run book tour and said something characteristically Hair Gel that is getting him labeled a racist. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
As my colleague Nick Arama wrote:
Newsom is now being accused of racism for his statements on his Atlanta book tour stop. Over 20 million people have now viewed a clip of him talking with the black mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens, in which he says, "I'm just like you," then goes on to say that he has a 960 SAT and can't read a speech.
It's on brand for Newsom to think he is being relatable, rather than insulting and racist. This proves that being politically savvy doesn't translate to being the brightest bulb in the box. Since 2018, Newsom claimed he struggles with dyslexia. He even dictated a 2021 children's book to a ghostwriter, who whipped it up for him and slapped his name on it. So, dependent upon the audience, Newsom has used dyslexia as an excuse, a point of relatability, or evidence of how tough life has been for him. He's nothing if not a chameleon.
Dive Deeper: Gavin Newsom Steps in It Again As His GA Remarks Go Viral and He's Accused of Racism
Newsom's Epic Crashout As He Panics and Implodes in Backlash Over GA Remarks
But since that faux pas, he has been getting roasted by all the right people. Newsom's knee-jerk response is to cry ableism, claiming he is being shamed for having a disability.
Sure, Jan.
Local and national journalists are asking legitimate questions. Heck, he's the one who keeps bringing it up. Newsom's dipsy-doodle (and foul-mouthed) comms team is feeling the pressure, as Real Clear Politics national correspondent Susan Crabtree noted.
WARNING: Language.
🚨🚨EXCLUSIVE and BREAKING: What about that @GavinNewsom dyslexia disgnosis - can the gov. provide any paperwork related to his dyslexia diagnosis at any time of his life?
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) February 23, 2026
Newsom’s comms team just now tells me to “fuck off.”
Think @GavinNewsom’s comms team is losing it today? pic.twitter.com/oT3GoK5Cxi
It's days like these I wish I still ate popcorn.
Fox News host Sean Hannity reposted on X the now embarrassing video and commented, "Gavin Newsom thinks a 960 SAT Makes Him 'Like' Black Americans. Let That Sink In."
Hannity knows what buttons to push to deepen Newsom's embarrassment. After all, it was Hannity who moderated a 2023 debate between Newsom and FL Gov. Ron DeSantis, where Hannity let DeSantis go for it, and DeSantis proceeded to mop the floor with Newsom, using a poop map, no less. It got so bad that First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom stepped in and cut the debate short. Shame she wasn't on that Atlanta stage to stop Newsom from chewing on his toes.
Read More: DeSavage: DeSantis Threw Caution to the Wind in Destruction of Newsom, Including Using the Poop Map
Delicious Post-Debate Crying From Newsom HQ as Report Hints at Moment His Team Knew He Was Done
Newsom is both thin-skinned and vindictive, so he responded to Hannity's post like a three-year-old throwing a tantrum. As RedState reported, Newsom sprinkled his response with a liberal amount of foul language, making it evident where his comms team gets permission from.
The language warning above stands.
You didn’t give a shit about the President of the United States of America posting an ape video of President Obama or calling African nations shitholes — but you’re going to call me racist for talking about my lifelong struggle with dyslexia?
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 23, 2026
Spare me your fake fucking outrage,… https://t.co/ABNZJQJLcj
As we also noted, Hannity replied to Newsom by making the following observations (language warning again):
Gavin Newsom, you didn’t give a shit being Joe Biden’s public spokesperson knowing Joe Biden partnered with the former Klansman Robert Byrd as they tried to prevent the integration of public schools. So spare me your F’ing fake phony feigned outrage.
And How about you get homeowners building permits in the Pacific Palisades instead of making an ass out of yourself daily? Just a thought…..
Along with not being able to read, not knowing how to get his birth certificate, and his horrible eight-year record of governance, the reasons why Newsom is a terrible choice for president just pile higher. As if it couldn't get worse for Newsom, MS Gov. Tate Reeves (R) responded to Newsom's post. Reeves manages to level Newsom, and he didn't use one swear word to do it.
This seems like a good time to remind you that a black student in Mississippi is 2.5X more likely to read proficiently by 4th grade than if he or she lived in California. We would be happy to send one of our reading coaches to assist you, @GavinNewsom. Learning is a lifelong… https://t.co/3FqgFQZDEy
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) February 23, 2026
This seems like a good time to remind you that a black student in Mississippi is 2.5X more likely to read proficiently by 4th grade than if he or she lived in California. We would be happy to send one of our reading coaches to assist you, @GavinNewsom. Learning is a lifelong journey, and you might achieve some of the gains that our black fourth graders have.
Incidentally, one nice feature of increased literacy is that you do not have to fall back on vulgarity to seem passionate. Let me know!
That's gonna leave a mark. Reeves' facts are legit. Mississippi budgeted $2.97 billion for education in 2025-26, but those dollars are bearing fruit in improved scores in reading and math. They're calling it the "Mississippi Miracle," because over an almost 10-year period, reading proficiency among Mississippi students has leapfrogged from 46th in 2017 to 7th in 2024. Quite impressive.
In 2024, Mississippi’s fourth-grade reading results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) astonished nearly everyone who follows American education. The state, long mired at the bottom of national rankings, had risen to 7th place in the percentage of fourth graders scoring “Basic” or higher in reading—a climb of over 40 slots since the early 2000s. This was not a marginal movement or statistical noise. It was a clear, sharp trajectory visible in the national data: Mississippi ranked 46th in 2017, 29th in 2019, 17th in 2022, and finally 7th in 2024 on this single metric (Florida Department of Education, 2024). The state has leapfrogged nearly every one of its peers, including those with far greater resources, reputations, and political clout.
Which brings us to the sad and cautionary tale that is Gavin Newsom's California, which for 2025-26 has budgeted $137 billion for education.
One of California’s starkest — and most important — letdowns is the consistent failure to help elementary and middle school students achieve higher national test scores in basic educational skills, such as reading and math.
Simply put, California’s education system is not only behind most other states, but even trails those that Newsom and other Californians consider to be culturally backward. Moreover, California schools have not yet recovered from the educational losses suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not only should Newsom take Reeves up on his offer of adding a reading coach to his staff, but he might also want to replace his comms team with people who actually can communicate without the F-bombs.
Just sayin'.
Editor's Note: Article was updated post-publication to include Hannity's second response.
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