Gavin Newsom Steps in It Again As His GA Remarks Go Viral and He's Accused of Racism

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has been hitting a variety of places on tour for his book, "Young Man in a Hurry, a Memoir of Discovery." Yes, that's really the title.

But let's not kid ourselves about what the tour is about — it's not as much about the book as it is about his desire to run for president in 2028. He's hitting places like New Hampshire and Georgia, where he would want to connect.

But I realized after listening to him that he has the same problem that Kamala Harris used to have. The more he talks, the more problematic it is. He doesn't do the word salad thing as much. His problem has been saying things that don't help him at all, such as not knowing what "historically illiterate" meant and saying he didn't know how to begin to "get his birth certificate back."

He also said that one of his sons told him he didn't want him to run for president because the son was too young yet. Despite saying that his decision was dependent on his family, he didn't say that it foreclosed him.

Newsom Steps on Multiple Rakes As He Reveals Something That Might Stall His Presidential Run

Now, he's caused a ruckus with what he said in Georgia on Sunday during a conversation about his book with Mayor Andre Dickens. He was speaking about his dyslexia and the fact that he wasn't trying to impress the black mayor or the audience. That's when he stepped off the cliff, and what he said went viral.

Gov. Newsom to a black crowd in GA: "I am like you. I'm a 960 SAT guy. I can't read." pic.twitter.com/4Gk0WKbIYz
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 23, 2026

"I'm not trying to impress you. I'm just trying to impress upon you, I'm like you. I'm no better than you. I'm a 960 SAT guy," Newsom said to Dickens.

"And I'm not trying to offend anyone and act all there if you got 940, but literally a 960 SAT guy....You've never seen me read a speech because I cannot read the speech. Maybe the wrong business to be in."

Many interpreted that as being pandering and racist to black people. Is he assuming that the mayor has a low SAT score? Why is he combining "I'm like you" with not being able to read?

Some people thought because of the original post about the video that the audience was mostly black, while it appears to have been a mixed, maybe even mostly white audience.

Then, too, maybe it's important that a president can read — and is his claim even true?

It did not go well across the social media universe for Newsom.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called him out for the "soft bigotry of low expectations," while political scientist Carol Swain posted, "Liberal racism on display." Nicki Minaj ripped him too, “This means my first read on him was correct. He’s been handed so many things & put in high positions he never earned or deserved.”

We've seen this problem from Democrats in the past, including the perception that black people somehow aren't able to get an ID. There were things like this infamous comment from Joe Biden.

“Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids” - Joe Biden https://t.co/tpbrdO8cy0 pic.twitter.com/SpdkJLmOX6
— jay plemons (@jayplemons) February 23, 2026

The Newsom team did put in a defense, accusing Republicans of playing the "race card," and claiming Newsom had said the thing about the poor SAT score before to Charlie Kirk.

Why do Republicans always play the race card? The Governor told Charlie Kirk the same thing — literally. More than a year ago. pic.twitter.com/5wgFBontYd
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) February 23, 2026

Except in the clip they presented, not only didn't Newsom say, "I'm like you," he asked Kirk what his SAT score was. He didn't assume it was bad.

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