Gavin Newsom Scorched For ‘Bigotry’ After Telling Black Mayor He’s ‘Just Like You’ Before Touting Low SAT Score

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom came under fire on Monday after telling a black mayor that he only got a 960 on his SATs and “cannot read.”

Republicans and conservatives criticized Newsom for telling Democratic Atlanta Mayor Andrew Dickens, who is black, that he related to him because he could not read a speech and only scored a 960 on his SATs due to his dyslexia. He made the remarks during an event called “An Evening with Gavin Newsom and Andre Dickins” on Saturday to promote his upcoming memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry.”

“I’m not trying to impress you. I’m just trying to press upon you that I’m like you. I’m no better than you. I’m a 960 SAT guy. And I’m not trying to offend anybody, I’m not trying to act all there if you got a 940. But literally, a 960 SAT guy. You’ve never seen me read a speech because I cannot read a speech,” Newsom said.

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Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz accused Newsom of “soft bigotry,” while rapper Nicki Minaj said that Newsom assumed all of the black people in the audience were stupid.

“He’s not just TELLING them that they’re all probably stupid & probably can’t read, he’s LITERALLY SLOW-ING-DOWN-HIS-SPEECH to make them understand the words that are coming out of his mouth!!!! As if they’re children!!!! That means he REALLY BELIEVES they’re slow. He’s not just saying it—he didn’t misspeak!!!! He BELIEVES it!!!!” Minaj wrote.

Newsom responded to Fox News host Sean Hannity’s criticism, saying he should “spare [him] the fake f*cking outrage.”

“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? Spare me your fake fucking outrage, Sean,” Newsom said.

The average SAT score for the black population in the U.S. was 907 out of 1200, while white participants scored a 1083 on average, according to College Board 2024 data.

Newsom said in his book that he only got into Santa Clara University because he was offered a partial scholarship to play basketball, according to The New York Times. He received letters of recommendation from former Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown, who appointed Newsom’s father to be an appellate judge in the state, which he did not mention in his memoir.

Newsom said in October that he was considering a potential run in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. Early polling found that Newsom and Vice President J.D. Vance were neck-and-neck in a potential 2028 general election.