California Gov. Gavin Newsom is having a bad week. Telling a room full of black people that he’s like them because he has low SAT scores and can’t read is beyond cringe. It’s also offensive. If Trump did that, he’d be impeached. At any rate, it’s been a circus for Newsom, who not only said this but also claimed he slummed it growing up despite being upper class, and, for some reason, is trying to make his reported dyslexia a thing.
Gavin Newsom is absolutely KILLING IT with the black crowd in Georgia:
— Jack (@jackunheard) February 23, 2026
"I am like you. I'm a 960 SAT guy. I can't read. Hopefully that doesn’t offend you.”
Yikes.
pic.twitter.com/psIkJLbtrl
Whatever the case, the ‘I can’t read well so I’m black like you’ remarks have irked some leaders in the black community, like Cornel West, who said that Gavin’s remarks reek of a white supremacy paradigm:
Brother Newsom could’ve taken a humanistic approach! He could’ve said, “I’m just like you. I was born of a woman. I’ll face loss, pain, and death just like anyone else.” But instead, when he thinks of Black people, he brings up low SAT scores. That mindset sits at the core of… pic.twitter.com/cwRH6wEyKY
— Cornel West (@CornelWest) February 24, 2026
👀Cornel West thinks Gavin Newsom has the mindset of a white supremacist. https://t.co/0tDy9M04gd
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) February 24, 2026
Brother Newsom could’ve taken a humanistic approach! He could’ve said, “I’m just like you. I was born of a woman. I’ll face loss, pain, and death just like anyone else.” But instead, when he thinks of Black people, he brings up low SAT scores. That mindset sits at the core of white supremacy—the belief that Black people are less beautiful, less moral, less intelligent!
You cannot make this up. Look, I’m no Newsom fan, but he’s not a white supremacist. He’s a terrible governor but a Klan man? No. Still, the reaction is funny.
Also, Gavin, that little quip was a total disaster.