Donald Trump declared that Gavin Newsom hurt his chances of ever becoming president with candid comments about his lifelong struggle with dyslexia.
The president sounded off on the weeks-old comments on Truth Social Wednesday afternoon, calling it “the most self destructive” interview he’d ever seen.
“In one fell swoop, he took himself out of even being considered as the Presidential Nominee of the Crazy (as proven at the State of the Union Address) Democrats,” Trump wrote. “He said, in a speech, he was dumb, had low Boards, can’t read, has dyslexia and has a mental disorder — A Cognitive Mess!”
The president didn’t stop there, as he also claimed that the Black community was angry with Newsom, claiming the California governor was “obviously a racist.”
Trump’s commentary followed recent backlash for Newsom, in which he was accused of talking down to a predominantly Black crowd at an Atlanta book event.
“I’m not, you know, 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,” the governor told Mayor Andre Dickens at the time. He later brought up his low SAT score, noting “Literally a 960 SAT guy, you’ve never seen me read a speech. Because I cannot read a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be in.”
Newsom also brought up his dyslexia during his February appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
This may be why Trump zeroed in on Newsom’s learning disability, which he called a “mental disorder” more than once.
“While we all want to be politically correct, having a mental disorder is not a positive campaign event,” Trump added. “Also, this was a politically suicidal act. The only thing he didn’t say is he is losing his look, but nobody wants to say that about one’s self. He is no longer a viable Presidential Candidate!”
Newsom has yet to outright confirm or deny a possible presidential run for 2028. Though, he did note in February that he and his family would make the decision together.
“My son wrote me … a few months ago, and there was some headline that suggested that I made some decision, and he goes, ‘Dad, are you running [for] president?’” Newsom said to Dana Bash in the aforementioned CNN interview.”I said, ‘No, we’ll do [the] decision as a family.’ He goes, ‘You can’t.’ I said, ‘Why?’ He goes, ’I’m too young. You need to spend more time with us.’ I mean, how do you deal with that one?”
The governor did, however, issue a scathing response to Trump’s recent post, writing on X, “I spoke about my dyslexia. I know that’s hard for a brain-dead moron who bombs children and protects pedophiles to understand.”
