California Gov. Newsom viral SAT comment sparks GOP chairwoman backlash
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s viral comment about his poor SAT score and difficulty reading is being criticized by the chairman of the California Republican Party, who says it touches on a broader issue about the way Democrats speak disparagingly to Black voters.
“My first instinct was I couldn’t believe the governor of California would say something like that in 2026,” Corrin Rankin, the California GOP’s first Black chairperson in history, told Fox News Digital.
The controversy began on Sunday when the conservative influencer account started with End Wokeness. released a clip A photo viewed more than 40 million times on X shows Newsom telling Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, “I’m just like you,” and explaining that he has trouble reading and failed the SAT.
The clip was seen by many conservatives as Newsom’s concession to Black viewers, with some calling the clip “racist.”
California GOP Chair Corrin Rankin is scolding Gov. Gavin Newsom for viral comments he made Sunday about her SAT score. (Fox News Digital/Getty)
““I think he let himself down yesterday,” Rankin said of Newsom, who is widely believed to have 2028 goals for the White House. “You know, you can’t go around saying that a segment of your state is intellectually deficient and think you’re going to represent Americans. That’s never going to happen. This is going to haunt him for the rest of his career and the potential career that he thinks he’s going to have.”
Newsom defended himself Publish on X On Monday, she revealed that she was definitely talking about her dyslexia.
“At first MAGA made fun of his dyslexia, and now they’re calling him a racist for talking about his low SAT scores,” Newsom spokeswoman Izzy Gardon told Fox News Digital in response to criticism of the clip.
“This is a MAGA-manufactured disgrace. The Governor has been saying this publicly for years, including to Charlie Kirk and dozens of other viewers. The same people who excused or ignored Trump’s racist monkey video may be destroying themselves.”
NEWSOM CONFRONTED WITH CALIFORNIA BECOMING THE ‘HIGHEST COST OF LIVING’ COUNTRY IN THE USA, IN THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE ELIGIBILITY CRISIS
Many people defended Newsom on social media, pointing out his dyslexia, and Mayor Dickens responded to the controversy by saying: Instagram post “This wasn’t an attack on anyone. It was a moment of vulnerability about his own journey.”
“Trying to blame it on dyslexia is a completely different thing than what he means,” Rankin said. “He really believes that black people, black Americans, are intellectually inferior. That’s where his comments came from.”
Democrats have faced criticism in recent weeks for opposing federal voter ID legislation; This includes Senator Chuck Schumer. called the bill “Jim Crow 2.0”” and Newsom’s claim that black people have difficulty obtaining passports, according to Rankin called out on social media last week.
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Governor Gavin Newsom (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
“It should start to seem particularly hollow, do you know what Jim Crow is? Thinking of black people as intellectually inferior is the mentality that contributed to Jim Crow,” Rankin said. “It’s the mentality of thinking that black people are inferior, that they’re intellectually inferior, that they’re not smart, and that’s the reason why we put black people down, because black people are not as smart as other people.“
“It’s a lie, we all know it’s a lie and everyone, especially the Governor of California, is perpetuating that lie. And this false narrative is beyond insulting. And quite frankly, he should be ashamed. He should be ashamed of himself. He should be ashamed of his actions, his family, his children, his neighbors, everyone should be ashamed of what he said.”
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