Gavin Newsom is continuing to lay the groundwork for his presumed 2028 presidential campaign as he promotes his new memoir, but his latest comments about his SAT scores and reading are making the wrong kind of headlines.
The California governor was in Atlanta over the weekend for a stop on his book tour when he told the mostly black audience that his poor test scores and reading ability make him “no better than you.” A clip of the comment quickly went viral on social media, with many calling the remark racist.
On Monday’s show, Megyn broke down what Newsom said and explained why it will come back to haunt him if he does make a run for the White House.
The Racial Remarks
Newsom was being interviewed by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who is black, at a book tour event on Sunday when he brought up his struggles in school seemingly as a way to relate to the crowd. Watch:
“I’m not, you know, I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you, I’m like you,” a gesticulating Newsom told Dickens. “I’m no better than you.”
That’s when he brought up the test scores and reading ability. “You know, I’m a 960 SAT guy. And, you know, and I’m not trying to offend anyone, you know, trying to act all, ‘there,’ if you got 940,’” the governor continued. “Literally a 960 SAT guy. You’ve never seen me read a speech because I cannot read a speech.”
The clip was posted by End Wokeness on X and has since amassed some 40 million views. Megyn said Newsom’s framing was “very obvious in its racism, sitting in front of a predominantly black audience,” and rapper Nicki Minaj was among those who called Newsom out for the comment.
“His way of bonding with black ppl is to tell them how stupid he is & that he can’t read,” she wrote, in part, on X. “He’s literally slowing his speech down & talking in a sporadic cadence… 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!!!!”
Attempted Clap Back
Clearly unnerved by the backlash, Newsom attempted to clap back at Fox News host Sean Hannity after he posted the clip on X with the caption, “@GavinNewsom thinks a 960 SAT Makes Him ‘Like’ Black Americans. Let That Sink In.”
“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,” Newsom responded on X in reference to a Truth Social post the White House took down earlier this month.
“Spare me your fake fucking outrage, Sean,” he added.
While he may have been leaning into his tough guy shtick, Megyn said it is clear Newsom knows he is in trouble. “Now you know he is on his heels when he is talking like that,” she said. “He is a bit unhinged and he is scrambling because he knows it is bad. He is a Democrat – he absolutely needs every single last black voter he can get.”
The Ramifications
In Megyn’s view, it is but Newsom’s latest attempt to reframe the narrative of his life. “This is the [memoir] where he tries to claim he was poor and he grew up eating mac and cheese, the son of a single mom, even though there are whole articles of him… [among] the ‘young and rich’ and he was hanging out with the Gettys,” she explained.
“They gave him, I think, millions of dollars over the years, they helped pay for his wedding, and the like. He is basically a Getty by adoption,” she added. “But he wants you to believe that he’s a hard scrabble. He had it really tough.”
But in an effort to sound “relatable,” Megyn said Newsom stepped in it. “It is Gavin Newsom lying, again, and trying to make himself sound relatable. ‘I was poor.’ No, you weren’t. ‘I’m dumb.’ Well, that one may be true. I don’t know,” she joked. “He actually doesn’t seem dumb to me. A lot of people don’t take tests well.”
“I believe him that he did have dyslexia, but it was completely ridiculous to use that as a way of bonding with a group of black audience members,” she concluded. “I mean it was completely inappropriate and telling – very telling.”
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 1,258 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.