Overview
- Texas Sen. Ted Cruz labeled California Gov. Gavin Newsom “historically illiterate” on his podcast and on X after the governor’s criticism of federalized troops.
- Newsom replied that Cruz had called “a dyslexic person illiterate,” and Cruz answered with a clown emoji while stressing he was faulting Newsom’s grasp of history, not his ability to read.
- Cruz cited Executive Order 10730 and President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1957 federalization of the Arkansas National Guard to enforce desegregation in Little Rock.
- X added a community note to Newsom’s post clarifying that Cruz’s comment referred to historical knowledge rather than literacy.
- The exchange followed Newsom likening federalized personnel in California to Nazi-era secret police after President Trump’s 2025 move to bring roughly 4,000 California National Guard members under federal control.