Overview
- At an Atlanta book‑tour event with Mayor Andre Dickens, Gavin Newsom said he was “a 960 SAT guy” while discussing lifelong dyslexia, a context omitted from a viral 38‑second clip.
- Additional photos and video circulated by outlets and commentators, including TMZ’s Harvey Levin, indicate the audience was racially mixed, countering claims he addressed an exclusively Black crowd.
- Dickens publicly defended the exchange as a moment of personal vulnerability, and Newsom’s team noted he has used similar anecdotes for years in varied settings, including with Charlie Kirk.
- Criticism has continued from figures such as Sen. Tim Scott, Nicki Minaj, MLB’s Tommy Pham, Cornel West, and Rep. Wesley Hunt, while few original amplifiers of the edited clip have retracted their claims.
- Newsom blasted Fox personalities and Republicans for double standards in reacting to his remarks versus racist incidents linked to President Trump, as his spokesperson called the uproar MAGA‑manufactured.