Overview
- At a White House Cabinet meeting, President Trump said Gov. Gavin Newsom “took himself out of the running” by “admitting” a “mental disability” and called him “a very stupid person.”
- He said he does not want “a person with mental disability” as president and claimed Newsom “can’t read a speech” and “can’t do almost anything.”
- Newsom has spoken about living with dyslexia, which the Cleveland Clinic and the International Dyslexia Association define as a neurodevelopmental reading difference rather than a mental illness.
- Trump also boasted that he “aced” a cognitive test three times, and video of his remarks was shared by Fox News.
- Mediaite characterized Trump’s claim as false and cited medical sources, while the Washington Times relayed his comments and described dyslexia as a learning disorder using clinical definitions.