California Governor Gavin Newsom has a talent for stepping on rakes in public, and this weekend he managed to find another one.
During an appearance in Atlanta promoting his upcoming memoir, Young Man in a Hurry, Newsom tried to relate to Mayor Andre Dickens by highlighting his own unimpressive SAT score. “I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you, ‘I’m like you. I’m not better than you.’ I’m a 960 SAT guy,” Newsom said. He then added, “And I’m not trying to offend anyone. I’m not trying to act all there if you got 940 … You’ve never seen me read a speech because I cannot read a speech.”
Gov. Newsom to a black crowd in GA: "I am like you. I'm a 960 SAT guy. I can't read." pic.twitter.com/4Gk0WKbIYz
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 23, 2026
That was the bonding attempt.
The problem is obvious. When you tell a Black elected official that you are “like” him because you scored a 960 on the SAT and claim you cannot read speeches, it does not exactly scream respect. It sounds like a clumsy stereotype wrapped in self deprecating humor. College Board data from 2024 shows the average SAT score for Black test takers was 907, compared to 1083 for white students. Whether Newsom intended it or not, critics argue the implication was there.
Republicans wasted no time responding. Representative Randy Fine wrote on X, “Gavin Newsom just said he is like a black person because he got a bad SAT score and can’t read.” Senator Ted Cruz accused him of embracing “the soft bigotry of low expectations,” reposting a message calling it “Liberal racism on display.” Even rapper Nicki Minaj jumped in, saying, “His way of bonding with black ppl is to tell them how stupid he is & that he can’t read.”
When celebrities and senators are on the same page, you know you have a messaging problem.
Newsom, a 1989 graduate of Santa Clara University, has written that he gained admission largely due to a partial baseball scholarship. Questions have also lingered about a letter of recommendation from former California Governor Jerry Brown, who had appointed Newsom’s father to a state judgeship. Newsom has dismissed that as irrelevant, telling the New York Times that “The ticket to Santa Clara came through the baseball, not anything else.”
Now, as a widely viewed 2028 contender, he is trying to craft a relatable, everyman image. The trouble is that forced relatability often comes across as tone deaf. Voters can tell the difference between authenticity and awkward pandering.
Newsom later posted video of the event, pushing back on claims the audience was entirely Black. But the clip that went viral is the one people are talking about. In politics, perception matters. If you are going to run on unity and inclusion, comparing yourself to a Black official by joking about low test scores and illiteracy is not exactly the smoothest opening act.