Gavin Newsom’s 2028 Hopes Take Major Hit After ‘Racist’ Comment To Black Audience

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing accusations of racism after trying to relate to a Black elected official by bringing up his own lackluster SAT score during a weekend appearance.

“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 told Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens at a Sunday night event promoting his upcoming memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry”.

Newsom, widely viewed as a potential 2028 Democratic contender, followed with a disclaimer and then took another swipe at himself.

“And I’m not trying to offend anyone,” he said. “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.”

The remarks ricocheted online after video circulated from the event. College Board data from 2024 shows the average SAT score for Black or African-American test takers was 907 out of 1600, while white participants averaged 1083.

Newsom is a 1989 graduate of Santa Clara University. In his book, he writes that he got in largely because he received a partial scholarship to play baseball. He has also addressed a separate point raised about his admission: that he received a letter of recommendation from Jerry Brown, the two-time California governor who had appointed Newsom’s father to a state appellate judgeship.

“I don’t think it’s relevant at all,” Newsom told the New York Times earlier this month. “The ticket to Santa Clara came through the baseball, not anything else. And that was the point I was making in the book.”

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Republicans and high-profile critics pounced.

“Gavin Newsom just said he is like a black person because he got a bad SAT score and can’t read,” Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) wrote on X.

“I wish I could come up with something witty, but it’s so disgusting, I can’t. I look forward to all my Democrat colleagues in Congress demanding his resignation tomorrow.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) accused Newsom of practicing “the soft bigotry of low expectations” while reposting a message from political scientist Carol M. Swain that read: “Liberal racism on display.”

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

Rapper Nicki Minaj also weighed in.

“His way of bonding with black ppl is to tell them how stupid he is & that he can’t read,” she wrote on X.

“This means my first read on him was correct. He’s been handed so many things & put in high positions he never earned or deserved.”

Conservative podcaster Stephen L. Miller posted an image of Navin Johnson, Steve Martin’s character in the 1979 film “The Jerk,” who famously claimed that “I was born a poor black child.”

“Gavin Newsom rolling into 2028,” Miller captioned his post.

Newsom posted video of the event on X on Monday morning, undercutting claims that the audience was entirely Black. His office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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