President Donald Trump went on a fresh rant against California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday, where he attacked people with learning disabilities while also declaring the Democratic governor “president.”
Trump, 79, was speaking in the Oval Office when he went after his blue state nemesis, who has been open about his struggles with dyslexia since the beginning of his political career more than 20 years ago.
Trump had been talking about voter IDs and the SAVE America Act when he got distracted while rambling about voting in California. First, Trump made unsubstantiated allegations about mail-in voting before going off on Newsom.
“That’s how crazy it’s gotten with a low IQ person, you know, cause Gavin Newscum has admitted that he has... learning disabilities,” the president declared.
Trump appears to believe that Newsom is gunning for the presidency in 2028, as he has made a name for himself by regularly trolling the president in his second term.
“Honestly, I’m all for people with learning disabilities, but not for my president,” Trump declared. “I don’t want—I think a president should not have learning disabilities, OK?"
It was a bizarre moment to witness from a president who has frequently struggled reading a teleprompter and is constantly insisting he aced a cognitive test amid questions about his age and mental acuity.
But the president did not stop there and even appeared to confuse the California Democrat’s current role.
“I know it’s highly controversial to say such a horrible thing,” Trump said. “The President of the United States, Gavin Newscum, admitted that he has learning disabilities, dyslexia. Everything about him is dumb.”
It was not the first time the president has attacked the governor’s intelligence.
Last week at an event in Kentucky, Trump claimed Newsom, “admitted he has mental problems, that he’s not a smart person, that he is mental... a mental lack of ability.”
He also criticized the governor for being “unable to read a speech” in a bizarre turn for someone who has combatted rumors about his own reading abilities for years.
Trump also posted last week that Newsom is a “Cognitive Mess,” to which Newsom fired back on X: “I spoke about my dyslexia. I know that’s hard for a brain-dead moron who bombs children and protects pedophiles to understand.”
On Monday, after appearing to struggle to keep his eyes open as others spoke in the Oval Office, the president went on to claim that Newsom told an audience that he was smarter than them “or something like that.” He accused the governor of being “racist because it happened to be a Black audience.”
Newsom, 58, wrote at length about his struggles with dyslexia, which he was diagnosed with at the age of five, in his new memoir, Young Man in a Hurry.
During a stop in Atlanta last month, Newsom discussed his reading disability, telling the crowd, “I’m not trying to impress you. I’m just trying to impress upon you, I’m like you. I’m no better than you. I’m a 960 SAT guy.”
He noted that he was not trying to offend anyone who got a lower score, like a 940, as the crowd laughed. He added: “You’ve never seen me read a speech, because I cannot read a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be in.”
The conversation was hosted by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who chuckled at the comment. But right-wing media quickly attacked him for making his comment in front of a largely black crowd.
Newsom fired back that he’s made similar comments about his dyslexia numerous times in front of different audiences and also called out conservatives for suddenly taking offense while staying silent about racism from the right, including Trump’s racist Obama Truth Social post and birtherism conspiracies.
After Trump called Newsom “President of the United States Gavin Newscum” on Monday, the governor wrote in a post on X: “NO THANK YOU, WE BELIEVE IN FREE ELECTIONS!”
