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Feb 23, 2026 | Gavin Newsom tries to be relatable by saying he's dumb like us

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Let's get into it:

Gavin Newsom has been on a bit of a book tour to promote his upcoming memoir "Young Man in a Hurry." The book is an indication that he'd like to be president, and the tour confirms that he's likely running for the Democratic nomination in 2028.


During a stop in Georgia, he told the crowd, "I'm on the other, you know this, I'm on the other side. I just am. I'm on the other side, you know, I don't want to dream of regretting anymore. No 'could've, would've, should've.' It's all out there, and I just want to put it all out there. I'm not, you know, 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. You know, I'm a 960 SAT guy.

"And you know, and I'm not trying to offend anyone you know, trying to act all there if you got 940, but literally, a 960 SAT guy I cannot. You've never seen me read a speech, because I cannot read a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be. You know, my dyslexia. I haven't overcome dyslexia. I'm living with it. You know, I was the guy in the back of the classroom and my head down just praying the teacher didn't call on me. I dropped I went through, I mean, I lost count of how many schools I had to go to."



He bragged about being unable to read speeches, about doing poorly in school, about getting a poor score on his SATs (I did better than he did, and my scores were mid at best), and told the crowd that these things were an indication that he was "just like" them. He said his dyslexia is a gift because he "can't read a speech," but he can "read a room."

I don't know why he thinks we Americans want a president who is worse at school and standardized tests than we are. Why do so many men who could not achieve decide to take a shot at the White House? Maybe it says something about the presidency that so few intelligent men want to take up residence in it.

During his Nashville stop, Newsom was equally as insipid, claiming that he doesn't know where his birth certificate is because he lost it when he was 7. The only issue with that is that he has a passport, and he likely didn't have one before he was 7 years old. Birth certificates are a required form of ID in order to obtain a passport. There are all kinds of theories as to how he could have managed to lose his birth certificate and still make it to Munich last week, but one of the top contenders is that he's lying.

It also indicates that Newsom thinks he is more relatable to Americans if he says he is not very smart... meaning he thinks we are not very smart. This is a man who says he can "read a room" but cannot read a speech, who says he is unable to get a new birth certificate, that he doesn't even know where to begin to do that—he was the mayor of San Francisco AND was born there. If anyone should know how to get some proof of birth, it's a man who held that position.

It's absurd. And it is my sincere hope that we Americans are not fooled by his folksy, "I'm just a dumb guy like you" ways. We're smarter than him, and we're better than that. Nicki Minaj pointed that out, saying "His way of bonding with black ppl is to tell them how stupid he is & that he can’t read... He’s literally slowing his speech down & talking in a sporadic cadence... He’s not just TELLING them that they’re all probably stupid & probably can’t read, he’s LITERALLY SLOW-ING-DOWN-HIS-SPEECH to make them understand the words that are coming out of his mouth!!!!"


Libby