California GOP Chairwoman Corrin Rankin is blasting Gov. Gavin Newsom over viral comments he made about his SAT score on Sunday. (Fox News Digita/Getty)
"I think he just tanked himself yesterday," Rankin said of Newsom, who is widely believed to have White House ambitions in 2028, "You know, you can't go around and say that a segment of your state is intellectually inferior and think you're gonna represent Americans. It's never gonna happen. This is gonna haunt him for the rest of his career and any potential career he thinks he's going to have."
Newsom defended himself in a post on X on Monday, making the case he was strictly talking about his dyslexia.
"First MAGA mocked his dyslexia and now they’re calling him racist for talking about his low SAT scores," Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon told Fox News Digital in response to criticism of the clip.
"This is MAGA-manufactured outrage. The Governor has said this publicly for years — including with Charlie Kirk and dozens of other audiences. The same people who excused or ignored Trump’s racist ape video can go f--- themselves."
Many have defended Newsom on social media pointing to his dyslexia, and Mayor Dickens responded to the controversy in an Instagram post saying, "That wasn't an attack on anyone. It was a moment of vulnerability about his own journey."
"Trying to blame this on dyslexia is something that is completely separate from what he intended to say," Rankin said. "He truly believes that black people, black Americans, are intellectually inferior. That is where his comments were coming from."
Democrats have faced criticism in recent weeks for opposing federal voter ID legislation, including Sen. Chuck Schumer who has called the bill "Jim Crow 2.0," and Newsom who suggested Black people have difficulty obtaining passports, a claim Rankin called out on social media last week.
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Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/newsom-blasted-ca-gop-chair-over-viral-clip-labeled-racist-critics-he-should-embarrassed