California Gov. Gavin Newsom has gone viral for comments made in a conversation with conservative activist Charlie Kirk. (Screenshots/This is Gavin Newsom | Getty Images)
In an X post from 2019, Newsom tweeted the term in reference to a study on childhood poverty on his official government account.
On his personal account, the California Democrat used the term when discussing the COVID-19 pandemic.
"#COVID19 disproportionately impacts the Latinx community," he tweeted. "Rising rates in the Central Valley are concerning. CA is making $52M available to increase testing, contact tracing and quarantine efforts, and sending strike teams to 4 counties with increased cases and hospitalizations."
In 2023, he said that the Republican Party has "politicians that are banning not assault rifles, but the word Latinx."
Brooks Allen, Education Policy Advisor to the Governor, used "Latinx" in a 2023 letter about the state's Ethnic Studies model.
"The model is grounded in the foundational curricular areas of the ethnic studies tradition – African American Studies, Native American Studies, Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies, and Latinx American Studies," he wrote at the time.
NEWSOM CHANGES TONE ON TRUMP FROM CAMPAIGN RHETORIC WITH FEDERAL WILDFIRE RECOVERY FUNDS AT STAKE
Newsom's upcoming podcast will be the second one he is involved with. (Getty Images)
It’s also used on the governor’s web page for First Partner Jennifer Seibel Newsom’s "Farm to School" effort.
"Today, over 2 million children in California do not have access to healthy, whole foods, with Black and Latinx children reporting food insecurity twice that of children in white households," the website states.
On the Governor’s Council for Career Education website, it uses the term on its "Research Findings Summary" page. A former education policy associate for Newsom, who currently serves as his assistant deputy cabinet secretary, said "Latinx" in a 2021 X post.
"Economic recovery with higher education that is more equitable, resilient and coordinated to improve outcomes for Black, Latinx, API, Indigenous and Adult learner students who disproportionately are denied access and impacted by the pandemic," Michael Wiafe said.
A spokesperson for Newsom's office told Fox News Digital that "Latinx" is "not a term that is widely used in his Administration. Some staff have used it from time to time."
Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk (right) is the guest on California Gov. Gavin Newsom's (left) inaugural edition of his "This is Gavin Newsom" podcast. (Gavin Newsom/X)
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The term is considered widely unpopular among Latinos and Hispanics and even offensive in some cases, according to NBC News.
A Pew Research Center study from 2024 determined that 51% of Hispanic American adults were unfamiliar with the term "Latinx" and only 4% actually say the term, which proponents say is meant to be a gender-neutral alternative to Latino.
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/newsoms-viral-latinx-claim-crumbles-amid-scrutiny-online-records