Gavin Newsom low SAT remark to a black audience draws backlash

[Wanderlust988]

Gov. Newsom to a black crowd in GA: "I am like you. I'm a 960 SAT guy. I can't read."

Newsom tells this a black crowd in Atlanta referencing his dyslexia.

I don't know how to link videos, but it's all over social media. And it is real.

[marble falls]

1. Backlash from who?

[Wanderlust988]

3. Black people. Not exactly the best way to 'relate' to black people.

[marble falls]

6. All black people, and only black people???

[obamanut2012]

47. Not a good try

[Maraya1969]

52. It's bullshit that the New York Post posted.

?si=ZMpPB2nS_h0icXY_

You don’t know who the audience is. You just know that the guy he is talking to is black and what the hell big deal is that? Plus, he is talking to the guy. He is not talking to the audience.

[Renew Deal]

2. Video links are like other links

Copy and paste

[Wanderlust988]

4. Sorry, just literally search in Google, Bsky, X, etc.

[obamanut2012]

49. It wasn't a black audience, you are spreading misinformation -- stop

Link a source

[Scrivener7]

64. Again.

[ForgedCrank]

100. You don't

think black Americans were watching that too?
I believe I know what he was trying to get across, but it was still an unwise thing to say and the delivery was terrible.

[Renew Deal]

109. What was quoted wasn't said. It's misiniformation

[Just_Vote_Dem]

5. Here' s a link

[obamanut2012]

50. It was not a "black audience"

[Just_Vote_Dem]

51. Thanks for clarifying n/t

[newdeal2]

7. After 10 years of Trump

Gaffes should not matter anymore.

[Bok_Tukalo]

9. You have that backward

After 10 years of Trump, they should matter a great deal.

[Wanderlust988]

12. Is that a true gaffe? He just stated how he feels. It wasn't a 'mistake' kinda gaffe.

He just basically said he can't read like black people. I'm not sure how you get around this.

[newdeal2]

18. Yes and we beat ourselves up about this

Clinton and Obama and Howard Dean and a million other Democrats had to apologize and bend over backwards to prove themselves, even when you know their record is clean. Like him or not, I don’t think Gavin is racist or has racist policies.

Meanwhile the orange turd says and does the most horrible shit possible. I’m tired of the double standard and we should not allow Republicans to get away with it.

[thought crime]

87. True. Too often, Democrats eat their own. One stupid slip and they're out.

[wnylib]

25. That is not what he said in the video that's on this thread.

[yardwork]

80. Is that actually what he said?

What's the context? Was he engaged in a back and forth with somebody who said they have dyslexia or did he say that to an entire audience?

I'm not sure your interpretation is correct.

[Wiz Imp]

90. No it's not. See post #28.

[Wiz Imp]

92. He did not say he can't read like black people

[walkingman]

8. This is the full quote - doesn't sound offensive to me?

Post by @essenceofblackculture

View on Threads

/media

[chowder66]

73. I don't see an issue with what he said either. It's been spun to try to hurt him.

[Wanderlust988]

74. You all on DU can say it's a nothingburger, but it's all over black social media... FWIW.

Gavin needs to get out in front of this. I don't know why he feels the need to talk about low SAT's in Atlanta with mostly black people.

"Oh, I'm running for president, so when I'm talking to black people, I'll talk about how I can't read and I'm dumb af...I'm just like you." That's basically what's he's doing.

[walkingman]

78. "You all on DU" ??? The attack on Newsom over his remarks

reminds me of the recent incident between Texas Dem primary candidates Talarico/Crockett where the comment "mediocre black man" about Colin Allred was taken out of context and being pushed by the Republican party in an effort to dissuade voters from voting for Talarico. This is because Talarico has a much better chance to win because Texas will not elect a "black female" Senator - much too racist. It won't work because the black community is not easily manipulated - they have dealt with these tactics for decades.

[Torchlight]

81. Creative assertions.

Good luck

[orangecrush]

84. "You all on DU"?

Enjoy yourself.

[Wiz Imp]

91. He neither talked about low SAT scores nor said he "can't read like black people"

[Wiz Imp]

93. Wow. Good job doing MAGA's work for them

He didn't say anything like what you claim he said, yet you are passing along the racist bullshit the right wing is feeding their cult members (never mind that it isn't true).

[W_HAMILTON]

114. So were Biden's various comments and yet...

...as """upset""" as rightwingers and some of the terminally online left feigned being, actual black voters supported the man in droves, both during the primary and the general.

[wolfie001]

76. One of the quotes on that post summed this whole "waste of time debate" up succinctly

"Everyone keeps missing the point that he's telling the audience that he's not better than anyone."

[yardwork]

82. What is a "Black Audience?"

[walkingman]

83. I assume an audience that is predominately Black.

[yardwork]

89. I've never seen Audience capitalized like that before.

Seems sort of suspect to me.

[walkingman]

107. Interesting question - I looked it up...

If the word "Audience" is capitalized in addition to "Black" (e.g., Black Audience), it usually indicates that "Black Audience" is being used as a proper noun for a specific, defined, and targeted demographic group in a marketing, media, or sociological context.

[EYESORE 9001]

10. Here's a brief glimpse of the crowd

Seems more diverse than RW hypocrites would have us believe.

Link to tweet

[lostincalifornia]

11. I seriously doubt he meant it in the way the press and the social media addicts will try to exploit it. If he decides

to run for President, assuming he would win the nomination, if this is the issue that causes people not to vote for him......

Then no wonder we have a two term president who tried to over-throw the government, is strongly implicated in pedophile entanglements with epstein, and a host of otherwise questionable if not outright illegal activities.

The wisdom of the American populace never fails to underwhelm me.

[Mysterian]

14. Precisely

He was intentionally misquoted.

[Wanderlust988]

16. What is the misquote?

[Mysterian]

56. Read your own links much?

Maybe look up the definition of misquote. I'm not your teacher.

[Wiz Imp]

94. See post #28

[Melon]

19. Uhhhh....thats exactly what he said.

[Wiz Imp]

28. Wrong. Leaves out most of what he said.

His full statement (I highlighted his supposed "exact" quote):

“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, 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 (pauses) a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be in.

Funny how I see a bunch of words in between the highlights.

[leftstreet]

32. Oh wow

Thanks for that

Sadly, I think any other politician might have been able to pull that off. But with his (and his media team's) experience, SOMEONE should have flagged that.

[Scrivener7]

96. BOT those words are there! He said them! He also said "I like you! I want to date you!"

OK, the "I want to date you" was said with his eyes. BOT he said them!

[MustLoveBeagles]

106. So this is a nothingburger

Thanks for posting this

[Torchlight]

30. Omission of relevant context seems dishonest at best.

Good luck

[Wiz Imp]

36. It's not just context. That supposed "exact" quote edits out a bunch of words in between each sentence.

see post 28

[Wanderlust988]

15. Newsom can't afford to turn off Black people, unlike Trump.

Not a good recipe for 2028. I think he needs to clean up what he said. I'm black and I'm offended. It's an offensive statement, period full-stop. I don't need white people to tell me what's offensive and what is not.

I did not say I would not support him. However, it's disturbing he said that cause it really almost tells you what he REALLY thinks of black people in his mind.

[lostincalifornia]

39. I am not referring to anyone HERE at DU, but talking generally about the voting public. I have doubts he could win

the primary, let alone a general election in the way the country is today.

VP Harris lost critical swing states because of that all or nothing approach, especially with voters sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. The irony though is that VP Harris outlined a specific plan to force a ceasefire, release of all hostages, get the principle parties back to the negotiating table for a two state solution, and rebuild Gaza. Trump also told everyone what his plans were in January 2025. Take ownership of Gaza, resettle Palestinians out of Gaza, and make it the "Riviera of the Middle East".

From all appearances it looks like the two-state solution is gone for the foreseeable future, and the future for of the Palestinians is even more uncertain if that is possible.

African Americans voters since FDR have been historically voted Democratic. In 2024 that still held, except that there was a shift where among young African American males, where up to 10% of that demographic actually voted for trump. In addition, Labor split the vote, Hispanic Americans split the vote, and women didn't come out in the numbers expected.

and here we are today.

As for a politicians words, the same thing can be said about Representative Ilhan Omar, and some of her statements, though some here had no problem with those statements and implications.

So what is my point? What is their record on the issues? It is pretty clear what trump and his administration record is. Trump's administration has and is actively trying to remove exhibits and signs related to slavery and other historical topics from federal sites, national parks, etc. through executive orders. According to him taking about slavery is "partisan" ideology. The reality is that it is part of the history of our country, and like most autocrats he is trying to wipe that history from the public.

None of this should be a surprise though because trump told us exactly what he was. Did people not believe him, did they not care, or worse, did they agree with him. The philosopher George Santanyana said it perfectly, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it"

Because of what happened in 2024, and the make-up of the Supreme Court from the elections of 2016 and 2024, the odds that there will be a quick reversal of the damage done by trump and his administration are not very good.

[Kingofalldems]

41. Should we give up?

[walkingman]

79. I can understand your sensitivity but I honestly think you are reading too much into it. ☮

[3catwoman3]

60. "The wisdom of the American populace never fails to underwhelm me."

Ain't that the damn truth.

We are a nation of morons in far too many ways. Not in all ways, and not all of us, but in too many ways and enough of us to be both harmful and embarrassing.

[harumph]

17. He was misquoted - true - but there are better ways to convey what he wanted to say.

[Melon]

20. How was he misquoted?

[Wiz Imp]

29. See Post 28. Extremely selectively edited.

[Dave says]

21. I'd have trouble supporting someone who scored 960 on his SAT. We need our brightest in leadership

Last edited Mon Feb 23, 2026, 01:42 PM - Edit history (1)

(Speaking as someone who scored 1500 in the mid-seventies, 740 verbal 760 math. My memory may be failing in old age, but for some reason I can still remember numbers pretty precisely.)

ON EDIT: You know what I'd like to see? a Newsom/AOC ticket. Gavin can always surround himself with bright minds. But his charisma, his empathy, his kindness make up for any deficit due to his dyslexia. I really could get behind that ticket.

[Wanderlust988]

23. I'm still figuring out why he thinks it's such a flex that he scored a 960?

I would not even admit to that. And yes, I want my presidents to be smart and intellectual. I want them to be smarter than me. We don't need anymore dufuses like Trump.

[BannonsLiver]

65. I'm still figuring out why supposed Democrats amplify items from the RWNJ aligned media fever swamp.

Guess some folks get their news from the Post and thirsty Nikki Minaj’s Instagram feed.

[Whyisthisstillclose]

31. Yes, the SAT scores of a dyslexic are super important. Never mind policies or years of success.

[Dave says]

34. "I'd have trouble" is not the same thing as "super important"

It means I need to learn more about Gavin. Leading California I think establishes he is quite capable. But has he made significant errors? Supported super rich interests over the interests of the whole of his contingency? Announcing a 960 SAT score raises a small red flag. Was he pandering to his audience? Shows negative bias toward them. Just means, again, that I need to learn more about Newsom.

We don't want to elect another damaging president because he seems to know how to handle social media and project his ample charisma. The other side did that with Trump. But we need to nominate the winner!

[BannonsLiver]

38. Oh wow, 1500. How was your presidency?

I must have missed it.

[Dave says]

40. I lack the charisma

(I was an IT director for many years. I was tolerated even though I'd walk in to work anywhere between 10 am to 1 pm. I must have been able to provide substantial value. Why else would they keep me?)

[Torchlight]

58. Sounds serious

Good luck

[usedtobedemgurl]

75. It may not be a sign of how intelligent he is.

He may be able to score much higher but I imagine it is really hard with dyslexia. You have to be smart to run one of the world’s largest economies.

[Dave says]

112. And it turns out it was mostly a rightwing smear

I fell for it

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221043173

[marble falls]

22. Here's another link for you. It's important to get the the background for context of the comment ...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1086296X12439998

His wording was clumsy and awkward, he was saying he's like most people white or black and that he's no smarter than anybody else. 960 SAT is average. And most average Americans are not good readers.

[Wanderlust988]

24. He was not speaking to white people. He speaking to a black audience.

If he said that to a white audience in Marin County, I'd be cool with it. But he did not.

[Swede]

55. It was a mixed race audience.

You can edit your post or delete it.

[Wiz Imp]

95. 100% wrong. The video shows the audience was majority white.

[Scrivener7]

113. Here's what he said:

“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, 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 (pauses) a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be in.

Now what's your problem with that?

You should really stop this. It isn't fooling anyone.

[MichMan]

57. George Carlin quote comes to mind

[usonian]

26. In fairness, that quote was blind.

Translation: pulled out of someone's ass.

Gavin didn't say that. Who did?

Gov. Newsom to a black crowd in GA: "I am like you. I'm a 960 SAT guy. I can't read."

Saying "you" without qualifying who "you" are could be amplifying RW trolls.

Please qualify it or get alerted.

Accuracy matters here, even if nowhere else on earth. Saying "you" can be inclusive but most often isn't. Depends on who you EXACTLY are.

[Whyisthisstillclose]

27. Oh, ffs. Clumsy, yes. Awkward, yes. Racist? Take a fucking pill.

[CTyankee]

33. Why did he feel compelled to say that at all? What was the point?

Perhaps he needs some help framing his dyslexia, if he wants to talk about it.

[Scrivener7]

102. Wiz Imp has the actual quote. Newsom didn't say anything like that.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=21041465

[MenloParque]

35. 960/2400??

Back then wasn't the SAT 2400 total unlike 1600 nowadays? This can't be. Yikes.

[Sympthsical]

42. Nah, they changed it to 2400 back in 2005

And everyone hated it, so they changed it back to 1600 ten years later.

[Wiz Imp]

97. You have it completely backwards

[BannonsLiver]

37. Total nothingburger as usual.

The cope and seethe from a few folks is endlessly entertaining. I’m here for it.

[Kingofalldems]

43. Not a good try there.

[Scrivener7]

62. It never is. And yet he perseveres. Gotta give him that, I guess.

[JoseBalow]

44. This is a bullshit hit job on Newsom. You should delete this fabricated attack

Shame

[obamanut2012]

46. It wasn't a "black audience"

And he was discussing his dyslexia.

Again, it was not a "black crowd."

[Torchlight]

48. I hope you'll take the time to read his message in full

rather than focusing only on the portions that support a particular narrative while ignoring the rest.

[betsuni]

53. A Democrat admits dyslexia -- uh oh, can someone who can't read be bashed as an out-of-touch elite? WORLDS COLLIDE.

Quick! Try the "Democrats are the REAL racists!" attack, that's the ticket!

[OC375]

54. Yikes!

Change the self-deprecating subject and words around a bit, and say that to your significant other. See how they take it. My guess is you get a range of responses.

[Cirsium]

59. Highly misleading

Either you didn't see the entire exchange or you are intentionally misleading us. Either way this OP is inappropriate.

He do not tell Black people that he is like them because he got a low test score.

[Scrivener7]

61. Have you gotten over the horrors of AOC saying "um" a few times in her speech last week?

These things seem to worry you a lot. You shouldn't do that to yourself. It isn't good for you.

[ananda]

63. Uh oh. That's bad.

And truly idiotic.

[BannonsLiver]

67. Can you say that again, only more directly.

[ananda]

85. LOL.

Was I too harsh?

[Wiz Imp]

98. The "exact" quote he posted is not close to his real statement.

See post #28

[ananda]

101. OK, I see.

Thank you.

Big apology to everyone.

[Aviation Pro]

66. Is he a pedophile?

No? Then I don’t fucking care.

[lostincalifornia]

69. That is only a requirement for being a republican, or so it seems so, the way they go out of their way to cover for the

current guy in the WH.

[gulliver]

68. Identity-blindness, identity-deafness, and identity-muteness.

I actually think Newsom will parlay this misquote and the mischaracterization of the crowd as a "black crowd" into some high-profile podcast appearances. He's a gifted speaker. His lines got a laugh from the crowd.

As we get more and more of these "clip attacks" containing "quotes" that aren't quotes, I'm hoping we'll all get tired of saying identity words altogether. They're just landmines. Saying them out loud all the time for "reasons" was always dumb.

[Sympthsical]

70. This is an extremely upsetting story

Because it has put me, a Californian who doesn't particularly care for Newsom and don't want him to be the nominee, in the incredibly awkward and uncomfortable position of defending him from what is a baseless, idiotic smear that can be debunked in ten seconds with a single google search.

The audacity to make me, a chronic kitchen grumbler about Newsom, go out there and stick up for him is now a topic I'll have to take out on my therapist. We were going to discuss why I'm simultaneously fascinated and annoyed by Connor Storie, but no. Now I have to talk about feeling protective of Gavin Newsom.

So real good job spreading this rank dishonesty around in such a link-free a fashion.

Week. Ruined.

[Pisces]

71. Watched the video and this is a made up outrage.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

72. .

[wolfie001]

77. Tempest in a teapot

[Scrivener7]

105. Also a bare-faced lie. Here's the actual quote:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=21041465

[fujiyamasan]

86. Why make an assumption about the audience's SAT score in the first place?

It’s a democratic audience in Atlanta. It’s bound to be largely black. Especially given the right’s newfound embrace of eugenics and race based intelligence, I’m not sure what he was attempting here. Poor attempt at humor or trying to be endearing?

[Wiz Imp]

99. It was NOT a predominately black audience.

[Scrivener7]

104. And he didn't say anything like what the OP is saying he said. Wiz Imp has the actual quote in his post above.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=21041465

[ecstatic]

88. Yikes but skimming the comments

It looks like maybe he wasn't directing it to a black audience and maybe his "you" was referring to the general population.

First, let's be clear, SAT scores aren't really a reliable indicator of intelligence due to the massive test prep industry surrounding it. On other standardized tests where nobody had a chance to prepare ahead of time, I always scored in the top 1 to 3%.

For the SAT, I didn't do any fancy prep and I scored around 1300. At that time, that score fell into the top 8% - 11% in the country, which means the average score was a lot lower. I assume the average score was probably around 1,000?

I think his comments were a gaffe, but unless he was speaking to mensa members, his comments would apply to any general audience, especially now that studies suggest that 54% of adults read below the 6th-grade level. If he falls into that category as well then that would make him different from other politicians who attended ivy league schools.

Don't get me wrong, I really like Newsom. Despite the gaffe, I think he is a gifted speaker and very in tune with what's going on although he's probably mentally and physically exhausted as well. The GOP has been working on discrediting him for years and they've succeeded to a certain extent.

[Wiz Imp]

103. The OP's quote was close to being entirely made up.

See post #28 to see the real quote and how dishonest the OP was. For the record, he mentioned SAT scores in the context of talking about his dyslexia. 960 is/was about average. It also was NOT a "black audience". At least one person said he was responding to an individual which is why he said "you". He never came close to saying "black people have low SAT Scores" or "black people can't read". He said he (himself, Gavin Newsom) can't read SPEECHES (again, clearly referring to his dyslexia).

[Kingofalldems]

108. I thought these 'bad things about Democrats' posts were over.

I see they are not over at all.

[Scrivener7]

111. Can you believe the gall of these people to create a complete and provable lie and think no one will notice?

Also, is it just me or are they coming here from the same source?

[GJGCA]

110. Well, Gavin's just this guy, you know?