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President Donald Trump on Monday questioned California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fitness for higher office, citing his learning disability.
Trump was speaking with reporters in the Oval Office when he talked about requiring identification to vote in elections and the resistance from Newsom and other Democratic elected officials.
“That’s how crazy it’s gotten with a low IQ person, you know, because Gavin Newsom has admitted…that he has learning disabilities,” Trump said. “Honestly, I’m all for people with learning disabilities. But not for my president…I think a president should not have learning disabilities.”
GAVIN NEWSOM SPOX TELLS REPORTER ‘F— OFF’ WHEN ASKED FOR RECORDS OF HIS DYSLEXIA DIAGNOSIS
California Gov. Gavin Newsom might have offended his voters while trying to relate to them in a cringeworthy attempt to talk about his moderate level of intelligence. (Tayfun Coskun/Getty Images)
“I know it’s highly controversial to say such a horrible thing,” he added. “Gavin Newsom admitted that he has learning disabilities, dyslexia. Everything about him is dumb.”
Newsom, who is widely believed to have White House ambitions, has spoken about his dyslexia, a neurologically-based learning disability that makes it difficult to read, according to the International Dyslexia Association.
“You’ve never seen me read a speech, because I cannot read a speech,” Newsom said in Atlanta last month while promoting his memoir: “Young Man in a Hurry.” “I haven’t overcome dyslexia. I’m living with it.”
Trump also criticized Newsom for his remarks at that same Atlanta event.
“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,” Newsom told Mayor Andre Dickens at a book tour event.
NEWSOM RIPPED FOR ‘RACIST’ VIRAL CLIP TELLING BLACK MAYOR ‘I’M LIKE YOU’ BEFORE TOUTING POOR SAT SCORE
President Donald Trump questioned California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fitness for the White House, citing his dyslexia, which the Democratic elected official has spoken openly about. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“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,’” he continued. “Literally a 960 SAT guy, you’ve never seen me read a speech. Because I cannot read a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be in.”
Republicans criticized the governor for allegedly talking down to a mostly Black audience.
“So now, on top of everything else, I call him a racist because it happened to be a black audience,” Trump said Monday. “I will tell you this, I think it was the worst interview I’ve ever seen of any human being in my life.”
At the time, Newsom’s office defended his comments in a previous statement to Fox News Digital.
“First MAGA mocked his dyslexia and now they’re calling him racist for talking about his low SAT scores. This is MAGA-manufactured outrage,” Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon said.
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“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.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom’s office.
