Newsom’s Racist Gaffe: California Governor Tells Black Mayor He’s “Like You” Because of Low SAT Score
California Governor Gavin Newsom just committed what may be the most stunningly tone-deaf act of liberal condescension in recent political memory—telling a black elected official that a mediocre SAT score makes them kindred spirits.
During a weekend book promotion event in Atlanta, Newsom looked directly at Mayor Andre Dickens and declared: “I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you, ‘I’m like you. I’m not better than you.’ I’m a 960 SAT guy.”
Let that sink in. The privileged son of California political royalty genuinely believed this would resonate.
The Damning Statistics Newsom Ignored
Here’s what makes this verbal disaster so catastrophic: The average SAT score for black test-takers is 907 out of 1600, according to College Board data. White test-takers average 1083.
Newsom scored 960—and somehow thought this mediocre performance qualified him to bond with African Americans over shared intellectual struggles.
This is the “soft bigotry of low expectations” personified. This is what happens when coastal elites think pandering equals empathy.
The Privilege Newsom Won’t Acknowledge
The governor’s entire narrative reeks of manufactured hardship. He claims his 960 SAT was the mark of an underdog who only got into Santa Clara University on a baseball scholarship.
What he conveniently omits: He received a personal letter of recommendation from two-time California Governor Jerry Brown—the same Jerry Brown who appointed Newsom’s father to a state appellate judgeship.
When confronted about this silver spoon admission ticket, Newsom dismissed it as “not relevant at all.” Of course he did. Acknowledging privilege would undermine his carefully constructed victim mythology.
The Backlash He Richly Deserves
The response has been swift and merciless.
Senator Ted Cruz nailed it: This is textbook liberal racism dressed up as relatability. Political scientist Carol M. Swain called it exactly what it is—”Liberal racism on display.”
Representative Randy Fine pulled no punches: “Gavin Newsom just said he is like a black person because he got a bad SAT score and can’t read. It’s so disgusting, I can’t come up with something witty.”
Even Nicki Minaj eviscerated him: “His way of bonding with black ppl is to tell them how stupid he is & that he can’t read. He’s been handed so many things & put in high positions he never earned or deserved.”
The Pattern of Progressive Arrogance
This isn’t an isolated incident. This is the Democratic playbook laid bare.
Newsom represents everything wrong with modern progressivism—inherited wealth masquerading as working-class grit, political connections rebranded as merit, and patronizing assumptions about minority communities packaged as solidarity.
He genuinely cannot comprehend why telling a successful black mayor “I’m just like you because I’m also not that smart” might be offensive. The awareness gap is staggering.
What This Reveals About 2028
If Newsom proceeds with his widely anticipated presidential run, this moment will haunt him. It should.
Voters deserve leaders who view Americans as individuals, not demographic categories to be condescended to during book tours. They deserve candidates who earned their achievements rather than coasting on family connections while pretending otherwise.
They certainly don’t need another coastal elite who thinks a below-average test score creates common ground with entire racial communities.
The Reckoning
Newsom’s remarks expose the fundamental rot at the heart of progressive identity politics. The assumption that shared mediocrity—or perceived mediocrity—creates racial solidarity is insulting to everyone involved.
Atlanta’s mayor didn’t need Gavin Newsom to validate his intelligence or accomplishments. Nobody asked for this cringe-inducing display of false humility.
What Americans actually need are leaders who judge people by the content of their character and the quality of their work—not governors who assume low expectations are the pathway to minority voters’ hearts.
Newsom can write all the memoirs he wants about his manufactured struggles. The American people see through the performance. They understand the difference between genuine connection and calculated pandering.
This wasn’t bridge-building. It wasbridge-burning. And no amount of damage control can walk back what he revealed about his true assumptions.
The emperor has no clothes—and apparently, no common sense either.
