California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing accusations of racism after using his SAT score to try to relate to a Black elected official.
The remarks
He told Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens at a Sunday event promoting his memoir that he was a “960 SAT guy” and was trying to show he was like them, not superior.
Newsom followed with a disclaimer and joked that he could not read a speech and was not trying to offend anyone.
Video of the exchange circulated online and produced immediate backlash.
College Board data from 2024 shows the average SAT score for Black or African-American test takers was 907 out of 1600 while white participants averaged 1083.
Newsom is a 1989 graduate of Santa Clara University and says he got in largely because of a partial baseball scholarship.
He has also addressed questions about a recommendation from Jerry Brown and told the New York Times that baseball, not anything else, was the ticket to Santa Clara.
Political fallout
Republicans and high-profile critics pounced on the remarks.
Rep. Randy Fine wrote on X that Newsom had likened himself to a Black person due to a bad SAT score and accused him of claiming he “can’t read.”
Sen. Ted Cruz said the comments reflected “the soft bigotry of low expectations” and shared a post calling it “Liberal racism on display.”
Rapper Nicki Minaj criticized Newsom on X, saying his method of bonding with Black people was to call himself stupid and assert he had been handed many things and placed in positions he did not earn.
Conservative podcaster Stephen L. Miller mocked Newsom with an image from the film The Jerk.
Gov. Newsom to a black crowd in GA: “I am like you. I’m a 960 SAT guy. I can’t read.” pic.twitter.com/4Gk0WKbIYz
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 23, 2026
Newsom posted video of the event on X on Monday morning and highlighted that the audience was not entirely Black.
His office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The controversy has raised fresh questions among conservatives and Republican opponents about his 2028 viability.
