Cornel West slams Gavin Newsom for saying he can relate to black Americans because he performed poorly on his SATs

West said on X, "Brother Newsom could’ve taken a humanistic approach! He could’ve said, 'I’m just like you. I was born of a woman. I’ll face loss, pain, and death just like anyone else.' But instead, when he thinks of Black people, he brings up low SAT scores. That mindset sits at the core of white supremacy—the belief that Black people are less beautiful, less moral, less intelligent! Don’t play with us like that @CAgovernor!!"

Smiley played a clip of Newsom in which the California governor said, "I'm no better than you. 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, but literally, a 960 SAT guy I cannot. You've never seen me read a speech, because I cannot read a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be. You know, my dyslexia. I haven't overcome dyslexia. I'm living with it."

"When he thinks of black people, he thinks of lower SATs," West told Smiley after they played the clip of Newsom speaking to a largely black crowd in Georgia during his book tour for his memoir "Young Man in a Hurry."

"We see that in the Trump administration too," West said, "that's what the vicious attack on DEI was., it was the low SAT. That's one of the core pillars of white supremacy. We are less beautiful, we're less moral and we’re less intelligent. Don't play with us like that."

Newsom's social media team was on high alert following the criticism of their boss as essentially racist. Staffer Izzy Gordon lashed out at a reporter, telling her to "f*ck off" when she inquired about Newsom's dyslexia.

"First MAGA mocked his dyslexia and now they’re calling him racist for talking about his low SAT scores," Gordon said to another. "The governor has said this publicly for years — including with [the late conservative commentator] Charlie Kirk and dozens of other audiences."

Newsom responded to Fox News host Sean Hannity, who noted that Newsom "Thinks a 960 SAT Makes Him 'Like' Black Americans."

"You didn’t give a shit about the President of the United States of America posting an ape video of President Obama or calling African nations shitholes — but you’re going to call me racist for talking about my lifelong struggle with dyslexia? Spare me your fake f*cking outrage, Sean," Newsom said.

A Trump staffer shared a video clip that contained a few seconds auto-playing of the next video, which showed the unfortunate comparison to the former President and First Lady. Democrats have claimed this was intentionally racist.

West, a Harvard professor and black activist, ran for president in 2024 on the No Labels ticket. Democrats were concerned that he could have earned votes that otherwise may have been cast for incumbent President Joe Biden.