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California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s early days on a national book tour for his new memoir have been accompanied by public disputes over how his personal remarks and political messaging are landing, with critics arguing about racism and allies raising concerns about his language toward Democrats’ priorities.
The AP reported that Newsom began the six-city swing for “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery” as he sought to position himself as a leading Democratic opponent to President Donald Trump and as a candidate prepared to play on the international stage. The book, released Tuesday, emphasizes crafted autobiography and biography more than detailed policy, and the tour has quickly moved into national headlines amid backlash around specific comments made in recent days.
In Atlanta, Newsom drew criticism after comments made Sunday during a conversation with Mayor Andre Dickens, who is Black. Newsom said, “I’m just trying to impress upon you: I’m like you, I’m no better than you, I’m a 960 SAT guy,” referring to a lower-than-average score on the SAT. Republicans said Newsom was disparaging Black people by implying they were not smart, an assertion Newsom and his office denied.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who is Black, posted on social media that “Black Americans aren’t your low bar,” adding, “We’ve built empires, created movements, outworked, outhustled and outsmarted people like you. Stop using your mediocre academics as a way to patronize communities. Its ridiculous!” The AP reported that Newsom’s office responded forcefully to other criticism as well.
Newsom’s office pushed back against Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, accusing him of being indifferent to what the AP described as racist remarks made by Trump and saying Hannity’s comments amounted to fake outrage. Newsom wrote on X: “You’re going to call me racist for talking about my lifelong struggle with dyslexia?” His office said the crowd could be heard laughing and said it was racially diverse.
Dickens, speaking as the event’s host, disputed the interpretation his critics were advancing. He said on Instagram that the exchange “wasn’t an attack on anyone,” describing it instead as “a moment of vulnerability about his own journey,” and he argued that “We’ve gotten so used to loud, chest-pounding politics that when someone speaks about shortcomings, people try to twist it into something else.” Other prominent Black Democrats also defended Newsom, according to the AP.
The dispute has also become political coverage in its own right, drawing reaction from strategists who said the publicity may benefit a presidential candidate despite the controversy. Republican strategist Mike Murphy said in comments to the AP that “At this early stage of the pre-presidential race, just about any publicity is good publicity,” and he added that putting “the spotlight” on Newsom was “invaluable” because Newsom “has a real knack for attracting all the right enemies if you are running for the Democratic presidential nomination.”
The AP also reported that Newsom’s press office later taunted in a social media post about the level of coverage, saying “FOX NEWS IS WALL-TO-WALL COVERAGE OF ME” on a day when Trump’s State of the Union speech was also unfolding.
Separately, Newsom faced pushback from California Democrats tied to remarks made this week about how the party should frame its priorities. In an interview with CNN that aired Monday, Newsom said the Democratic Party needs to be “more culturally normal” and “less prone to spending a disproportionate amount of time on pronouns, identity” while emphasizing energy costs, child care and other “kitchen table issues.”
The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus criticized those comments in a statement, saying: “It’s deeply concerning for anyone, especially our elected leaders, to be defining who or what is ‘culturally normal.’ By definition, it implies someone else is ‘not normal.’” The caucus also wrote that Democrats “cannot adopt the language of MAGA extremists” and said that language followed efforts “in the last year” to roll back the rights of women, LGBTQ+ individuals and other marginalized communities.
Lindsey Cobia, a senior Newsom campaign adviser, defended Newsom and said that he has a long history supporting LGBTQ+ rights. Cobia cited Newsom’s record as mayor and said that “Nobody’s been a bigger supporter of LGBTQ+ rights than Governor Newsom,” adding that when he was mayor he issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples before it was legal.
The AP said it was not the first time Newsom has angered some allies in the LGBTQ+ community. It pointed to remarks from his political podcast last year about transgender athletes participating in women’s sports, which were described as widely viewed as an effort to move Newsom toward the political center. The latest comments, critics said, complicated his effort to broaden his appeal while maintaining support within his coalition.
Newsom’s final two stops on the book tour are in San Francisco and Los Angeles. With a year left in his governorship, some critics argued he should remain focused on state issues, including Holly Baird, a crisis manager quoted by the AP who said, “To go on a book tour when our state is in desperate need of revamping and revisions … its almost comical.”