President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom spent Wednesday trading increasingly brutal insults on everything from fading looks to declining mental capacity.
The back-and-forth eventually saw Trump posting a long screed on Truth Social, calling Newsom “racist,” and taking aim at the 58-year-old’s dyslexia, which he talked about in his memoir, Young Man in A Hurry, released last month. It revealed he was diagnosed with dyslexia at age five.
Newsom had spent the earlier part of the day criticizing Trump and his administration on social media. That included mocking Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was photographed in an ill-fitting pair of Trump’s beloved Florsheim shoes. “Maybe Trump just assumes everyone else has swollen ankles,” the Press Office account posted.
Trump, 79, began his swipes at Newsom, 58, during a rally in Kentucky on Wednesday. The president used his trademark insult “Gavin Newscum” and told his supporters he wanted to “get off the teleprompter” to go rogue with his insults.
“We’re talking about Gavin Newscum,” he said.
“It doesn’t seem like a very good subject right now. It made that young lady not feel so good,” he said, referring to an earlier medical episode that saw a woman in the audience faint.
Trump continued, “Anyway, he admitted he has mental problems, that he’s not a smart person, that he is mental... a mental lack of ability.”
He alleged that Newsom was “unable to read a speech. He can’t read. And all of the other things he said, he said he has mental problems.”
Trump then claimed a reporter had “attacked” him by asking what was wrong with admitting to mental health problems, referring to his dyslexia.
“I said nothing’s wrong with it,” Trump said, “but I don’t want the President of the United States to have a cognitive deficiency. Right?”
His audience cheered, then Trump continued, “When he admitted this I said, ‘I think he just lost the Democrat nomination, what do I know?’ I’m for everybody but when it comes to president you gotta be sharp. You gotta be sharp as hell.”
Newsom’s Press Office account fired back on X afterwards. “Grandpa’s talking about himself again. We wish him well — it’s never too late to seek mental treatment."
Minutes later, Newsom posted the video on his own account with the succinct comment that it was “too late” for Trump to complain about a president with a cognitive deficiency, referencing Trump’s own many public gaffes.
Newsom has done many interviews to promote the book, but has spoken positivity about being dyslexic. He told CNN it he actually considered it a “superpower” and in hindsight was the “greatest thing” to happen to him.
“You have an emotional intelligence,” Newsom said. “I do think it’s a superpower... some of the most dynamic and extraordinary leaders that I know all have one thing in common, dyslexia. It’s almost as if it’s the sort of the creative gene.”
Trump continued his attacks in a Truth Social post later Wednesday, referencing an unnamed recent Newsom interview “weeks ago.”
Trump said it was “the most self destructive” one he had seen and again repeated “he took himself out” as a potential presidential nominee.
“He said, in a speech, he was dumb, had low Boards, can’t read, has dyslexia, and has a mental disorder — A Cognitive Mess!," Trump said of Newsom. “On top of that, Black People are angry because he is obviously a racist.’
The president seemed to be referencing an interview Newsom did in Atlanta last month to promote his memoir, where he said of his low educational score, “I’m a 960 SAT guy. You’ve never seen me read a speech. Because I cannot read a speech.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House to clarify which interview on Newsom’s press tour for his memoir the president was reacting to.
Trump’s post continued, “While we all want to be politically correct, having a mental disorder is not a positive campaign event. Also, this was a politically suicidal act.”
The president said the only thing Newsom didn’t say in his interview was that “he is losing his look [sic], but nobody wants to say that about one’s self. He is no longer a viable Presidential Candidate!”
Less than an hour later, Newsom shared Trump’s post. “I spoke about my dyslexia. I know that’s hard for a brain-dead moron who bombs children and protects pedophiles to understand.” When asked for comment, the White House referred the Daily Beast to Trump’s original Truth Social post.
The Daily Beast has contacted reps for Newsom for comment.
