Newsom’s Response to Dyslexia Inquiry Raises Eyebrows

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s communications team had a sharp reaction to a reporter’s request for evidence regarding his reported dyslexia diagnosis.

The request followed criticism from Fox News’ Sean Hannity, who took aim at Newsom for referencing low SAT scores to resonate with voters in predominantly Black neighborhoods. RealClearPolitics political correspondent Susan Crabtree subsequently contacted Newsom’s office, which is funded by taxpayer money, seeking clarification.

“If you score 960 on your SAT, you think you ‘look’ like” Black Americans. Understand that,” wrote Hannity. In response, Newsom acknowledged his “lifelong battle with dyslexia” during his rebuttal.

Crabtree aimed to clarify discrepancies in Newsom’s timeline regarding when he became aware of his diagnosis. She pointed out that he previously claimed to have found documents about his father’s dyslexia after his father’s death in 2018, while also stating he was diagnosed in 1972 at the age of 5 or 6.

“Does the governor have anything to prove this?” she inquired.

Izzy Gurdon, Newsom’s communications director, responded to Crabtree with a curt message, saying, “Hi Susan, thank you for reaching out to me. With all due respect, stop now.”

Newsom has previously spoken about his struggles with dyslexia, noting that it still affects his reading abilities. “There are some things I can’t do. If I can’t do it, I’m in the wrong job. I mean, I can’t read very well. Every time I have to give a speech…it’s hard because I can’t read the script,” he remarked in a 2017 interview.

He described using a teleprompter as “terribly difficult.”

Interestingly, in a different context in April, he mentioned finishing a 350-page book in just two hours, a feat requiring playback speeds of 5.5 times the normal rate. “It was a quick read in an hour and a half, almost two hours,” he said, adding, “Trust me, I don’t read very fast, but it goes by incredibly fast.”

When asked by Crabtree if Gurdon had shown her similar disrespect, she recalled a previous encounter where he labeled her “delusional” regarding claims about Newsom’s brief and undocumented college baseball career.

Blaze News attempted to reach out to Gurdon for more context regarding Crabtree’s queries and supporting documents for Newsom’s diagnosis but received a flippant response indicating a lack of interest in engaging further.