Scott rips Newsom for saying ‘I’m like you’ before quoting low SAT score to Atlanta crowd

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — U.S. Sen. Tim Scott took exception with comments California Gov. Gavin Newsom made while speaking with a Black elected official over the weekend.

Newsom, when talking to Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and a gathered crowd as part of a book tour for his new memoir “Young Man in a Hurry,” urged that he was no different than other everyday Americans before quoting his SAT score.

“I’m not trying to impress you, I’m just trying to impress upon you, ‘I’m like you,” Newsom said. “‘I’m like you. I’m not better than you.’ I’m a 960 SAT guy.”

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A clip from Newsom’s remarks was later shared by “End Wokeness,” a right-wing social media account, which insinuated that Newsom was telling the crowd — presumed to be Black — that he, like them, “can’t read.” Sen. Scott then criticized the presumed 2028 presidential candidate.

“Black Americans aren’t your low bar,” Scott wrote in a statement. “We’ve built empires, created movements, outworked, outhustled and outsmarted people like you. Stop using your mediocre academics as a way to patronize communities.”

Newsom defended his remarks, saying he was speaking from personal experience with a learning disability. The California Democrat also criticized Republicans for what he called “fake outrage,” noting they did not object when a video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as primates was shared on President Donald Trump’s social media account.

“You didn’t give a s— about the president of the United States posting an ape video of President Obama or referring to African nations as ‘s—holes,’ but you’re going to call me racist for talking about my lifelong struggle with dyslexia?” Newsom posted on his social media. “Spare me your fake f—— outrage, Sean [Hannity].”

In a separate series of videos, the crowd Newsom spoke before appeared to be diverse in its makeup and not exclusively Black.

Still, Scott, among other Republicans, doubled down on the condemnation of Newsom’s remarks, saying he was stereotyping Black people.

“Sean Hannity is absolutely right! Gavin Newsom suffers from the ‘bigotry of low expectations,’ and I, for one, am tired of Democrats (including the likes of Kathy Hochul and Joe Biden) stereotyping Black people,” Scott said in a separate post.

Newsom, a 1989 graduate of Santa Clara University, was roundly criticized by conservatives.

“Gavin Newsom just said he is like a black person because he got a bad SAT score and can’t read,” said Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican. “I wish I could come up with something witty, but it’s so disgusting, I can’t.”

Music star Nikki Minaj also joined in the criticism, saying Newsom was “bonding with black ppl is to tell them how stupid he is & that he can’t read.”

“Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery,” Newsom’s book, is set to be released on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Newsom stopped by South Carolina on Monday as part of the state party’s efforts to increase voter participation and engagement.