A spokesman for California Gov. Gavin Newsom made clear there is a right way and a wrong way to cover the governor. After award-winning RealClearPolitics Reporter Susan Crabtree simply asked for documentation confirming the governor’s dyslexia, the spokesman told her to “f-ck off.”
Newsom drew criticism after telling the black governor of Atlanta — in an attempt to relate to him — that he is “just like” him because he “cannot read a speech” and scored a 960 on the SAT. Following swift backlash, Newsom lashed out, claiming anyone calling him racist was disingenuous because he was “talking about my lifelong struggle with dyslexia.”
Notably, Newsom posted a photo of himself “reading some banned books” in 2022, undermining his claim that his comments about not being able to read were literal and relevant to dyslexia. In another instance, Newsom apparently claimed he read a book of more than 300 pages in less than two hours.
As any good journalist would do, Crabtree inquired with Newsom’s office about whether there is any documentation confirming Newsom’s diagnosis — something prudent to do given Newsom’s own aforementioned posts undermining such a claim.
“I know any type of learning disability is very sensitive. But I also see that Gov. Newsom and his press team have been using the diagnosis to hit back at Sean Hannity and other critics in the wake of Newsom’s comments over the weekend that he had his 960 [SAT score] so ‘I’m like you,’ which he said to a black moderator.”
“Gov. Newsom has claimed that he found the paperwork from his childhood about his dyslexia after his father died in 2018,” Crabtree continued. “If that’s the case, does he have it so he can demonstrate that he was given a dyslexia diagnosis early on in his childhood?”
Crabtree noted that Newsom has previously said he was diagnosed with dyslexia in 1972, when he was 5 or 6 years old, and she asked for proof of that as well. “Any information you provide, I can distribute it immediately on X to combat critics who are doubting the diagnosis,” Crabtree offered.
Newsom’s director of communications, Izzy Gardon, responded to Crabtree: “Hey, Susan — thanks for reaching out. Respectfully, f-ck off.”
Gardon then doubled down on the unprofessional response, posting on X: “A MAGA blogger taking a break from Bigfoot and UFO conspiracies wants to audit the Governor’s childhood medical records. Now she’s upset we told her to f-ck off.”
Crabtree did not accuse Newsom of fabricating his diagnosis. In fact, she offered to help “combat critics” who doubt the diagnosis. She provided Newsom with an opportunity to substantiate his own claim after he injected the dyslexia discussion into the conversation as a defense of his racially charged comments. It would have been an opportunity for Newsom to quell any doubts — especially given that his own posts seem to cast a shadow of doubt on his dyslexia defense.
But Gardon’s reaction speaks louder than any documentation could provide. Reporters who ask the governor’s office uncomfortable but reasonable questions are met with hostility and disdain.
As The Washington Times National Politics correspondent Susan Ferrechio asked on X, “who qualifies as a reporter worthy of non-abusive responses from the communications team[?]”
If Gardon’s answer is any explanation, the answer is only reporters who coddle Newsom instead of asking him real questions.
