As California Gov. Gavin Newsom works through a recent stretch of controversies, he’s turned his attention to criticizing President Donald Trump following the United States and Israel’s joint missile strikes on Iran.
During a speaking event in San Francisco on Saturday night to promote his new book, Newsom said Trump is “historically unpopular” and “doubled down on stupid” during last week’s State of the Union address. Newsom also referred to Trump as “reckless” as the U.S. confirmed the deaths of several Iranian leaders, most notably Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Donald Trump has lied to the American people,” Newsom wrote on X. “His reckless, illegal war has no description of an end game. No explanation of an existential threat.”
Trump had not responded to Newsom as of publication.
Donald Trump has lied to the American people. His reckless, illegal war has no description of an end game. No explanation of an existential threat. pic.twitter.com/JA9otoHNUD
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 1, 2026
Newsom’s comments came as the governor battles through several problems of his own. During a speaking engagement in Georgia last weekend, Newsom told Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the crowd, “I’m just like you,” when discussing his struggles with reading and his low test scores. Newsom has frequently mentioned his dyslexia throughout his book tour, even quipping that he might be in the wrong business as a politician who does not use the teleprompter.
However, because Dickens is Black and the event had a sizable Black crowd, many — including rapper Nicki Minaj and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — interpreted Newsom’s remarks as racially charged. Newsom and his communications team, including spokesperson Izzy Gardon, accused the MAGA community of using Newsom’s comments to manufacture outrage on social media.
Newsom and Fox News host Sean Hannity later traded profanity-laced barbs on X during the controversy.
Further issues arose when Gardon went viral after cursing at veteran political reporter Susan Crabtree over an email. Crabtree shared that she had reached out to the Newsom team asking for proof of the governor’s dyslexia, citing conflicting comments he made regarding when he was specifically diagnosed.
“Is there anything the governor can point to as proof of this?” Crabtree asked. “If the early paperwork is not available, is there any evidence of a more recent dyslexia diagnosis he can provide?”
End game: Iranian people take over.
Existential threat: mullahs with nukes.
What part of that didn’t you get? https://t.co/USxFMrkFE9
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) March 1, 2026
Gardon replied, “Respectfully, [expletive] off.” He later called her a “MAGA blogger taking a break from Bigfoot and UFO conspiracies” in an X post.
Newsom faced additional backlash when his appearance in a 1991 photo captioned “Children of the Rich” went viral once again. The image originated in a feature story for the San Francisco Chronicle when Newsom was a 24-year-old co-owner of a wine shop. Newsom has repeatedly mentioned his family’s financial issues growing up, yet he’d previously referenced his father working as an attorney for billionaire Gordon Getty.
In fact, the Chronicle story — which the newspaper spotlighted following Newsom’s 2018 gubernatorial victory — included images of Newsom with two of Getty’s sons in a feature titled “A New Generation Makes Its Mark: Society kids take up endeavors outside the expected realm.”
Newsom joins New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar among the more prominent Democrats who have been critical of Trump following the missile strikes. Tlaib also called Israel “genocidal” in multiple widely-condemned X posts on Saturday.
