Gavin Newsom recently condemned Trump and former U.S. Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino for deploying “secret police” in California and “terrorising” communities.
During his appearance at an event in Miami, Florida, to promote his new book Young Man in a Hurry, Newsom discussed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in California, while mentioning a case of a child who was abandoned after his parents disappeared at work amid ICE raids.
“After addressing those issues, I met with this kid in Ventura County whose two parents quite literally disappeared. He didn’t even know how to get back into his home. He’s a young child, no brothers and sisters. He didn’t even know how to feed himself, his mom and dad going to the same meatpacking place they’d been going or vegetable packing for 25 years. They smashed the windows, they disappeared,” explained Newsom.
I met with a kid whose parents disappeared while they were at their jobs of 25 years.
Greg Bovino and Donald Trump’s secret police are terrorizing our communities. pic.twitter.com/7JPA9MXpty
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 14, 2026
During his speech, the 58-year-old also revealed that he began pushing back against Trump following early ICE raids in California, because he could see the communities were “literally on edge, torn asunder.”
“I saw it in the faces of the folks in Southern California, communities that were literally on edge, torn asunder. I’ll never forget, after those early raids that happened again in California first, Greg Bovino in California first, masked men, secret police, no markings, oath of office to the President of the United States, not the Constitution of the United States,” said the Governor.
Gavin Newsom‘s remarks come as Trump took a jab at him over his dyslexia diagnosis, calling the Governor “a cognitive mess.”
“I don’t want the president of the United States to have a cognitive deficiency,” said Trump while speaking about Newsom during his speech in Kentucky previously.
Later, on Wednesday evening, Trump took to his Truth Social handle, criticising the California Governor’s remarks about his dyslexia during a conversation with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens promoting his memoir last month.
“Gavin Newscum’s interview weeks ago was, perhaps, the most self destructive interview I’ve ever seen. In one fell swoop, he took himself out of even being considered as the Presidential Nominee of the Crazy (as proven at the State of the Union Address) Democrats. He said, in a speech, he was dumb, had low Boards, can’t read, has dyslexia, and has a mental disorder — A Cognitive Mess!” wrote Trump.
He further called Newsom a “racist,” and his remarks about his dyslexia a “politically suicidal act,” writing, “On top of that, Black People are angry because he is obviously a racist. 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 only thing he didn’t say is he is losing his look, but nobody wants to say that about one’s self. He is no longer a viable Presidential Candidate! President DJT.”
President Donald Trump mocks California Governor Gavin Newsom’s dyslexia, saying he ‘can’t read,’ ‘has dyslexia,’ and is ‘a Cognitive Mess,’ targeting a learning disorder estimated to affect up to 1 in 5 Americans. pic.twitter.com/z2zq9S8mJK
— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) March 12, 2026
Subsequently, Newsom fired back at Trump, calling him a “brain-dead moron who bombs children and protects p——— to understand.” “I spoke about my dyslexia. I know that’s hard for a brain-dead moron who bombs children and protects p——— to understand,” wrote Newsom in an X post.
During his aforementioned book promotion last month, Newsom spoke about his dyslexia, saying he was “not trying to impress you. I’m just trying to impress upon you, I am like you,” The Hill reported.
“I am no better than you. I am a 960 SAT guy. And I’m not trying to offend anyone, [or] act all there if you got 940. But literally a 960 SAT guy. You have never seen me read a speech, because I cannot read a speech,” he continued.
