On Monday night, President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that California Gov. Gavin Newsom had “dropped out” of the 2028 presidential race. To be clear, though, Newsom hasn’t even formally entered.
“Wow! Gavin Newscum just dropped out of the Presidential Race!!! President DJT,” Trump wrote.
Recently, Newsom has been fielding conservative backlash for his dyslexia during a weekend book tour stop in Atlanta. Plus, Trump made claims about his dropping out as Newsom was promoting his memoir, Young Man in a Hurry, and stopping in early primary states. So, while Newsom is often seen as a potential 2028 Democratic contender, he has not declared a run yet.
After Trump’s post, Gavin Newsom responded on X with a link to his book:
It’s on page 69 of my new book. Buy it here: https://t.co/gwfGEOTtmw pic.twitter.com/qxMHn4w5er
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 24, 2026
Still, if 2028 is still two years away and Newsom hasn’t declared, why is Trump taking a swing now? The answer may be in a new Echelon Insights survey, which shows Newsom leading a hypothetical Democratic primary field with 24 percent support. He is ahead of Kamala Harris at 18 percent and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 9 percent. So Harris and Newsom tied.
Newsom appeared at the Rialto Center for the Arts alongside Andre Dickens. On there, he discussed his lifelong struggle with dyslexia, and said: “You’ve never seen me read a speech because I cannot read a speech. I haven’t overcome dyslexia. I’m living with it.”
He said that despite his issues, he was “a 960 SAT guy.”
That 38-second clip went viral within conservative accounts and media figures. They suggested Newsom was patronizing Black elected officials and the audience. Later, a longer video showed that the crowd at the center was diverse, and the speech was only centered on Newsom’s own academic struggles, and not about belittling anyone else’s.
According to CBS, both Newsom and Dickens rejected the accusations. Dickens wrote that “context matters more than a headline,” as the exchange was “a moment of vulnerability about his own journey.” On the other hand, Newsom’s office called the backlash “MAGA-manufactured outrage,” as he spoke about his dyslexia and SAT scores for years across ideological lines.
Dyslexia made me the person I am. And I’m proud of that. pic.twitter.com/HXFgRhwZIN
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 24, 2026
On X, one user suggested Trump was “perpetually sundowning” and brought up the idea of another “cognitive test.” Another argued that Newsom now has to explain why Trump thinks he’s stepping aside. Meanwhile, a third user said they are “not a Newsom fan,” and still pushed back on the narrative as it became clear that critics were “twisting his words.”
In a CNN interview, Newsom said,
“I’ve never gotten in the way of [Harris’] ambition, ever. And I don’t imagine I would in the future.”
He also acknowledged that family matters to him, as his son texted him and asked him to spend more time at home. Last year, Newsom told The Wall Street Journal that he’s “not thinking about running,” but that he could “see [it] unfold.”
