A top aide to Gavin Newsom bluntly told a reporter to “f--- off” after she asked for documentation of the governor’s long-claimed dyslexia diagnosis — igniting fresh backlash just days after Newsom made controversial comments about his low SAT score to a Black mayor.
The outburst came after RealClearPolitics correspondent Susan Crabtree requested proof of Newsom’s dyslexia, which he has said he was diagnosed with as a child in 1972 and has spoken publicly about since at least his days as San Francisco mayor in 2004.
According to a screenshot Crabtree posted on X, Newsom communications director Izzy Gardon replied to her inquiry:
“Respectfully, f--- off.”
When Fox News Digital followed up to ask whether Gardon was speaking personally or on behalf of the governor, he doubled down:
“Yes, Susan can f--- off.”
Asked whether that reflected Newsom’s own position, Gardon added that “the governor literally has no idea who Susan is.”
Crabtree suggested the hostility may be tied to a book she co-authored last year about corruption in California politics. In a statement, she said Americans “deserve real answers about Newsom’s claims, not lazy, expletive-laced deflections,” and vowed to keep pressing for answers despite what she called a taxpayer-funded attempt to intimidate her.
The spat comes as Newsom faces blowback for remarks made at a book tour event in Atlanta, where critics accused him of making racially insensitive comments during an exchange with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
“I’m like you. I’m no better than you,” Newsom said during the event.
“I’m a 960 SAT guy… you’ve never seen me read a speech because I cannot read a speech.”
He added, “Maybe the wrong business to be in.”
The remarks quickly went viral, with critics calling them patronizing and racially tone-deaf, especially given the context of who he was addressing.
Newsom — widely viewed as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful — has often pointed to his dyslexia as part of his personal story of overcoming adversity. But instead of clarifying or backing up his claims this time, his office chose a different strategy: profanity and stonewalling.
Not exactly the empathy tour.
