--- title: Trump Faces Backlash For Comments About Newsom’s Dyslexia description: Trump has made several comments mocking Newsom for his dyslexia, prompting criticism from disability advocates. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/trump-newsom-dyslexia-president/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-03-17T19:32:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-18T17:49:27.879Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Faces Backlash For Comments About Newsom’s Dyslexia og:description: Trump has made several comments mocking Newsom for his dyslexia, prompting criticism from disability advocates. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/trump-newsom-dyslexia-president/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5b9ebce0f6063cd/69b9ba922b24552217137207/GettyImages-2195138408.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2195138408.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Faces Backlash For Comments About Newsom’s Dyslexia twitter:description: Trump has made several comments mocking Newsom for his dyslexia, prompting criticism from disability advocates. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5b9ebce0f6063cd/69b9ba922b24552217137207/GettyImages-2195138408.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Faces Backlash For Comments About Newsom’s Dyslexia  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Mar 17, 2026 7:32 PM UTC  Donald Trump shakes hands with California Governor Gavin Newsom as he speaks to the press upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 24, 2025 Donald Trump shakes hands with California Governor Gavin Newsom as he speaks to the press upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 24, 2025Mandel Ngan/ Getty Images  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Mar 17, 2026 7:32 PM UTC President Donald Trump is facing criticism from disability advocates for saying [California Gov.](https://time.com/7293440/gavin-newsom-california-governor-career-president-trump-rivalry-ambition-history/) Gavin [Newsom](https://time.com/7377635/newsom-trump-racist-trope-social-media-post-criticism/) should not be president because he has dyslexia. "Gavin Newsom has admitted that he has learning disabilities, dyslexia,” Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “Honestly, I'm all for people with learning disabilities, but not for my president." “Everything about him is dumb,” he added. This is at least the third time that Trump has made comments about Newsom and his [dyslexia](https://time.com/7342175/individuals-with-disabilities-education-act/) in the past week. **Read more:** [ _Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Put the ADA, and Americans with Disabilities, at Risk_](https://time.com/7305670/trumps-medicaid-cuts-americans-disabilities/) Trump’s statements have prompted backlash from disability advocates. The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) called Trump’s comments “both factually and morally incorrect.” “Learning disabilities, including dyslexia, affect how the brain processes information. They do not reflect a person’s intelligence, judgment, or ability to lead,” the organization[ said in a statement](https://ncld.org/ncld-statement-responding-to-administration-remarks-about-learning-disabilities/) released Monday. “Every day, people with learning disabilities serve their communities as teachers, entrepreneurs, scientists, members of the military, and public servants.” The statement also noted that several previous presidents have had documented or suspected learning disabilities, including [Woodrow Wilson](https://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/success-story/woodrow-wilson/). According to [the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity,](https://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia/) dyslexia has “no connection to \[people’s\] overall intelligence.” The condition is also common, affecting around 20% of the population. ## Newsom calls dyslexia a ‘strength’ Newsom has been open about his experience with dyslexia, which he was diagnosed with at the age of 5\. He wrote about growing up and struggling to read and write in his memoir, _Young Man_ _in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery_, and he drew on his own experiences for his 2021 children’s book, _Ben and Emma’s Big_ _Hit_. Newsom [responded to Trump’s comments on X](https://x.com/GavinNewsom/status/2033726095162544311?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2033726095162544311%7Ctwgr%5Eccbb00ecc69df9cde97200ab5d1a0610deff608f%7Ctwcon%5Es1%5F&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fcalifornia%2F2026%2F03%2F17%2Fpresident-donald-trump-attacks-california-gavin-newsom-for-his-learning-disability-dsylexia%2F89193406007%2F) Monday night, in which he addressed children with dyslexia. “To every kid with a learning disability: don’t let anyone — not even the President of the United States — bully you,” he said. “Dyslexia isn’t a weakness. It’s your strength.” The governor's wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, also issued a response in a video posted to Instagram, calling Trump’s comments “extremely ignorant and offensive.” Newsom has been a frequent target of Trump, who calls the California governor “Newscum,” and the two have attacked each other repeatedly. Last week, Trump hurled similar insults at Newsom at a rally, saying, “I don't want the president of the United States to have a cognitive deficiency.” “Too late,” was Newsom’s [response on X](https://x.com/CAgovernor/status/2031858104342638726?s=20) on March 11, suggesting that Trump had a cognitive deficiency. Trump has defended himself from accusations of cognitive decline and cited testing by his doctors as proof he was not impaired. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/trump-newsom-dyslexia-president/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/trump-newsom-dyslexia-president/"},"headline":"Trump Faces Backlash For Comments About Newsom’s Dyslexia","datePublished":"2026-03-17T19:32:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-18T17:49:27.879Z","description":"Trump has made several comments mocking Newsom for his dyslexia, prompting criticism from disability advocates.","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/trump-newsom-dyslexia-president/","keywords":["Donald Trump","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5b9ebce0f6063cd/69b9ba922b24552217137207/GettyImages-2195138408.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5b9ebce0f6063cd/69b9ba922b24552217137207/GettyImages-2195138408.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-2195138408.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Mandel Ngan/ Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/trump-newsom-dyslexia-president/","name":"Trump Faces Backlash For Comments About Newsom’s Dyslexia"}}]}] ```