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| - The White House confirmed that Trump referred to Newsom as "Newscum" but would not confirm whether Trump mistakenly, sarcastically or hypothetically referred to Newsom as president.
On March 16, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump held a news conference in which he insulted California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has long been a vocal critic of the president. According to numerous clips and quotes purportedly taken from Trump's news conference, he allegedly referred to Newsom as "the president of the United States, Gavin Newscum."
An X user wrote about Trump's purported gaffe: "It's getting embarrassing! He's losing it faster than any of us have thought he would." A Substack post claimed:
Watch the current president of the United States sitting behind the Resolute Desk, surrounded by reporters, flanked by his vice president—look straight ahead and refer to the governor of California as the president of the United States.
Trump did call Newsom "the president of the United States, Gavin Newscum" during a news conference. Therefore, the quote is correctly attributed to him.
However, whether this was a slip-of-the-tongue moment or a sarcastic insult is open to interpretation. Trump also may have been referring to a hypothetical scenario in which Newsom becomes president in the future, as the governor has floated the possibility of a 2028 run. However, the intent behind Trump's remarks remained unclear and the White House didn't provide clarity.
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Snopes, "President Trump is right. Gavin Newscum is the worst governor in America, and he also may be the dumbest." The White House would not confirm Trump's intention in referring to Newsom as "president."
Trump was talking about mail-in ballots and then began criticizing voter identification laws. We have reproduced Trump's full comments below (emphasis ours):
Do you know in California, if you ask a person to show their identification, they have the right to put you in jail, if you're an official. And you say, "May I please see your identification?" you're subject to going to jail. That's how crazy it's gotten. With a low-IQ person, you know, because Gavin Newscum has admitted that he has learning disabilities. Honestly, I'm all for people with learning disabilities, but not for my president. I don't want — I think a president should not have learning disabilities. And I know it's highly controversial to say such a horrible thing. "The president of the United States, Gavin Newscum, admitted that he has learning disabilities, dyslexia." Everything about him is dumb. But then he looked at the audience and said, "But I'm smarter than you," or something like that. So now on top of everything else I call him a racist because it happened to be a Black audience. I will tell you this, I think it was the worst interview I've ever seen of any human being in my life.
The video of the full news conference was streamed live by MS NOW. Trump made the comments at the 45-minute mark:
Trump was referring to Newsom's recent book event in Atlanta, where the governor told a predominantly Black audience that he was like them. Newsom described himself as a 960 SAT guy who "cannot read a speech." Many accused him of talking down to Black people.
Newsom has talked openly about his dyslexia — a learning disability that makes reading and writing difficult — for decades. In response to Trump's comments, Newsom wrote on X: "To every kid with a learning disability: don't let anyone — not even the President of the United States — bully you. Dyslexia isn't a weakness. It's your strength."
Newsom's press office also posted a response to Trump calling him the president: "The media needs to start reporting on Donald Trump's mental decline. This is serious."
The office also poked fun at Trump's words and posted: "NOW THAT I, GAVIN C. NEWSOM, AM OFFICIALLY PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (THANK YOU DONALD!), I HAVE MANY BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS TO MAKE!"
Snopes has frequently reported on Trump's quotes on a range of issues, as well as on his contentious relationship with Newsom.
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