Newsom’s ham-fisted efforts to broaden his appeal to a national audience have also landed him in hot water. A year ago, trying to soften his left-coastal liberalism, the governor tiptoed into the debate about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. He told the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk that biological men competing against girls was “deeply unfair,” a position shared by a solid majority of Americans but starkly at odds with his woke brethren. Newsom, a longtime advocate for gay and transgender rights, received scathing rebukes from activists, who saw this mainstream view as a betrayal.

Newsom also faced criticism for claiming in his memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry,” that he grew up poor. He told a podcaster, “I was out there kind of raising myself. … I was sitting there with the Wonder bread [and] macaroni and cheese.”  Critics slammed the governor’s tale as a “poor-igin story,” the kind privileged candidates invent to seem more relatable. In reality, his father was a judge and lawyer who worked as “consigliere” for the wealthy Getty family, which sponsored the aspiring politician.

But nothing was more cringeworthy than Newsom’s recent attempt to improve his standing with Black voters at a recent event in Georgia. The governor told Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, “I’m not trying to impress you. I’m just trying to impress upon you I’m like you. I’m no better than you. I’m a 960 SAT guy.” He also revealed that he suffers from dyslexia, which prevents him from reading speeches — a claim met with considerable skepticism.

Opponents pounced, including Trump supporter Niki Minaj, who posted on X: “His way of bonding with Black ppl is to tell them how stupid he is and that he can’t read. This means my first read on him was correct. He’s been handed so many things and put in high positions he never earned or deserved.” Ouch.