Jimmy Kimmel found it absurd that President Donald Trump, of all people, would attack California Governor Gavin Newsom for having a learning disability.
Newsom has been open about his dyslexia with voters, writing at length about his struggles in his new memoir, Young Man in a Hurry.
“You’ve never seen me read a speech, because I cannot read a speech,” he told the crowd at a February event in Atlanta. “Maybe the wrong business to be in.”
At an Oval Office meeting on Monday, Trump insulted Newsom over his disability, calling him a “low-IQ person.”
“Gavin Newscum has admitted that he has... learning disabilities,” Trump said. “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, OK?"
“I know it’s highly controversial to say such a horrible thing,” Trump said. “The president of the United States, Gavin Newscum, admitted that he has learning disabilities, dyslexia. Everything about him is dumb.”
Kimmel showed the clip of Trump bashing Newsom in his monologue Tuesday. When it ended, Kimmel quipped, “Anyway, be best, everybody.”
His line mocked first lady Melania Trump’s anti-bullying campaign, “Be Best,” which she began in 2018.
Kimmel then detailed the irony of Trump disparaging someone else’s mental abilities:
“This is a man who’s posted thousands of misspelled words over the last 14 years,” Kimmel said. Referencing a Truth Social post of Trump’s from early March, Kimmel added, “He thinks ‘mutilization’ is a word in the English language.”
Kimmel continued, “In that clip we just showed, he referred to Gavin Newsom as the president of the United States.”
“And he’s worried about Gavin Newsom’s learning abilities?” Kimmel asked incredulously. “Everything about him is dumb?"
After Trump’s comments in the Oval Office Monday, Gavin Newsom posted 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 also trolled Trump for accidentally calling him the president.
“NOW THAT I, GAVIN C. NEWSOM, AM OFFICIALLY PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (THANK YOU DONALD!), I HAVE MANY BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS TO MAKE!” Newsom’s press office wrote.
Continuing in all caps in his ongoing parody of Trump’s social media writing style, the post jokingly promised to fire Stephen Miller, legalize cannabis, and launch a corruption probe into the Trump administration.
The Daily Beast has meticulously covered Trump’s numerous gaffes, such as his St. Patrick’s Day mistake of referring to female Irish President Catherine Connolly as a man.
The Daily Beast has also covered in-depth the concerns around Trump’s cognitive health, particularly regarding the three cognitive tests Trump bragged about “acing” even though they’re not supposed to be difficult.
In a January interview Trump tried to tell reporters about his late father’s struggles with Alzheimer’s, but forgot the name of the condition.
“At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting—what do they call it?” Trump said.
