Andre Dickens defends Gavin Newsom’s SAT remark as ‘moment of vulnerability’
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- House lawmakers reject media exemption for obtaining police body camera footage.
- Brad Raffensperger wants to stop taxing retirement benefits.
- State Rep. Lynn Smith won’t run for reelection.
Fighting words
“Spare me your fake … outrage.”
That’s how California Gov. Gavin Newsom summed up the MAGA-tinged backlash over his comments about his SAT score and struggles with dyslexia during a stop at his book tour in Atlanta on Sunday.
The Democrat, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, was answering a question from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens about his “two separate lives” and learning disabilities.
“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. You know, I’m a 960 SAT guy. And I’m not trying to offend anyone, you know, trying to act all there if you got 940. Literally, a 960 SAT guy. I cannot — you’ve never seen me read a speech, because I cannot read a speech. Maybe the wrong business to be in. My dyslexia, I haven’t overcome dyslexia. I’m living with it,” he said.
Inside the packed Rialto Center for the Arts, the line landed. Newsom was interrupted by laughter several times. But online it detonated.
Right-wing accounts clipped the remarks and recast them as something else — suggesting he told a Black audience, “I’m like you. I can’t read.”
Never mind that the crowd at the downtown Atlanta theater was mostly white. Never mind that those words were never uttered. The outrage machine churned anyway.
President Donald Trump’s political account accused him of calling “black people dumb.” So did several Republican U.S. senators. Even Nicki Minaj, a Trump ally, added her criticism.
Plenty of others, including some conservative pundits, dismissed the outrage as overreach. One of the sharpest responses came from Dickens, who moderated the discussion.
“That wasn’t an attack on anyone. It was a moment of vulnerability about his own journey,” he said on social media. “We’ve gotten so used to loud, chest-pounding politics that when someone speaks about shortcomings, people try to twist it into something else.”
Things to know
Good morning! Happy birthday to The Atlanta Journal, which published its first edition 143 years ago today. The paper merged with The Atlanta Constitution in 2001 to form the AJC.
Here are three other things to know for today:
- Two prominent left-leaning attorneys launched bids today to unseat sitting members of the Georgia Supreme Court, Greg Bluestein reports.
- Dr. Heavenly Kimes, star of “Married to Medicine” on the Bravo network, is shaking up the race for a metro Atlanta congressional seat, Tia Mitchell reports.
- Trump has settled a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by the estate of R&B singer Isaac Hayes over the use of his song “Hold On, I’m Coming” at events without a license, the AJC’s Rosie Manins reports. The lawsuit was filed in Atlanta.
Body cameras
The Georgia House is working on a bill to stop police departments from releasing body camera footage to the public that depicts a person’s death. They’re still sorting out what the exceptions will be, including family members, criminal defendants and parties to civil litigation.
It appears the news media won’t make that list.
An amendment pushed by state Rep. Matt Reeves, R-Duluth, would have created an exception for licensed broadcasters and newspapers designated as the official publisher of legal notices.
“I think it would be a good idea to let responsible journalists investigate and ask questions about the matter,” he said. “Oftentimes that’s how you get to the truth.”
State Rep. Trey Kelley, R-Cedartown, noted the amendment would have excluded lots of online publications and others that don’t publish legal notices. For Kelley, he said the right to privacy trumps the freedom of the press.
“I don’t have the trust of the media that others may,” he said.
Tax cuts
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican candidate for governor, announced today he wants to eliminate Georgia’s income tax on retirement benefits.
Raffensperger said a retiree withdrawing $100,000 a year would save roughly $5,000 annually at the current state income tax rate.
“For decades, Georgia retirees have been punished for doing the right thing,” Raffensperger said. “They worked hard, saved responsibly, paid their taxes, and then the government comes back for another bite when they are on fixed income. That ends when I’m governor.”
Under current law, Georgia taxes retirement distributions at the state income tax rate but offers a retirement income exclusion of $35,000 for those ages 62 to 64 and $65,000 for those 65 and older. The state does not tax Social Security benefits.
Campaign roundup
We’re just 10 days away from the filing deadline for the November general election. The qualifying window doesn’t open until Monday, but many candidates are already announcing.
Here’s an update from Monday:
- Caitlyn Gegen announced her campaign for Georgia’s 9th Congressional District. The daughter of Gwinnett County public school teachers, Gegen began working in politics in 2018 for Chalis Montgomery’s unsuccessful congressional campaign. Gegen hopes to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, who is seeking a fourth term in office.
- Michelle “Michi” Sanchez launched her campaign for Georgia Labor Commissioner. A Democrat, Sanchez has previously done organizing work for the Democratic Party of Georgia, Common Cause and the New Georgia Project. She’s hoping to challenge Republican Barbara Rivera Holmes in November.
- State Rep. Lynn Smith is retiring. The Newnan Republican first took office in 1997, back when Democrats still controlled the chamber. When Republicans took control in 2005, one of the first bills they passed was the Georgia Land Conservation Act, co-sponsored by Smith. She is the chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.
- U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk this morning endorsed his longtime chief of staff, Rob Adkerson, in the race to succeed him. “Rob will pass along to our children and grandchildren a nation that is free, safe and full of opportunity,” he said.
- Trey Kelly has dropped out of the one race currently underway — the special election to fill the seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Kelly, the former chair of the Fulton County Republican Party, said he decided to suspend his campaign out of respect for Trump, who endorsed Clay Fuller in the crowded race.
- Ron McKenzie said he will no longer compete in the Democratic primary for Georgia’s 13th Congressional District and has supported former Gwinnett County Board of Education Chair Everton Blair.
Under the Gold Dome
It’s Day 23 of the legislative session. Some happenings:
- 10 a.m.: House convenes. Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on House Bill 1009, which would ban students in high school from using a cellphone during class.
- 10 a.m.: Senate convenes.
- 2 p.m.: House Committee on Public and Community Health meets to consider House Bill 1250, which would require certain hospitals to offer perinatal bereavement devices.
- 2 p.m.: House State and Local Government Subcommittee meets to consider House Bill 1158, which would require Georgia to refer to the western bank of the Jordan River as Judea and Samaria in all official government materials.
- 2 p.m.: House Special Rules Committee meets to consider House Bill 1013, which would designate lemon pepper as the official chicken wing flavor of Georgia.
- 3 p.m.: Senate Committee on Higher Education meets to consider Senate Bill 523, which would require public schools to consider antisemitism in the same manner as discrimination based on religion.
- 4 p.m.: Senate Regulated Industries Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 34, which would prohibit electric utilities from increasing rates because of services to commercial data centers.
Listen up
Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast we break down Trump’s recent trip to Georgia and what it means for the candidacies of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Derek Dooley and others.
You can listen and subscribe to “Politically Georgia” for free an Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.
ICE training
The Federal Law Endorsement Training Center in Glynn County has long been a point of pride for Georgia leaders on the coast.
But the former counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had a stark warning Monday on Capitol Hill about the training ICE recruits have been getting recently.
“I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution when I joined ICE. … I followed it when I resigned,” Ryan Schwank testified during a forum hosted by Democrats. “The legally required training program at the ICE academy is deficient, defective and broken.”
Schwank was concerned about a decision to cut 240 hours from a 584-hour training program. He was also upset about new guidance on when officers can enter a home without a judicial warrant, which he called unconstitutional.
“Without reform, ICE will graduate thousands of new officers who do not know their constitutional duty, do not know the limits of their authority and do not have the training to recognize an unlawful order,” he said.
Today in Washington
- President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address at 9 p.m.
- The House has afternoon votes scheduled.
- The Senate will take yet another vote on funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which Democrats are likely to block.
- Representatives from FIFA, the international soccer governing body, and law enforcement agencies will talk about security preparations ahead of the World Cup during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing.
State of the Union
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, is not attending tonight’s State of the Union address. Her decision comes after Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries encouraged Democrats who didn’t think they could sit quietly through Trump’s speech to skip it.
Williams instead will participate in a livestream on Facebook and YouTube that her office is calling “The Reality Check.”
Other Georgia Republicans and Democrats are attending the speech. Among the guests:
- U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, is bringing constituent Betsy Kramer, who will help him highlight the benefits for seniors in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed last year.
- U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, has invited Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds to highlight his criticism of former President Joe Biden’s public safety agenda.
- U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s guest is Bill Lee, CEO of Evans Memorial Hospital in Claxton. Warnock, an Atlanta Democrat, will highlight the cuts to health care spending in Trump’s spending law that he believes will harm rural hospitals.
Shoutouts
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
Before you go
Allyson Phillips, the mother of Laken Riley, was at the White House on Monday when Trump signed a proclamation designating Feb. 22 as a day of remembrance for those killed by people living in the country illegally. Sunday was the two-year anniversary of Riley’s death.
That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.
Clarification
This story has been edited to clarify that a bill in the Georgia House would restrict the release of police body camera footage in cases involving a person's death.
About the Authors
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
Patricia Murphy is the AJC's senior political columnist. She was previously a nationally syndicated columnist for CQ Roll Call, national political reporter for the Daily Beast and Politics Daily, and wrote for The Washington Post and Garden & Gun. She graduated from Vanderbilt and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
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