{"id":2573141,"date":"2026-02-24T18:07:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-spox-indicates-he-will-only-talk-to-journalists-who-agree-with-him\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T18:09:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:09:00","slug":"newsom-spox-indicates-he-will-only-talk-to-journalists-who-agree-with-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-spox-indicates-he-will-only-talk-to-journalists-who-agree-with-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsom Spox Indicates He&#8217;ll Only Talk To Reporters He Agrees With"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnewsom-spox-indicates-he-will-only-talk-to-journalists-who-agree-with-him%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2573141&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An article by Brianna Lyman in The federalist examines a clash between Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s communications team and the press, using reporter Susan Crabtree\u2019s request for documentation of Newsom\u2019s claimed dyslexia as the focal point. Crabtree asked for childhood records or other proof of the diagnosis; in response, Newsom\u2019s spokesman told her to \u201cf-ck off.\u201d The piece connects this incident to prior criticism of Newsom\u2019s comment that he is \u201cjust like\u201d a Black Atlanta governor because he cannot read a speech, a remark he defended as referencing a lifelong struggle with dyslexia after backlash. Crabtree\u2019s efforts to verify the claim\u2014asking whether there is any documentation\u2014are framed as prudent journalism, while newsom\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >office allegedly pushed back<\/a> on social media with hostile, dismissive posts. The author argues that such reactions undermine accountability journalism and suggests they reveal which reporters are deemed \u201cworthy\u201d of respectful engagement. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-harris-is-at-risk-of-losing-pennsylvania-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Why Harris is at risk of losing Pennsylvania - Washington Examiner\">piece includes quotes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/athletics-lane-nine-just-fine-for-american-loner-richardson\/\" title=\"American loner Richardson finds lane nine in athletics to be perfect.\">social media exchanges<\/a>, and a brief author bio for Brianna Lyman.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JenniferSey\/status\/2025803887039639938?s=20\">Jennifer Sey\/X <\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/newsom-spox-indicates-he-will-only-talk-to-journalists-who-agree-with-him\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Newsom%20Spox%20Indicates%20He%20Will%20Only%20Talk%20To%20Journalists%20Who%20Agree%20With%20Him&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/newsom-spox-indicates-he-will-only-talk-to-journalists-who-agree-with-him\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Newsom%20Spox%20Indicates%20He%20Will%20Only%20Talk%20To%20Journalists%20Who%20Agree%20With%20Him&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/newsom-spox-indicates-he-will-only-talk-to-journalists-who-agree-with-him\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/newsom-spox-indicates-he-will-only-talk-to-journalists-who-agree-with-him\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Newsom%20Spox%20Indicates%20He%20Will%20Only%20Talk%20To%20Journalists%20Who%20Agree%20With%20Him&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/newsom-spox-indicates-he-will-only-talk-to-journalists-who-agree-with-him\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>A spokesman for California Gov. Gavin Newsom made clear there is a right way and a wrong way to cover the governor. After award-winning RealClearPolitics Reporter Susan Crabtree simply asked for documentation confirming the governor&rsquo;s dyslexia, the spokesman told her to &ldquo;f-ck off.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Newsom <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/23\/gavin-newsom-is-the-new-joe-biden-inarticulate-and-lowkey-racist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">drew criticism<\/a> after telling the black governor of Atlanta &mdash; in an attempt to relate to him &mdash; that he is &ldquo;just like&rdquo; him because he &ldquo;cannot read a speech&rdquo; and scored a 960 on the SAT. Following swift backlash, Newsom lashed out, claiming anyone calling him racist was disingenuous because he was &ldquo;talking about my lifelong struggle with dyslexia.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-217303095\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Notably, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GavinNewsom\/status\/1509340205349847045?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Newsom posted<\/a>&nbsp;a photo of himself &ldquo;reading some banned books&rdquo; in 2022, undermining his claim that his comments about not being able to read were literal and relevant to dyslexia. In another instance, Newsom apparently claimed he&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LauraPowellEsq\/status\/2025982675262251387?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">read<\/a>&nbsp;a book of more than 300 pages in less than two hours.<\/p>\n<p>As any good journalist would do, Crabtree inquired with Newsom&rsquo;s office about whether there is any documentation confirming Newsom&rsquo;s diagnosis &mdash; something prudent to do given Newsom&rsquo;s own aforementioned posts undermining such a claim.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I know any type of learning disability is very sensitive. But I also see that Gov. Newsom and his press team have been using the diagnosis to hit back at Sean Hannity and other critics in the wake of Newsom&rsquo;s comments over the weekend that he had his 960 [SAT score] so &lsquo;I&rsquo;m like you,&rsquo; which he said to a black moderator.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Gov. Newsom has claimed that he found the paperwork from his childhood about his dyslexia after his father died in 2018,&rdquo; Crabtree continued. &ldquo;If that&rsquo;s the case, does he have it so he can demonstrate that he was given a dyslexia diagnosis early on in his childhood?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"Q7vZPPwgfqoZimx6Nd2n3exu7mfOzXT8JS9rwoRaKXeYlr3IYc0WI0szh4u5EtQksMD6p92H\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here&rsquo;s the exact questions I asked his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-viral-clip-goes-sour-reporter-asks-for-newsoms-dyslexia-diagnosis-gets-typical-response-from-govs-team\/\" title=\"After Viral Clip Goes Sour, Reporter Asks for Newsom&#039;s Dyslexia ..., Gets Typical ... From ...&#039;s Team\">taxpayer-funded comms team<\/a> to elicit the &ldquo;fuck you&rdquo; response &mdash; I live in California, BTW. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tqTv8FKwRK\">pic.twitter.com\/tqTv8FKwRK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/susancrabtree\/status\/2026058281484218467?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Crabtree noted that Newsom has previously said he was diagnosed with dyslexia in 1972, when he was 5 or 6 years old, and she asked for proof of that as well. &ldquo;Any information you provide, I can distribute it immediately on X to combat critics who are doubting the diagnosis,&rdquo; Crabtree offered.<\/p>\n<p>Newsom&rsquo;s director of communications, Izzy Gardon, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/susancrabtree\/status\/2026057397689802773?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">responded<\/a> to Crabtree: &ldquo;Hey, Susan &mdash; thanks for reaching out. Respectfully, f-ck off.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gardon then doubled down on the unprofessional response, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/iGardon\/status\/2026074544247620093?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posting<\/a> on X: &ldquo;A MAGA blogger taking a break from Bigfoot and UFO conspiracies wants to audit the Governor&rsquo;s childhood medical records. Now she&rsquo;s upset we told her to f-ck off.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Crabtree did not accuse Newsom of fabricating his diagnosis. In fact, she offered to help &ldquo;combat critics&rdquo; who doubt the diagnosis. She provided Newsom with an opportunity to substantiate his own claim after he injected the dyslexia discussion into the conversation as a defense of his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/resurfaced-video-shows-biden-making-racially-charged-comments-2\/\" title=\"Resurfaced video shows Biden making racially charged comments\">racially charged comments<\/a>. It would have been an opportunity for Newsom to quell any doubts &mdash; especially given that his own posts seem to cast a shadow of doubt on his dyslexia defense.<\/p>\n<p>But Gardon&rsquo;s reaction speaks louder than any documentation could provide. Reporters who ask the governor&rsquo;s office uncomfortable but reasonable questions are met with hostility and disdain.<\/p>\n<p>As The Washington Times National Politics correspondent Susan Ferrechio <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/susanferrechio\/status\/2026370551514644732?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asked<\/a> on X, &ldquo;who qualifies as a reporter worthy of non-abusive responses from the communications team[?]&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If Gardon&rsquo;s answer is any explanation, the answer is only reporters who coddle Newsom instead of asking him real questions.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dyslexia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">dyslexia<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/free-press\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">free press<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/gavin-newsom\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Gavin Newsom<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/izzy-gardon\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Izzy Gardon<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/journalists\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">journalists<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/press\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Press<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/profanity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">profanity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/racism\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">racism<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/susan-crabtree\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Susan Crabtree<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Newsom aide tells reporter f-ck off over dyslexia docs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2573142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-24-at-5.21.07-PM-scaled-e1771971767643.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[71763,74498,3678,74497],"class_list":["post-2573141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-californiapolitics","tag-journalistaccess","tag-newsom","tag-pressfreedom"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-24-at-5.21.07-PM-scaled-e1771971767643.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2573141"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2573145,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573141\/revisions\/2573145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2573142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2573141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2573141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2573141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}