{"id":2574230,"date":"2026-02-27T06:31:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mlb-star-blasts-newsom-for-implying-black-people-are-stupid-and-cant-read-i-was-a-straight-a-student\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T06:34:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:34:19","slug":"mlb-star-blasts-newsom-for-implying-black-people-are-stupid-and-cant-read-i-was-a-straight-a-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mlb-star-blasts-newsom-for-implying-black-people-are-stupid-and-cant-read-i-was-a-straight-a-student\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB Star Blasts Newsom for Implying Black People Are &#8216;Stupid&#8217; and Can&#8217;t Read: &#8216;I Was a Straight A Student&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/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%2Fmlb-star-blasts-newsom-for-implying-black-people-are-stupid-and-cant-read-i-was-a-straight-a-student%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=2574230&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>Tommy pham,a black Major League Baseball free agent outfielder,criticized California Governor Gavin newsom after Newsom\u2019s remarks at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-gov-gavin-newsom-accused-of-racism-after-making-sat-comment-to-black-mayor\/\" title=\"California Gov. ... Accused of Racism After Making SAT Comment to ... Mayor\">sunday event promoting<\/a> his memoirs that many viewed as belittling Black intelligence. Newsom, seen as a leading Democratic contender for 2028, joked about being a \u201c960 SAT guy\u201d and claimed he cannot read a speech, drawing applause from the audience. Pham responded on Instagram Stories, arguing that Newsom\u2019s comments imply Black people are inherently less capable academically, and he posted his own <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >high-achieving academic record<\/a> to counter the notion. Critics seized on the incident as an example of the so-called \u201csoft bigotry of low expectations,\u201d arguing that some progressive politicians patronize minority communities by suggesting they should relate to underachievement. The piece concludes that voters\u2014Black voters included\u2014prefer leaders who believe in their ability to meet high standards rather than be talked down to.  <\/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<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Tommy Pham is a black Major League Baseball free agent outfielder.<\/p>\n<p>Given his background, it should come as little surprise that he had some words for progressive California Gov. Gavin Newsom after a racially charged incident.<\/p>\n<p>What may surprise some &mdash; given the typically cozy nature between celebrity athletes and Democrats &mdash; is that Pham seemed genuinely upset with Newsom.<\/p>\n<p>To wit, Newsom, who&rsquo;s widely viewed as one of the frontrunners to secure the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, made waves at a Sunday event meant to promote his upcoming memoirs.<\/p>\n<p>While speaking onstage with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/more-liberal-lies-jon-ossoff-lies-about-kelly-loeffler-after-she-is-pictured-in-photo-with-some-guy-she-doesnt-know-who-was-once-a-klansman\/\" title=\"MORE LIBERAL LIES: Jon Ossoff Lies About Kelly Loeffler After She Is Pictured in Photo with Some Guy She Doesn\u2019t Know Who Was Once a Klansman\">black man<\/a>, Newsom made some less-than-flattering comments <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/california-gov-gavin-newsom-accused-racism-making-sat-score-comment-black-mayor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">about the intelligence of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-lost-all-credibility-on-social-distancing-after-biden-celebrations\/\" title=\"Dems Lost All Credibility On Social Distancing After Biden Celebrations\">black people<\/a><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not trying to impress you, I&rsquo;m just trying to impress upon you, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m like you. I&rsquo;m no better than you.&rsquo; I&rsquo;m a 960 SAT guy,&rdquo; Newsom told Dickens, which actually got applause from the audience.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And I&rsquo;m not trying to offend anyone,&rdquo; Newsom continued. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not trying to act all there if you got 940. Literally a 960 SAT guy&hellip; I cannot &mdash; You&rsquo;ve never seen me read a speech, because I cannot read a speech.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MRssxcUc4sM?si=dgS4OBygThPX1A2U\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Critics torched Newsom for the uncomfortable remarks, which many interpreted as the governor generalizing and denigrating the intelligence of black people.<\/p>\n<p>And those critics included Pham.<\/p>\n<p>In his Instagram stories (which self-delete after a set period of time). Pham lambasted Newsom for his comments.<\/p>\n<p>Pham posted two stories, and neither was giving a charitable interpretation of Newsom&rsquo;s remarks.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t relate I was a straight A student and scored well on my SAT he thinks black ppl are dumb,&rdquo; Pham posted in response to an X post that d the relevant clip, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/tommy-pham-speaks-out-against-gavin-newsom-over-controversial-sat-score-comments\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In another story, Pham d an older video of Newsom bragging about how he <em>can&nbsp;<\/em>read fast.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Gavin Newsom when speaking to white people: &lsquo;I read a 260 page book in an hour and a half,&rsquo;&rdquo; Pham posted.<\/p>\n<p>If you strip away the applause lines and the stagecraft, you can see why Pham bristled. When a powerful, white, progressive politician frames his own academic mediocrity as a way to &ldquo;connect&rdquo; with a black audience, it&rsquo;s hard not to hear the subtext.<\/p>\n<p>The insinuation &mdash; intentional or not &mdash; is that lowered standards are somehow relatable. Anyone with a shred of integrity can tell you that that&rsquo;s condescension dressed up as humility.<\/p>\n<p>Pham&rsquo;s response cut through the fog. He didn&rsquo;t accept the premise. He didn&rsquo;t nod along. He flatly rejected the idea that being black is synonymous with struggling academically. That shouldn&rsquo;t be controversial &mdash; it should be obvious.<\/p>\n<p>Yet time and again, progressive politicians stumble into rhetoric that suggests minority voters need their achievements downsized or their expectations managed. It&rsquo;s astonishing that a movement so fluent in the language of &ldquo;equity&rdquo; keeps tripping over the implication that excellence is somehow culturally exclusive.<\/p>\n<p>This is what critics have long meant by the &ldquo;soft bigotry of low expectations.&rdquo; You can wrap it in empathy. You can coat it in self-deprecation. But when you repeatedly signal that certain communities should identify with underperformance rather than achievement, you&rsquo;re not empowering anyone.<\/p>\n<p>You&rsquo;re reinforcing the very stereotypes you claim to oppose. Pham, for his part, simply refused to play along.<\/p>\n<p>And that&rsquo;s the real takeaway.<\/p>\n<p>Whether Newsom intended offense or not, the reaction underscores a broader frustration: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/update-corrupted-software-that-stole-6000-votes-from-trump-in-michigan-county-shut-down-for-two-hours-in-red-counties-in-georgia-on-election-day\/\" title=\"Update: Corrupted Software that Stole 6,000 Votes From Trump in Michigan County ...... Shut Down for TWO HOURS in Red Counties in Georgia on Election Day\">voters &#038;mdash<\/a>; including black voters &mdash; don&rsquo;t want to be patronized. They don&rsquo;t need politicians lowering the bar in their name.<\/p>\n<p>They need leaders who believe they can clear it.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tommy Pham, a Black Major League Baseball free-agent outfielder, spoke out against Gavin Newsom after a racially charged incident. Despite the typically close ties between celebrities and Democrats, Pham\u2019s reaction suggested real upset. Newsom, seen as a leading candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, stirred controversy during a Sunday event promoting his memoirs when, while speaking with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, he made remarks that implied Black people aren\u2019t as intelligent.<\/p>\n<p>Pham responded on Instagram Stories (which vanish after a while) and on X, criticizing Newsom for implying Black people are dumb. He also shared an older clip of Newsom bragging about how fast he can read. Pham argued that his own academic record\u2014straight A\u2019s and strong SAT scores\u2014contradicted Newsom\u2019s insinuation, and he suggested Newsom\u2019s attempt to \u201cconnect\u201d with a Black audience by signaling intellectual mediocrity is condescending.<\/p>\n<p>Columnists and critics say Newsom\u2019s comments fit a broader pattern in which some progressive politicians downplay minority achievements or lower expectations, a dynamic many describe as the &#8220;soft bigotry of low expectations.&#8221; Pham\u2019s response pushed back against that framing, insisting that being Black does not equate to academic struggle and that leaders should trust Black people to meet high standards rather than dilute them.<\/p>\n<p>The piece concludes that voters, including Black voters, don\u2019t want to be patronized; they want leaders who believe in their ability to succeed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2574231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-26T220040.283.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32558,12138,50526],"class_list":["post-2574230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-hate-speech","tag-mlb","tag-racism-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-26T220040.283.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574230","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2574230"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2574234,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574230\/revisions\/2574234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2574231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2574230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2574230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2574230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}