For the fourth time in under a week, President Donald Trump has taken aim at California Governor Gavin Newsom and his dyslexia, a learning disorder that Newsom has been public about for years.
“[Newsom] has learning disabilities,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, March 16. “Honestly, I’m all for people with learning disabilities, but not for my president. I think the president should not have learning disabilities, okay, and I know it’s highly controversial to say such a horrible thing.”
Several hours after Trump’s words went viral, Newsom shared his response on X.
“To every kid with a learning disability: don’t let anyone — not even the President of the United States — bully you,” he wrote. “Dyslexia isn’t a weakness. It’s your strength.”
His words echoed a similar sentiment that “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Orlando Bloom expressed in 2010.
In a resurfaced interview with leading child psychiatrist Dr. Harold Koplewicz, Bloom — who has dyslexia himself — talked about the stigma surrounding the learning disorder.
“I’d say just hold on to your dreams and never ever think that you’re not good enough or that you’re stupid,” Bloom said at the Adam Katz Memorial Lecture — an annual event designed to raise awareness of dyslexia and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
“Never let anyone tell you that you’re not capable. We’re all the same, we’re all equal, and we all deserve a shot. Take this obstacle and make it the reason to have a big life, because if you can overcome this obstacle, you are going to be that much further ahead than anyone else.”
“It takes having obstacles to learn and grow and be better,” he continued. “The challenge of dyslexia — the challenge of climbing that mountain — is something that you can make your own and make it a reason to be a winner in life.”
Bloom added that dyslexia has made him a better actor in the long run.
“I think creativity is the key to any child who has dyslexia,” he said. “When I was on stage performing, creating — that was really what got me through.”
“With dyslexia comes a very great gift, which is the way that your mind can think creatively,” he added. “If your kids can be given the opportunity to find that way of thinking, what works for them, they will be very happy and successful in whatever field they choose to go into. That I think is what my life has been.”
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Header image via Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest/Disney
