What Is Neurodiversity?

Find a therapist near me

Reading speed and spelling accuracy are not reliable measures of intelligence or leadership ability.

Leadership depends on big-picture thinking, pattern recognition, and decision-making under uncertainty.

Many individuals with dyslexia show strengths in systems thinking, narrative reasoning, and resilience.

In mid-March 2026, President Trump suggested that California Governor Gavin Newsom should be disqualified from presidential consideration because of his dyslexia—a learning difference Newsom has openly discussed for years.

Trump told reporters: “We have a low-IQ person… because Gavin Newscum has admitted that he has learning disabilities… 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.” He added that “everything about him is dumb” and posted on Truth Social calling Newsom a “cognitive mess” who “can’t read” due to dyslexia.

Whether a candidate is qualified for office is for voters to decide. But no candidate should be disqualified merely on the basis of dyslexia.

The assumption underlying that claim—that difficulty with reading or writing signals lower intelligence or diminished leadership ability—is not supported by evidence. Decades of research show little to no correlation........

© Psychology Today