California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that the Democratic brand is “toxic” and that his party must admit his mistakes, bringing hard love as the Democrats struggle with the Trump administration.
News No, once considered a free fighter, has been conducting political soul searches months since President Trump won the White House and Republicans won both houses of Congress. On Friday, he used the most powerful language to criticize his party in “Real-Time Appearance with Bill Maher.”
“Democratic brands are currently toxic,” he said, who recently conducted an NBC News poll that showed Democrats' favor ratings of 27%, with the lowest in at least one generation.
Mr Newsom is the presidential candidate for 2028, blaming his fellow Democratic Party on the plight of his party. He criticized Democrats for being judged, staying in an echo chamber and resorting to “cancel culture” to exclude people whom people consider annoying.
“We talk to people,” he said. “We talk about people from the past.”
The governor found a sympathetic figure in Mr. Mach, who, despite his liberal tendency, has questioned Democratic orthodoxy for decades.
Mr. Newsom launched a new podcast this month, “This is Gavin Newsom”, where he interviewed guests from various political spheres, partly discussing what went wrong with Democrats in the 2024 election. The early plot talks with Charlie Kirk, who led the youth organization Turning Point USA, and Steve Bannon, architect of President Trump's “Make America Great Again” movement.
These guests have received intense criticism from press-free allies, who accused the governor of legitimizing right-wing views and failing to correct the inaccuracy of their guests' expressions.
“We can't even talk to each other in this idea?” Mr Newsom said in disbelief on Friday.
“You have to. They won,” Mr. Maher replied.
Democrats have broken down how best to face the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress, most notably this month, Sen. Chuck Schumer, a minority leader, voted to avoid a government shutdown. Mr. Schumer defended his decision, an unpopular choice. But many Democrats think their party is weak.
Internally, Democrats are still trying to figure out what went wrong last year and how they can reconvene Congress in 2026.
Mr Newsom, who chaired the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz last year, posted a conversation last week about “Our party is now where hell,” as Mr Newsom said.
“It's a moment of existence, and our solidarity in Trump has not boosted our trust, and it has not helped democratic brands,” Mr Newsom told Mr Walz.
Senator John Fetterman, a Democratic Pennsylvania, also criticized his party on Friday, and said in an interview with Politico that the party would be in a “permanent minority” if the party did not take action.
“We need to have our mistakes. We need to have our party's problems,” Mr Newsom told Mr Maher on Friday.
Mr. Newsom's comments are reminiscent of former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who told his own Republican members of the California Party in 2007 that they were “dying at the box office.” About twenty years ago, Mr. Schwarzenegger urged his conservative base to move towards the center to gain relevance in California, when Democrats controlled the legislature, nearly all statewide offices.
California Republicans have ignored advice in most cases, lost more seats and have never won offices across the state since. Party activists were comforted by Republicans’ national success, who moved to the right and made gains elsewhere.
Mr Newsom said in a podcast this month that it was “very unfair” for trans athletes to participate in women's sports, which surprised Democrats. He reiterated Mr Mach's approval on Friday night.
However, the moderator urged Mr Newsom to a California law that prohibits school districts from requiring teachers to tell parents when students request that their gender identity be changed at school. The Trump administration asserted Thursday that California’s laws violate federal law and Mr. Maher’s position is to inform parents when their children seek identity changes.
Mr. Newsom defended the law as a reasonable policy, saying California simply wanted to protect teachers who “didn't report or eavesdrop on children's gender identity.” ”
“What is the teacher's job? This is what to teach.” “I just think that's fair”
Mr. Maher repeatedly expressed his desire to see Mr. Newsom run for president. On Friday, he asked the guest a question: “Are you going to do this? Just come and tell us.”
After Mr. Newsom's tenure, the governor left enough room to operate after the end of early 2027.
“I respect this very much, but I don't have any grand plans because it respects that,” he said.
