California Gov. Gavin Newsom torched his own political party and said Democrats have to speak to Republicans — and reject cancel culture — if they want to win.
“The Democratic brand is toxic right now,” the Democrat leader told Bill Maher Friday, citing the party’s dismal approval ratings.
Just 27% of those surveyed said they had positive views of the party, a recent NBC poll showed.
“It’s one thing to make noise, but you also have to make sense,” Newsom said, urging Dems to dialogue if they want to stop being “crushed.”
He talked up his newly launched podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” as an example of how Democrats can find their footing.
“I think with this podcast, and having the opportunity to dialogue with people I disagree with, it’s an opportunity to try to find common ground and not take cheap shots,” he said.
“I think its important Democrats — we tend to be a little bit more judgmental than we should be,” he said, adding the party should “own up” to their support of cancel culture if they want to move forward.
The Democratic Party has been foundering since the November elections.
Newsom’s assessment of the party’s woes is diametrically opposed to the view of Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz, who claimed this week that Democrats lost because they failed to double down on “woke” politics and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Newsom, meanwhile, broke from the Democratic party line earlier this month when he took a stand against transgender athletes playing in women’s sports.
“I revere sports, so the issue of fairness is completely legit,” Newsom told Kirk on his podcast. “And I saw that — the last couple years, boy did I [see] how you guys were able to weaponize that issue at another level.”
Newsom was a key surrogate for former President Joe Biden and Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024, traveling the country to deliver on the Democrat message. The governor has been long rumored as a potential 2028 candidate for the White House.
But he has kept quiet on his intentions, telling Maher, “I’ve got no grand plans” regarding the next presidential election.
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