Gov. Gavin Newsom this week again criticized the Democratic Party’s “toxic” brand and defended his decision to host controversial conservative figures on his personal podcast.
Speaking to hundreds of business leaders gathered Tuesday in San Francisco for the Bay Area-Silicon Valley Summit, Newsom called on Democrats to “get out of our own damn bubble” and take stock of the social and economic issues that propelled Donald Trump back into the White House in November.
“I just think we need to really have a deep introspection, and we need to own up to what has happened over the last few elections, not just this election,” he said. “I think we’ve got to square with our agenda and where the American people are.”
Newsom, who is seen as a likely 2028 presidential contender, argued that his party has wandered too far from the electorate on social issues such as immigration and “cancel culture” and accused Democrats of failing to course-correct on these policies despite voting trends showing them as vulnerabilities leading up to the 2024 election.
Those issues have become a focal point of the governor’s podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” which he launched this year in an effort to better understand conservative voters and how Democrats can improve their messaging.
As part of that strategy, Newsom has invited controversial right-wing figures such as Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon onto the podcast — decisions that have drawn intense criticism from within his party.
During the panel, Newsom announced that he had just finished a recording with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for an episode that dropped Wednesday, and that he had invited Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway to the show.
“I love Kellyanne,” Newsom told the crowd.
But it was a March conversation with Kirk that drew particular furor from Democrats, after Newsom described the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports as “deeply unfair.”
During an appearance on “Real Time With Bill Maher” that month, Newsom sparked more outrage after calling the Democratic brand “toxic.”
Newsom acknowledged that criticism Tuesday but defended his frustrations with the Democratic Party and said his dialogue with Kirk and other conservatives is a concerted effort to win back young male voters who have flocked to the Republican Party.
“It is an issue for me that is terrifying,” Newsom said. “We are getting crushed. Shellacked. And the other side is weaponizing it.
“You may not like what Charlie Kirk represents or what he’s doing,” he added, “but we don’t have anything on the other side.”
In defense of his claim that the Democratic brand is toxic, he pointed to a recent NBC News survey showing Democrats with a dismal 27% approval rating as proof that his party needs a reinvention.
“If you’re at 27%, you’re struggling. It’s a toxic brand,” he said.
Newsom’s pivot draws skepticism
But many Democrats and Republicans alike see Newsom as part of the problem. They’ve noted that he was a top surrogate for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and that he often traveled to red states or appeared on conservative media highlighting the former president’s policy accomplishments.
As governor, Newsom has championed LGBTQ+ issues, supported immigrants’ rights, pushed for criminal justice reforms, and ramped up California’s environmental goals — policy priorities that many see as out of touch with the average American voter.
“I think it’d be more interesting and compelling if he took some responsibility for why the party’s brand is so toxic,” said Rob Stutzman, a Sacramento-based GOP campaign consultant. “The future of the party isn’t going to get fixed by trying to ‘bro out’ with young MAGA men.”
Steve Maviglio, a Democratic consultant in Sacramento, said Newsom’s energy would be better spent helping rebuild his party in preparation for next year’s midterm elections than on platforming “what these extremists are saying.”
Maviglio said Newsom would be respected — both in his home state and nationally — more for solving California’s problems as governor than for running a shadow campaign for president.
“The energy he puts into trying to be the next president that he could be putting into being governor could make a big difference,” Maviglio said. “Let’s try to make government work [so] we can point to success.”