By Molly Goddard
7:12am PDT, Apr 23, 2025
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Gavin Newsom has strong thoughts on the state of the Democratic party.
During a Monday, April 21, interview with
The Hill, the Governor of California admitted he thinks the left does not fully understand why they lost to republicans in the 2024 election and is unsure of what they stand for.
Keep reading to hear what Newsom said about the future of the liberal-leaning group…
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Gavin Newsom emphasized how democrats need to look in the mirror to reevaluate how they speak to the American people and address their shared
priorities.
"We have not done a forensic of what just went wrong, period, full stop," the former mayor of San Francisco said about the election results. "I don't think it, I know it. I mean, to the extent that I'm marginally part of this party, I represent the state larger than 21 state populations combined and I can assure you there's not been a party discussion that I'm aware of that has included the state of California."
In another bold criticism, Newsom added, "I don't know what the party is. I'm still struggling with that. If you don't learn the lessons of the past, you will repeat them. The fact that we're not even stress-testing what the h*** just happened and we're having an honest forensic conversation."
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Gavin Newsom also defended California from the accusation that they only cater to Hollywood elites and don't understand the struggle of real Americans.
"I'll remind you, for those that think
California is just a coastal state, we have 150 percent more ag, hunting, forestry jobs than the next state, 150 percent larger. Talk about America, we're just America, only more so," he pointed out.
Newsom staunchly claimed he's a politician for the everyman. "My state of mind is deeply entrenched in this rural mindset as I go back over and over and over again in the Central Valley. It's not helped me electorally, but it certainly helped me sort of create a sort of consciousness around that," he said.
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On a positive note, Gavin Newsom applauded Senator
Bernie Sanders and Representative
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for rallying the Democratic Party on their "Fighting Oligarchy" tour across the nation.
"It's great. It meets the moment. It meets the zeitgeist, the energy," the 57-year-old remarked of the events. "It's what people want. You can see a reflectiveness, the crowds are extraordinary and there's passion and people are anxious and scared in a profound way."
However, Newsom isn't positive that their radical left standing will fare well with voters in rural America. "But I don't know that an electoral victory from a prism of 2028 lies there. I'm not convinced of that. But I admire their willingness to step in the void, to distill a sense of well-being, a spirit, sort of restore a little bit of pride in the Democratic experiment, party. So I do admire that," he added.
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When asked about what he thinks went wrong with former Vice President
Kamala Harris' failed presidential campaign, Gavin Newsom refrained from pointing any fingers.
"I think I'd be unfair in answering that," he said about Harris taking over the ticket from President
Joe Biden only three months before the election.
"We're all geniuses, not just experts in hindsight. And I thought they ran a remarkably effective 107-day campaign and all her strengths were there."
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For his part, Gavin Newsom launched his podcast "This is Gavin Newsom" to reach across the aisle and have conversations with people he disagrees with politically, such as right-wing political strategist
Steve Bannon and conservative activist
Charlie Kirk.
"The reaction when I had Charlie Kirk and Bannon on was exactly to me Exhibit A of what I feel is wrong right now with my party: an unwillingness to even engage in platform, to listen," the Democratic politician said. "I wanted it to be a debate, take the guy down as opposed to, these two voices had a disproportionate impact on the voice you're hearing every single day, in the megaphone in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave."
