Newsom Says Democrats Haven’t Learned Anything From Losing To Trump

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) spoke critically of the Democratic Party in a new interview with The Hill, saying it hasn’t assessed mistakes from the 2024 election and he’s “struggling” to understand its direction.

“We have not done a forensic of what just went wrong, period, full stop,” he said of past election losses. “I don’t think it, I know it.”

Newsom, who recently said Democrats’ stance on including transgender kids in sports was “deeply unfair” and has invited far-right figures onto his podcast, said he hasn’t been part of any such discussions.

“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,” he told The Hill.

“I don’t know what the party is,” he continued. “I’m still struggling with that.”

The outrage around him having two conservative personalities on his podcast proves what’s wrong with the party, he added.

“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,” Newsom said.

“Maybe we should pay attention and at least express a desire to absorb and learn from what they’re doing and how successful they’ve been,” he continued.

It’s unclear what strategy Newsom thinks Democrats should absorb from those two men. Bannon, who served as President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, is a notorious spreader of election lies who’s openly boasted about inundating media outlets with falsehoods, saying in 2020 that “the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.” Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, is also a regular peddler of lies about everything from vaccines to election interference.

In addition to stoking outrage in the party by having Bannon and Kirk on his podcast, Newsom recently caught flak when he seemed to criticize the urgency around Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported and placed in an El Salvador prison. His office pushed back on the accusations.

Newsom, who can’t run for governor again due to term limits, is widely speculated to be running for president in 2028. In the interview, he argued that California is a microcosm of the whole country ― an apparent response to concerns about another presidential nominee from the Golden State.

“For those that think California is just a coastal state, we have 150% more ag, hunting, forestry jobs than the next state, 150% larger. So, you know, you talk about America, we’re just America, only more so,” he said.