Newsom: Democrats Must Be ‘Culturally Normal’

Adriana Stone 0 1 min read

Newsom: Democrats Must Be ‘Culturally Normal’

Gavin Newsom put his party on blast this week. He told CNN the Democrats need to act more “culturally normal” if they want to win future elections.

He didn’t mince words. He said Republicans are scoring points by pointing to culture concerns and identity issues. He argued Democrats should stop obsessing over pronouns and identity and spend time on things people actually feel: bills, childcare, housing, and health care.

Here’s the exact quote Newsom gave, in full:

“From a tactical perspective, from the prism of purely politics, there’s no doubt that the Democratic Party needs to be, dare I say, more culturally normal. I believe that – less prone to spending a disproportionate amount of time on pronouns, identity, politics, more focused on tabletop issues, things that really matter, the stacking of stress in terms of electricity bills and childcare costs and healthcare and obviously housing costs and how easily we get trapped in that, how I’ve fallen prey to that,” Newsom said.

That’s not a subtle nudge. It’s a slam. He knows the talking points. He’s run big campaigns. He’s seen what voters notice.

But some critics aren’t buying it. They say Newsom speaks like a guy trying to win swing voters while his party moves left. They point to convention stages, platform fights, and grassroots pressure from activist groups. They don’t see a serious shift coming.

From a Republican view, this feels like another moment where establishment Democrats admit a problem but don’t fix it. Calls for moderation don’t matter if your convention is dominated by activists demanding more identity-driven policy. Words don’t undo platforms.

Whether Newsom’s warning changes anything is the real question. He can talk pragmatic politics. He can urge focus on pocketbook issues. But the party base answers to different priorities. That tension will play out loud between now and the next election.

Here’s the video:

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