Gavin Newsom admits 'Democratic brand is toxic,' says party is 'judgmental'

California Governor Gavin Newsom said to the audience on Real Time with Bill Maher that the "Democratic brand is toxic" and made the comment that Democrats are "judgmental." This comes after the governor has brought conservatives onto his new podcast to talk to them.

Referring to Republicans, Newsom said, "These guys are crushing us."

"The Democratic brand is toxic right now. We had a high watermark two weeks ago, and that was a CNN poll at 29 percent favorability. It's dropped when the NBC poll down to 27 percent. It's one thing to make noise, but you also have to make sense.”

He then talked up his new podcast, where he has also spoken with former Trump advisor Steve Bannon as well as Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

"And I think with this podcast and having the opportunity to dialog with people I disagree with, it's an opportunity to try to find common ground and not take cheap shots," Newsom added.

“I think it's important, Democrats — we tend to be a little bit more judgmental than we should be," he added, saying that the party should "own up" supporting cancel culture.

He added that Maher has been on the “receiving end” of cancel culture for “years.”

When Newsom had Kirk on his show, he split with many Democrats on the issue of including trans-identified males in women's sports and said that “it’s an issue of fairness” and added that he “completely agreed” with Kirk that males should not be playing in female sports.

Newsom, who some have speculated could be making a bid for president in 2028, was a key campaign surrogate for Joe Biden as well as Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. The governor’s present term will be his last due to California’s laws regarding the governor’s terms in office.

Although, Newsom told Maher he has “no grand plans” with respect to the 2028 election.