Newsom admits Democratic Party has become 'pretty aligned' with democratic socialists

WASHINGTON, DC: California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a new interview that the Democratic Party has "pretty aligned" views with the Democratic Socialists of America on issues like universal healthcare, climate change, and moving away from fossil fuels in a startling admission from a man many believe is eyeing a 2028 presidential campaign.

In a conversation with ‘PBS NewsHour,’ Newsom was asked about recent elections that saw democratic socialist candidates do well, saying they provided a boost to Democrats' base and turnout, and if more of their platform should be incorporated into the mainstream party.

Gavin Newsom says the ideas, not just the label, already fit

"If you have these candidates and this platform that is clearly animating the base, energizing turnout, should more of those ideas be worked into the broader Democratic platform?" Newsom was asked.

"I think they are," Newsom shot back. "I mean, we want money out of politics. I've been supporting clean money campaigns for decades."

The interviewer pressed Newsom further, saying, "There seems to be some distance between [Democratic] leadership and those DSA candidates."

"But, not the ideas," Newsom responded.

Newsom downplayed concerns about the label itself, saying it doesn't carry the same alarm for him that it might for others.

"I believe in universal healthcare, and I believe in Medicare for All; the party does overwhelmingly," he said.

"And so, if it's about more money in your pocket, lowering costs, getting money out of politics, if it's about Medicare for All, I think we're pretty aligned."

A platform that goes well beyond healthcare and climate

Newsom dismissed worry about democratic socialist influence in American politics, saying, "I think in many ways, it's just a label … it's just such a familiar label to me, we call them progressives."

Newsom's comments follow the DSA's new platform released this year, which goes much further than what he mentioned, proposing, among other things, the dissolution of the US Senate, the replacement of the presidency and the Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by Congress, amnesty for all immigrants, and the Departments of War's defunding.

The group's current platform also proposes an "immediate end to all deportations," open borders with no restrictions whatsoever on immigration, and the extension of full voting rights to noncitizens and those convicted of crimes.

"Maybe it's just because I'm from California and I think it's healthy … I'm not consumed by this," the governor continued, adding that the DSA's ideas reflect "aspects and component parts of our party that we've always had, and it's a healthy dialectic within the party."

He added, "It's about recognizing that we've got a planet that is getting hotter and drier and that we've got to address the issue of climate change, we want energy security, and we want to move off fossil fuels. That's a DSA position, that's a mainstream position within the Democratic Party."

​Once a fringe on the party's liberal wing, the DSA is rising to power in recent elections, as some of its candidates defeated long-time Democratic incumbents, and seems to represent the party's potential future.