Gavin Newsom called out for 'walking into the trap' of attacking Democrats on 'pronouns'
Comedian Adam Friedland sparred with Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the governor calling out the Democratic Party's fixation on "pronouns" and other cultural issues.
While appearing on "The Adam Friedland Show" to promote his new book, "Young Man in a Hurry," Wednesday, Newsom faced several critiques from Friedland, including one ab out his recent call for Democrats to be more culturally "normal."
"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," Newsom said last month on CNN.
"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 PREDICTS TRUMP IS 'TOAST,' WILL DRAG GOP INTO MIDTERM WIPEOUT
Friedland confronted Newsom on those comments.
"You said the Democratic Party is too fixated on pronouns," he said. "Like, you're walking into their trap. That's what they're saying. No voter has decided, like, ‘I was going to go Democrat, but their fixation on pronouns is like’ ... no."
Newsom said, "I think there was a moment there was some. … I think it's not one thing. It's sort of the stacking of things. I'm just telling you, like, old-school Democrats I talked to …"
Friedland further stressed Newsom was "walking into the trap."
"There's, like, three trans athletes. People are like, 'I would vote for the Democrats were it not for them damaging the integrity of girls sports'? Like, come on, dude. You're walking into the trap," Friedland said.
Newsom repeatedly responded, "I get it," when pressed by Friedland but added that Republicans were winning the messaging war regarding cultural issues.
GAVIN NEWSOM SAYS HE FEARS JD VANCE MAY BE ‘A LITTLE MORE DANGEROUS’ THAN TRUMP
"They were flooding the zone. We were on our heels, not our toes. And narrative matters, and we were constantly on the defense," Newsom said.
Friedland and Newsom agreed that people needed to "mind your own f---ing business" rather than harp on cultural issues.
In a comment to Fox News Digital, a Newsom spokesperson said the governor's comments "speak for themselves."
Newsom was called out by far-left podcaster Jennifer Welch last week for "ceding ground" to the Republicans on cultural issues.
"What you're saying, Gov. Newsom, is breathtakingly dangerous," Welch said. "And you're ceding ground to the narratives that Republicans try to define free people that mind their own business that stand up for everything. You're allowing their bull---- narratives to define Americans, and it is utterly disgraceful."
Newsom responded to Welch's comments Monday while appearing on Kara Swisher's podcast, saying he was primarily referring to how people feel about certain issues rather than trying to define what is "culturally normal."
"It's what you, what you emphasize, what you disproportionately focus on and how you navigate a world where they're again trying to shape shift, and we are on the defense," Newsom said.
"Again, that's why I went on the offense as it relates to the banning and the cultural purge that the right wing is doing. And that's why we are iterating in that respect."