Deprived of all levers of federal power, and with their party’s popularity at rock bottom, some Democrats are taking a polarizing new tack: Engaging with the enemy.
Why it matters: Backlash against cultural elitism — and a reluctance to take risks — fueled the party’s loss in 2024. Ambitious Democrats are reckoning with the need to reach beyond their base as they try to claw out of the wilderness.
Driving the news: None have been as daring as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has rankled the Democratic base by hosting a trio of hardline MAGA voices for the first three episodes of his new podcast.
- Other party favorites are itching to take the fight to Republicans on their home turf, sensing opportunity as President Trump’s honeymoon fades and DOGE cuts grow more unpopular.
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former VP nominee Tim Walz are touring red districts, filling a vacuum where some Republicans have refused to hold town halls.
The intrigue: Far from staging combative debates, Newsom — who’s widely expected to run for president in 2028 — struck a conciliatory tone and sought middle ground in his debut podcast episodes.
- In a discussion with MAGA activist Charlie Kirk, Newsom broke with his party on trans athletes and owned up to “the dumbest bonehead move of my life” — dining maskless indoors at a French restaurant during COVID.
- With conservative radio host Michael Savage, Newsom slammed California’s slow vote-counting process, complimented Tucker Carlson and called for protecting Ronald Reagan’s legacy.
- With former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, Newsom was cordial and polite while giving Bannon ample time to promote his economic populist views — and his false claims that Trump won the 2020 election.
Between the lines: Other prominent liberals have ventured into the belly of the beast with a different mindset — engage in fierce but respectful debate with the goal of publicly exposing MAGA’s flaws.
- A YouTube debate series by Jubilee Media — featuring titles such as “20 Trump Supporters Take on 1 Progressive” — routinely produces viral fireworks.
- Clips from this week’s performance by left-wing commentator Sam Seder racked up tens of millions of views — hard currency in the war for online attention that’s dominated by MAGA influencers.
- Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, another likely 2028 candidate, also has appeared on Jubilee’s “Surrounded” series, as have several liberal streamers.
The big picture: Most Democrats have kept conservative media at arm’s length, shunning the biggest MAGA platforms and personalities to avoid “normalizing” fringe rhetoric such as election denialism.
- Former President Biden never appeared on Fox News while in office, and the Democratic Party rejected the network as a primary debate host in 2020.
- “I think Democrats are afraid to talk to Trump voters,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), whose victory was one of the party’s few bright spots in 2024, told the New York Times.
- “I think Democrats are afraid to talk to people that are going to criticize them.”
What to watch: With little to lose and a lot of ground to make up, that’s beginning to change — for podcasters and politicians alike.
- Pod Save America’s Jon Lovett welcomed Bill Maher, who challenged the left’s prevailing support for transgender rights and gender-affirming care. His colleague Tommy Vietor went on Fox News with Jesse Watters.
- Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), a Fox News regular along with Buttigieg, has joined Truth Social, appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” and criticized the Democratic “Resistance” against Trump.
The bottom line: The right has built some of the country’s most potent megaphones. Now Democrats are using them to try to climb their way out of a deep political hole.