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Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., urged Democrats to “own up” to ceding ground on the masculinity crisis during an interview Sunday.
“I say this as a Democrat: We need to own up to the fact that we ceded that ground. We walked away from this crisis of men and boys. Trump saw it as an electoral opportunity to exploit it, but he‘s done nothing to deliver in terms of results to address those anxieties, which are real,” he said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Newsom told CNN host Jake Tapper that suicide rates, dropout rates and suspension rates were off the charts for men.
“This is an issue our party needs to address. We can‘t afford, from an electoral perspective, to lose these folks. But we also can’t on the basis of our values and what we claim to care about and represent, and I say that on behalf of women that need better men,” he added.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a rally on Nov. 08, 2025, in Houston, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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The California governor pointed to Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s work with the younger generation, and said he understood their “grievance.”
“Charlie was organizing around it. People weren’t aware of what Turning Point USA was. I talked to so many Democrats who said, ‘who‘s Charlie Kirk?’ I said, ‘Well, your son knows about him,’” the governor said. Kirk was shot and killed at a campus event in September.
During Newsom’s podcast conversation with Kirk in March 2025, the pair found some common ground on biological male participation in women’s sports.
Kirk asked Newsom, “You, as the governor, should step out and say no. Would you do something like that? Would you say no men in female sports?”
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA speaks during the Turning Point Action conference, July 15, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)
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“Well, I think it’s an issue of fairness,” Newsom replied. “I completely agree with you on that. It’s deeply unfair.”
Newsom told Tapper that Democrats had been slow to recognize the challenges facing men.
“It’s a real issue. Democrats need to understand it not as a zero-sum issue, but an issue that defines not just our politics, but I think, defines our families, our relationships, defines the culture in this moment,” Newsom added.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a rally with Harris County Democrats at the IBEW local 716 union hall on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren) (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
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