Newsom says Democratic Party aligned with socialists
California governor cites healthcare, climate change as areas of overlap with DSA
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaks during an election night event in Warminster, Pennsylvania on May 19. California Governor Gavin Newsom attends a bill signing event in Sacramento on August 21, 2025. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks in Detroit on July 18.
Photograph: Newsweek (embedded from source)
What this story says
- California Governor Gavin Newsom said the Democratic Party is "pretty aligned" with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
- Newsom cited universal healthcare, climate change, and moving away from fossil fuels as policy areas of alignment.
- He described DSA ideas as "mainstream" within the Democratic Party and suggested they are being incorporated into the party's platform.
- Newsom was interviewed by PBS NewsHour regarding the influence of socialist ideas within the Democratic Party.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 10 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 12 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
57/100
Hype
41/100
12 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 10 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that the Democratic Party is "pretty aligned" with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), particularly on issues such as universal healthcare, climate change, and a transition away from fossil fuels. Newsom, speaking in an interview with PBS NewsHour, described these ideas as "mainstream" within the broader Democratic Party and suggested that they are being incorporated into the party's platform.
Disagreement on framing
The New York Ledger reported that Newsom "admitted democratic socialist ideas ‘mainstream’ in Democrat party: ‘Pretty aligned’" and that he was "called out for refusing to distance from DSA." Newsweek reported that Newsom was "not alarmed" by the DSA surge and was "for a big-tent party." Slay News reported that Newsom "Admitted Socialists Agenda Now ‘Mainstream’ Among Democrats: ‘We’re Pretty Aligned.’" Patriot Journal reported that Newsom "Says DSA Socialist Ideas Are Already Being Worked into the Democratic Party Platform." American Faith reported that Newsom "Says Socialist Ideas Part of Democratic Party." U-S-NEWS.COM and The Beltway Report reported that Newsom "Says Democratic Socialist Priorities Are Merging Into Mainstream Party Platform."
What the coverage left out
No left-rated outlet ran this story. The right-rated reports did not mention the specific context of Newsom's interview with PBS NewsHour, beyond stating that the interview occurred. The New York Ledger's full report included details about the DSA's updated platform, such as eliminating the Senate and defunding the Department of War, which were not consistently present in the right-rated digests.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 9 Sept 2026, 00:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The New York Ledger's full report stated that California Gov. Gavin Newsom asserted the Democratic party is “pretty aligned” with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) on universal healthcare, climate change, and moving away from fossil fuel usage. The report noted that Newsom was asked about whether more socialist ideas should be worked into the Democratic platform and responded, “I think they are.” The outlet also included details about the DSA's platform, including eliminating the Senate and replacing the president and Supreme Court with officials chosen by Congress, as well as amnesty for all immigrants and defunding the Department of War. The report mentioned that the DSA has been gaining relevance and that some speculate it represents the Democratic Party's future.
Right
9 rated outlets
- Nine right-rated reports focused on Newsom's statements that the Democratic Party is “pretty aligned” with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and that DSA ideas are becoming "mainstream" within the party. These reports highlighted Newsom's comments on universal healthcare, climate change, and moving off fossil fuels as areas of overlap. Several digests, including those from Slay News, Patriot Journal, American Faith, U-S-NEWS.COM, The Beltway Report, and Breitbart, directly stated that Newsom acknowledged socialist ideas are being incorporated into the Democratic platform. Fox News and wfmd.com digests also reported Newsom's assertion of alignment on key policy issues. Newsweek's full report noted Newsom stated he is "not alarmed" by the DSA surge and is "for a big-tent party," while also contrasting his stance with other potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Newsom says Democratic Party aligned with socialists?
- Of the 10 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 10% are rated centre, 90% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 12. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Newsom says Democratic Party aligned with socialists left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 10 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Newsom says Democratic Party aligned with socialists biased?
- Newsom says Democratic Party aligned with socialists is one event reported by 12 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Newsom says Democratic Party aligned with socialists?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Newsom says Democratic Party aligned with socialists?
- 12 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Gavin Newsom say about the Democratic Party and socialists?
- California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that the Democratic Party is "pretty aligned" with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). He described ideas associated with the DSA, such as universal healthcare and climate change policy, as "mainstream" within the Democratic Party and suggested they are being incorporated into the party's platform.
- Which policy areas did Newsom cite as aligned with the DSA?
- Governor Newsom specifically mentioned universal healthcare, climate change, and moving away from fossil fuels as policy areas where he sees alignment between the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). He indicated these are considered mainstream positions within his party.
- Where was Gavin Newsom interviewed?
- Gavin Newsom was interviewed by PBS NewsHour. The discussion focused on the influence and integration of ideas from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) within the broader Democratic Party platform, particularly in the context of potential future presidential runs.
Read it at the source
12 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
1Right
9- Newsom Admits Socialists Agenda Now ‘Mainstream’ Among Democrats: ‘We’re Pretty Aligned’ (opens Slay News in a new tab)
- Newsom Says DSA Socialist Ideas Are Already Being Worked into the Democratic Party Platform (opens Patriot Journal in a new tab)
Patriot Journal — is Patriot Journal biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Newsom admits democratic socialist ideas ‘mainstream’ in Democrat party: ‘Pretty aligned’ (opens wfmd.com in a new tab)
- Newsom admits democratic socialist ideas ‘mainstream’ in Democrat party: ‘Pretty aligned’ (opens Fox News in a new tab)
- Newsom Says Socialist Ideas Part of Democratic Party (opens American Faith in a new tab)
American Faith — is American Faith biased? Our profile of this outlet
- POLITICS: Newsom Says Democratic Socialist Priorities Are Merging Into Mainstream Party Platform – The Beltway Report (opens U-S-NEWS.COM in a new tab)
U-S-NEWS.COM — is U-S-NEWS.COM biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Newsom Says Democratic Socialist Priorities Are Merging Into Mainstream Party Platform (opens The Beltway Report in a new tab)
The Beltway Report — is The Beltway Report biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Newsom "not alarmed" by DSA surge—Where 2028 Democrats stand on movement (opens Newsweek in a new tab)
Not rated
2How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

