Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said on Friday that the Democratic brand was “toxic” and that his party had to admit its own mistakes, delivering tough love as Democrats struggle in their fight against the Trump administration.

Mr. Newsom, once considered a liberal combatant, has embarked on a political soul search in the months since President Trump won the White House and Republicans won both houses of Congress. On Friday, he used his strongest language yet to criticize his own party during an appearance on “Real Time With Bill Maher.”

“The Democratic brand is toxic right now,” he said, pointing to a recent NBC News poll that showed Democrats with a 27 percent favorability rating, the lowest in at least a generation.

Mr. Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, blamed his fellow Democrats for his party’s woes. He criticized Democrats for being judgmental, staying in an echo chamber and resorting to “cancel culture” to ostracize people whose views they find abhorrent.

“We talk down to people,betef casino” he said. “We talk past people.”

The governor found in Mr. Maher a sympathetic figure who for decades has questioned Democratic orthodoxy despite his liberal leanings.

Mr. Newsom this month launched a new podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom,” on which he has interviewed guests from across the political spectrum to discuss, in part, what went wrong for Democrats in the 2024 elections. Early episodes featured conversations with Charlie Kirk, who leads the youth organization Turning Point USA, and Steve Bannon, an architect of President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.

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But all around Mr. Biden, there are problems yet to be solved. In Gaza, a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas remains elusive after 11 months of fighting. The escalating volley of missiles across the Israel-Lebanon border poses the threat of a multifront war in the Middle East. The war between Russia and Ukraine is dragging deep into its third year with no end in sight.

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