The Memo: Newsom, other big-name Democrats urge party to name ‘villains’

Big-name Democrats urged their party to get more pointed in its attacks — naming “villains” rather than casting arguments in abstract terms — during a major conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

Figures including California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) made the case for the direct naming of nemeses. 

The path to victory for Democrats, Newsom contended, was “through the fight. People want fighters. People want people with conviction and clarity.”

The California governor, widely viewed as a front-runner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, added, “I don’t think we are well-served by tearing other people down. But calling out the villains on the tax code, calling out the villains as it relates to monopolization of capital … I think we would do very well.”

President Trump is of course villain No. 1 in most Democrats’ minds. Trump loomed large over the 2026 IDEAS conference hosted by the Center for American Progress, a leading liberal think tank, in a hotel just blocks from the White House. 

But while speaker after speaker blasted the president as an active threat to American democracy, many also underscored the need to look beyond him and prepare policies to win in a post-Trump era. 

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D), a centrist figure in the party, called for greater sharpness — and greater practicality — in responding to voters’ concerns.

“We cannot be the party of strongly worded letters,” Sherrill said. “We can’t settle for 10-year studies.”

What, exactly, the Democratic agenda should foreground is clearly open to debate.

Figures like Sherrill would plainly answer that question rather differently than progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

On Tuesday, Sherrill focused her remarks on affordability,........

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