Looks like there's trouble in the Democrats' big tent. Haley Stevens, the Michigan Democrat who endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over the weekend, has lost a lot of support from her fellow Democrats. But not Gavin Newsom, it seems. At least not yet.
Our own Larry O'Connor asked Newsom about Haley's defection and the Democrats' reaction to it.
This evening I asked Gavin Newsom about Democrats' condemnation of Haley Stevens and how that squares with his frequent calls for Republicans to put country over party with regard to Donald Trump.
— L A R R Y (@LarryOConnor) November 1, 2026
Here is his answer.. 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/HnMgvVfRdI
"Congresswoman Stevens, it appears, made this decision over concerns about the antisemitic scapegoating in an ad that ran this week and Abdul El-Sayed's rhetoric about Israel and associations with the Muslim Brotherhood," O'Connor said. "Now, Chuck Schumer says that her decision was a despicable betrayal. But you've urged, for about ten years now, Republicans to put country over party and to follow their conscience. So which is this? Was it a despicable betraying or is she exercising the independence that you've asked Republicans to exercise?"
"Well ... I don't know enough about what ultimately led her to make that decision outside of what she said in that video," Newsom replied. "And she certainly has the right to do that and I don't condemn her on that basis. I don't agree with her and I made that point clear. To the extent that the, you know ... the soon-to-be Majority Leader Schumer made that statement, that's, you should ask him. I'm not offended by it, I understand it. The ranks of the Democratic Party coming around our nominee and that's understandable."
One of the Democrats who was not happy with Newsom's answer was Ro Khanna, who called him out on a different, now-deleted post featuring Newsom's remarks.
Really @GavinNewsom?
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) November 2, 2026
Not condemning Haley's decision to support @MikeRogersForMI over @AbdulElSayed?
Shilling for billionaires & Sergey Brin while poor California kids lose healthcare?
Your Big Tent is just standing for nothing. https://t.co/2gkPQFZvfC
The irony of Khanna lecturing Newsom about a big tent when they just kicked on of their loyal Democrats to the curb in favor of El-Sayed is rich.
And now Ro goes after Gavin.
— Hussain Abdul-Hussain (@hahussain) November 2, 2026
Big tent is exploding. Center will either organize a coup and squeeze out far Left, or sink and the party goes far Left, in which case Dem shrinks significantly and Rep expands (having already won over labor unions because of Dem open border policy).… https://t.co/FS99ZTTGP9
That's a path this could take, and it would be devastating for the Democrats and we're fine with that.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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