Overview

• Third Way’s memo, titled “Was it something I said?”, urges Democrats who want to defeat Trump-aligned candidates to adopt plainer language.
• It groups roughly 45 flagged words and phrases into six categories, including Therapy-Speak, Seminar Room Language, Organizer Jargon, Gender/Orientation Correctness, Shifting Racial Constructs, and crime-related euphemisms.
• Listed examples include “privilege,” “cultural appropriation,” “unhoused,” “birthing person,” “Latinx,” and “justice-involved.”
• The memo says such language is a red flag for many voters because of confusion or fear of “cancellation” and warns that reframing crime can minimize victims.
• First reported by Politico, the guidance has prompted wide opinion coverage and references to instances like a DNC land acknowledgement, yet it remains advisory rather than party policy.