Overview

• The Thursday memo, titled “Was It Something I Said?”, lists 45 terms to avoid and organizes them into six categories including Therapy-Speak and Explaining Away Crime.
• Examples flagged include “birthing person,” “Latinx,” “privilege,” “microaggression,” “housing insecurity” and “justice-involved.”
• Third Way frames the guidance as advice to opponents of President Trump and MAGA, with Matt Bennett saying Democrats should stop “leading a seminar” and speak plainly.
• The memo targets public-facing allies such as candidates and advocates, and Axios reports Third Way plans to promote the guidance via social media, podcasts and briefings.
• The effort follows worries about Democratic slippage, including a New York Times analysis showing roughly 2.1 million fewer registered Democrats from 2020 to 2024 as Republicans gained about 2.4 million.