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California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, has stepped out of progressiveness by using the first episode of his new podcast to make his statement by allowing trans women and girls to compete in women’s sports.
Newsom made his declaration in a lengthy conversation with 31-year-old conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31-year-old, conservative activist who built an influential Turning Point USA organization that helped President Donald Trump increase his support among voters last fall. Kirk, like Trump, is the voice enemy of allowing trans women and girls to participate.
“I think it’s a fair issue. I totally agree with it. It’s a fairness issue – it’s a very unfair,” Newsom told Kirk about “This is Gavin Newsom.”
“I’m not working on the issue of fairness,” continued Newsom, who played varsity baseball as a university student. “I fully agree with you. I respect sports. So the issue of fairness is completely legal.”
The governor’s comments are Democrats’ latest efforts to settle the 2024 election that brought Trump back to the White House and gave Republicans control of both Congresses. Among the differences since November is how many cultural issues there are, rather than explaining party losses, as opposed to economic policy and other issues. Overall, polls suggest that allowing trans female athletes to play on female teams is not widely popular. According to a January New York Times/Ipsos poll, even most Democrats, about seven in 10, are opposed to allowing transgender female athletes to participate in women’s sports. A 2023 Gallup poll found Democrats split on whether transgender people can play on sports teams that match their current gender identity.
Newsom has long positioned himself as socially progressive and has drawn a sharp responsibilities from LGBTQ advocates.
“Sometimes Gavin Newsom is brave and goes to his profile, but sometimes it isn’t,” said California Senator Chris Ward and state Senator Carolina Menzibal. “We woke up deeply tired of these comments and annoyed.”
The lawmaker argued that “all students deserve the academic and health benefits of sports activities.” They said playing on a team in line with their gender wasn’t a problem “until Donald Trump got hooked on it.”
There is little general support for trans rights and wider restrictions on issues such as healthcare for trans people, especially among Democrats. According to the AP Voting, 55% of voters in the 2024 election said there was too much support for trans rights in government and society, about two in 10 said they were right, with similar shares not being enough. Voters were also slightly more likely to oppose gender-affirming treatments, such as adolescent blockers and hormonal therapy, for minors identifying transgender.
But Republicans have nevertheless tried to capitalize on public opinion distinctions about competitive sports.
Trump regularly thwarted Newsom’s fellow Californian Vice President Kamala Harris for supporting LGBTQ+ rights. Trump’s campaign spent tens of millions of dollars on television and digital advertising in a searing total. “Kamala is for them/they. President Trump is for you.”
“Boy, did you see how you all managed to use it as a weapon,” Newsom told Kirk, succumbing to Kirk’s protest and instead said the ads were an effective “highlight” during the campaign.
Rather than Newsom, Kirk announced the overall issue during more than time-conversation as Democrats discussed how a broader coalition of voters could be rebuilt. Kirk pushed Newsom on whether he would speak out against the competitive transgender female athletes.
The governor tried to alleviate his comments by saying the debate is more than a rule of competition.
“There’s also the humility and grace that these poor people are more likely to commit suicide and suffer from anxiety and depression. The way people talk to vulnerable communities is a problem I struggle with,” Newsmom said. “So, both things I can hold in my hand. How can I deal with this problem with such decency that I think is unique to you?
Still, Newsom’s approach shows a different political tack than he took on same-sex marriage over 20 years ago. As mayor of San Francisco in 2004, Newsom first attracted the public attention by instructing city clerks to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
The move prompted legal action that led to a 2008 ruling from the California Supreme Court, legalizing same-sex marriage in the nation’s largest state. The decision came seven years before the US Supreme Court established same-sex marriage as a national right. –
Barrow was reported from Atlanta. Associated Press polling editors Amelia Thomson-Deveaux and AP writers Michael Blood and Tran Nguyen contributed the report.
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