California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, 2024, after meeting privately with congressional Democrats to plan out a response to President-elect Donald Trump’s anticipated efforts to roll back liberal policies in California. By Gillian Brassil
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he opposed allowing transgender athletes to compete in sports, an issue that has divided members of his own party and further signaled that the California Democrat is trying to soften his liberal image for a national audience as he considers his political future.
In his debut podcast interview with Turning Point USA conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Newsom framed the issue of allowing transgender athletes to compete as a “fairness” issue after Kirk, who has a history of espousing conspiracy theories, complained that a transgender girl in Riverside County set a track record at a high school meet last month. Kirk said the governor should come out against the issue while noting that since 2013, California has allowed student-athletes to compete on teams that reflect their gender identity.
“The issue of fairness is completely legit. So I completely align with you, and we’ve got to own that and we’ve got to acknowledge it,” Newsom said, pointing out that he had two daughters and that he and his wife had played college sports. “It is an issue of fairness. It’s deeply unfair.”
Newsom is believed to be considering a run for president in 2028. His remarks on transgender athletes — combined with his recent order for state workers to return to working in-office four days a week and his refusal to participate in Democratic governors’ sparring with President Donald Trump — suggest he is trying to moderate his reputation as a progressive attack dog.
“He’s learning that woke ain’t working for the Democrats,” said John Dedie, a national political observer who teaches at Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland. “It doesn’t appeal to pocketbook issues. The Republicans were out running Kamala Harris attack ads during NFL games.”
In his interview with Kirk, Newsom highlighted the effectiveness of Trump’s attack ad against Kamala Harris, which said “Kamala Harris for they/them. Donald Trump is for you.”
“Devastating,” Newsom said. “And she didn’t even react to it, which was even more devastating.”
Dedie said it was likely Newsom is trying to “inoculate himself” on divisive culture issues before moving on to more substantive economic issues, for which national Democrats have yet to settle on a winning strategy. There are 300,000 transgender youth in the U.S., according to UCLA’s Williams Institute, and even fewer compete in organized sports, though Republicans have seized upon the issue as a culture war wedge to varying degrees of success.
“Now you’ve generated a little buzz, and you’ve gotten it over with,” Dedie said of the attention Newsom’s interview with Kirk generated. “When people get riled up on dumb stuff, you can say, ‘Calm down, I agree with you, now next question.’”
While it’s yet unclear if the pivot will lose him any significant support among allies, Democrats in California immediately came out against Newsom’s statements.
“Sometimes Gavin Newsom goes for the ‘Profile in Courage,’ sometimes not,” California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus leaders Assemblymember Chris Ward and Sen. Caroline Menjivar said in a statement. “We woke up profoundly sickened and frustrated by these remarks.”
State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat believed to have national ambitions of his own, said Newsom had “many courageous moments,” citing his early support for gay marriage.
“This is not one of those moments,” Wiener said. “Trans people are just trying to live their lives. They’re facing a level of political hostility that leads to violence and homelessness. They need their allies to stand with them — especially when it’s hard.”
Assemblyman Alex Low, a San Jose Democrat, also criticized the governor for “caving to conservative talking points that further hurt and scapegoat 1% of the population.” His fellow Silicon Valley Democrat, Rep. Ro Khanna, who has expressed skepticism about Newsom’s appeal to voters outside California, said he agreed.
Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon redirected a request for comment back to the governor’s statements on his podcast, titled “This is Gavin Newsom,” where he told Kirk that he had a “hard time with” the way the right demonized transgender people.
“So, both things I can hold in my hand,” Newsom said. “How can we address this issue with the kind of decency that I think, you know, is inherent in you, but not always expressed on the issue, but at the same time, deal with the unfairness?
It’s also unclear whether Republicans will embrace Newsom’s heel turn and set aside their skepticism.
Trump aide Richard Grennell accused the governor of “flip-flopping” on his stance after “viewing the polling.”
The Republican-led House most recently passed a bill 218-206 to ban transgender people from competing in female sports through every level of school and college, but the U.S. Senate has effectively derailed the bill after it did not receive enough votes to limit debate.
On Thursday, the GOP’s congressional campaign arm was quick to jump on Newsom’s comments — and Democrats’ record.
“California House Democrats including Adam Gray have a lot of explaining to do today after Gavin Newsom ‘drops a bomb’ on his podcast he no longer supports biological men invading girl’s sports,” said Ben Petersen, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Gray is one of the most vulnerable Democrats in Congress. Trump won his Central Valley district by more than 5 percentage points last year, but Gray won the seat by fewer than 200 votes.
“Suddenly finding yourself to the left of Gavin Newsom sure is uncomfortable for Adam Gray, but there is no question it is a crisis of his own making. Over and over, Adam Gray has made clear he supports biological men invading girl’s sports,” Petersen said.
Gray said he agreed with Newsom that trans female athletes should not compete against their cisgender peers, and said that he only voted no because the bill was overly broad.
“What I actually did in one of my first acts in Congress was vote against a badly written bill that would rip federal funds away from every single kid in a school district over actions of a few activists,” Gray said in a statement.
“I didn’t come to Washington to spend my time on petty partisan fights. I’m here to find common ground with my colleagues in both parties to lower costs, protect our communities, strengthen the border and improve health care and education opportunities for the Valley.”
The Sacramento Bee
Lia Russell covers California’s governor for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau. Originally from San Francisco, Lia previously worked for The Baltimore Sun and the Bangor Daily News in Maine.
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