California Governor Gavin Newsom, a prominent Democrat, sparked controversy Thursday by declaring on his new podcast, This is Gavin Newsom, that men competing in women’s sports is “deeply unfair”—a stance at odds with his administration’s track record of supporting policies that blur gender lines in female-only spaces.
The remarks came during an 81-minute exchange with conservative host Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, as Newsom grappled with why Democrats are “getting crushed” on transgender issues.
“Well, I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness, it’s deeply unfair,” Newsom told Kirk when asked if he’d oppose men in female sports. “I am not wrestling with the fairness issue. I totally agree with you.”
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The governor, a former college baseball player and father of two daughters, called the concern “completely legit,” admitting Democrats are out of touch with public sentiment. Yet, he accused conservatives—like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a vocal critic of gender ideology—of “weaponizing” the debate, urging more “sensitivity” in addressing it.
Newsom’s comments clash sharply with his policy legacy. In 2020, he signed Senate Bill 132, mandating that California’s Department of Corrections ask inmates their gender identity and pronouns, allowing men identifying as women to transfer into female prisons—a move critics say has led to safety concerns for incarcerated women.
In 2024, he made California the first state to ban schools from requiring parental notification if a child seeks to change their name, pronouns, or sports team, effectively enabling secret gender transitions. That same year, the state’s education code continued to permit athletes to compete on teams “consistent with his or her gender identity,” a rule bolstered by the Civil Rights Act’s inclusion of “gender identity” under sex.
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The governor’s transgender-friendly agenda extends further. In 2022, he signed Senate Bill 107, dubbing California a “sanctuary” for transgender youth, shielding families from out-of-state bans on sex change procedures and parental consent laws.
A 2023 law mandates “gender neutral” sections in stores selling children’s items, with fines for noncompliance. Other measures provide taxpayer-funded sex change care for illegal immigrants and require judicial training to scrutinize parents who don’t affirm a child’s gender confusion—policies Newsom has championed as creating “safer, more inclusive spaces.”
“California is proud to have some of the most robust laws in the nation when it comes to protecting and supporting our LGBTQ+ community,” Newsom said in a 2023 press release, touting bills aimed at transgender youth. Yet his podcast pivot has left allies and critics alike questioning his consistency. Kirk, a Trump ally, pressed Newsom on a recent case of a transgender high school athlete dominating a girls’ track event in California, asking why he wouldn’t “say no” outright. Newsom sidestepped a firm commitment, balancing his fairness critique with calls for compassion, noting transgender individuals’ higher rates of suicide and depression.
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The backlash was swift. California’s Legislative LGBTQ Caucus called the remarks “anti-transgender,” while advocates like Erin Reed accused Newsom of “handing a hate monger a microphone” by platforming Kirk. Republicans, meanwhile, seized the moment—Assemblyman Bill Essayli urged Newsom to back a ban on transgender athletes in girls’ sports, dismissing his words as “empty rhetoric” without action.
Newsom’s podcast debut, billed as a bridge-building effort with ideological foes, comes as Democrats soul-search after 2024’s electoral rout. His nod to fairness—echoed by polls showing 66% of Americans favor restricting trans athletes to birth-sex teams—hints at a centrist tack, possibly eyeing 2028’s presidential race.
But with California’s laws still prioritizing gender identity over biological sex, critics argue Newsom’s words ring hollow against a decade of progressive policy. For now, the governor’s tightrope walk between fairness and inclusion leaves both sides demanding he pick a lane.
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