SACRAMENTO, CA – California Gov. Gavin Newsom, in the debut episode of his new podcast this past week, expressed opposition to transgender women and girls competing in women’s sports, diverging from his past progressive stances, according to an Associated Press report.
Newsom shared his views during a lengthy discussion with conservative activist Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, which helped boost President Trump’s support among young voters. Like Trump, Kirk opposes transgender women and girls competing in women’s sports.
Newsom added, “I agree, it’s a matter of fairness – it’s truly unfair.” He added he does not struggle with the fairness aspect and fully supports the concern, explaining that as someone who values sports, he finds the fairness issue completely valid.
As reported by AP News, the governor’s remarks come amid ongoing efforts by Democrats to address the 2024 election, which saw Trump return to the White House and Republicans take control of Congress. One point of debate since November has been the role of cultural issues in the party’s losses, compared to economic policy and other factors.
AP noted, according to a January New York Times poll, polling shows that allowing transgender women to compete on female sports teams isn’t widely supported. Even among Democrats, about 70 percent oppose it. Additionally, a 2023 Gallup poll also revealed divisions within the party over whether transgender individuals should be allowed to play on teams matching their gender identity.
Newsom, typically seen as a social progressive, faced strong criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates for his stance now, said AP.
California Assemblyman Chris Ward and state Sen. Carolina Menjivar, leaders of the state’s LGBTQ+ legislative caucus, commented, “At times, Gavin Newsom takes a stand of courage, and at other times, he does not. We were deeply upset and frustrated by these comments.”
Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, noted “disappointment and anger” with Newsom’s remarks, as they contributed to the “heartbreak and fear felt by the transgender community under the Trump administration.”
Hoang added, “Currently, transgender youth, along with their families, doctors, and teachers, are facing unprecedented attacks from extremist politicians aiming to strip away their civil rights and erase their presence in society. They need leaders who will firmly stand up for them.”
California law, established before Newsom took office, mandates that schools allow transgender athletes to compete on teams matching their gender identity, said AP—noting this year, Republican lawmakers proposed bills to ban this practice, but passing them would be challenging in the Democrat-controlled legislature. The governor’s office declined to comment on the bills, stating that Newsom usually refrains from commenting on pending legislation.
As reported by AP News, while there is limited support for restrictions on transgender athletes, there is even less public backing for broader limitations on transgender rights, such as medical care for transgender individuals, especially among Democrats.
According to AP VoteCast, 55 percent of voters in the 2024 election believed support for transgender rights in government and society had gone too far, while around 20 percent thought it was about right, and a similar percentage felt it hadn’t gone far enough.
Voters were also slightly more likely to oppose than support laws banning gender-affirming medical treatments, like puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for minors identifying as transgender, reported AP, noting despite this Republicans have tried to leverage the cultural significance of sports in America.
AP News noted Trump frequently criticized Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Newsom’s fellow Californian, for her support of LGBTQ+ rights, while, at his rallies, Trump vowed to eliminate “transgender insanity” from schools and to “keep men out of women’s sports.” His campaign also spent millions on ads featuring the stark message: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
Newsom told Kirk, “I definitely saw how you all managed to weaponize it,” before conceding to Kirk’s objection and acknowledging the ads were an effective “highlight” in the campaign.
Ward and Menjivar, the California lawmakers, stated to AP that playing on a team that matches one’s gender was not an issue “until Donald Trump started obsessing over it.”
Kirk, not Newsom, introduced, explained AP, the broader issue during their hour-long conversation, which also covered how Democrats can rebuild a wider voter coalition, and Kirk pushed Newsom on whether he would publicly oppose transgender women athletes in sports.
As reported by AP News, Newsom stated, “There’s also a sense of humility and compassion needed, as these individuals are more likely to experience suicide, anxiety, and depression. The way vulnerable communities are spoken to is something I struggle with too.
“So, I can acknowledge both sides. How can we address this issue with the decency I believe you have, though it’s not always shown on this topic, while also tackling the unfairness.”
I ran this through the (AI), and got this response:
“Recent surveys indicate that a significant majority of Americans share California Governor Gavin Newsom’s opposition to transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. A New York Times/Ipsos poll found that 79% of Americans believe transgender female athletes should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports, with opposition spanning across party lines: 67% of Democrats and 94% of Republicans.
NEW YORK POST
Similarly, a Pew Research Center survey reported that 66% of U.S. adults favor laws requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching their sex assigned at birth.
PEWRESEARCH.ORG
These findings suggest that approximately two-thirds to nearly four-fifths of Americans align with Governor Newsom’s stance on this issue.
“These findings suggest that approximately two-thirds to nearly four-fifths of Americans align with Governor Newsom’s stance on this issue.”
That’s likely fairly accurate – but that doesn’t mean they are correct. And a politician pandering to popular sentiment doesn’t get them into profiles in courage.
“That’s likely fairly accurate – but that doesn’t mean they are correct. ”
I hope you and all your Democrat/Progressive friends keep thinking that way so the GOP will keep winning elections.
When LBJ signed the voting rights bill in 1965, he remarked to an aid that he just handed over the south to the GOP for the next few generations but it was the right thing to do.
Good, I hope Democrats keep doing what they think the right thing to do is.
77% of the rest of the country thinks men participating in women’s sports is the wrong thing to do.
In 2008, by a wide margin California support Prop 8 on same sex marriage, within a decade that number completely flipped – nationwide. You can’t align your positions to public opinion, you have to actually stand for something.
Yes, and 77% of the nation stand with keeping men out of women’s sports.
Today perhaps. Also note your framing of the issue is keeping men out of women’s sports rather than an accurate description of the issue.
What’s an accurate framing of the issue.
Keeping MEN who say they’re a woman out of sports?
Let’s put it this way, if you constructed your poll to ask: should men be able to compete in women’s sports? I think you would have near unanimity that that’s a bad idea. So as you add nuance to your question, the numbers are likely to move.
The science here is pretty interesting – I’m not going to cite it now because you generally don’t engage in deep dives – but I would suggest that when you create policies that put requirements on participation such things as hormone treatment, bone structure, and puberty blockers – public opinion will move drastically and the science, while still in its early stages should an ability to achieve fairness for all involved.
To me that suggests that there could be some sort of middle ground to allow participation of transgender athletes in girls/ women’s athletics and the possibility that once that discuss is held that public opinion will move rapidly.
But it’s easy to jump on the bandwagon of men not participating in women’s sports, the more difficult discussion is diving into the current state of science.
If transgender sports is the hill you want to die on so be it but obviously the Governor doesn’t want to die on that hill
Just like many Democrats in the 30s, 40s, and 50s didn’t want to die on the civil rights hill. It took a whole movement to change that calculus. MLK had to school, criticize, push and prod the Kennedy administration to ultimately get LBJ to sign the 64 and 65 bills.