Democratic California governor faces backlash after saying trans women playing in female sports was \u2018deeply unfair\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California believed to be eyeing a run for president in 2028, is facing fierce backlash from LGBTQ+ rights advocates after his suggestion that the participation of transgender women and girls in female sports was \u201cdeeply unfair\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the inaugural episode of his podcast, This Is Gavin Newsom, the governor hosted conservative political activist and Maga darling Charlie Kirk. The co-founder and executive director of the rightwing Turning Point USA<\/a>, a Phoenix-based organization that operates on school campuses, told Newsom: \u201cYou, right now, should come out and be like: \u2018You know what? The young man who\u2019s about to win the state championship in the long jump in female sports \u2013 that shouldn\u2019t happen.\u2019 You, as the governor, should step out and say: \u2018No.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The governor responded: \u201cI think it\u2019s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that \u2026 it\u2019s deeply unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Members of his own party in California<\/a> quickly condemned the comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe woke up profoundly sickened and frustrated by these remarks,\u201d assembly member Chris Ward and senator Caroline Menjivar, of the California legislative LGBTQ+ caucus, said in a statement. \u201cAll students deserve the academic and health benefits of sports activity, and until Donald Trump<\/a> began obsessing about it, playing on a team consistent with one\u2019s gender has not been a problem since the standard was passed in 2013.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n California law has long protected trans youth\u2019s rights to participate in school activities that match their gender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The governor\u2019s remarks also earned him scorn from national LGBTQ+ rights leaders, with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president, Kelley Robinson, saying in a statement: \u201cHistory doesn\u2019t remember those who waver \u2013 it remembers those who refuse to back down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Newsom\u2019s comments saw him agreeing with one of the central anti-trans talking points of Republicans and rightwing activists, who have fueled moral panics about trans women in public spaces and trans youth healthcare in recent years. Out of more than 500,000 college athletes, there are fewer than 10 who are trans and out, officials recently said<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proponents of anti-trans restrictions for K-12 students have often struggled<\/a> to find examples of trans girls playing in school sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The few openly trans athletes who are in the public eye have faced intense harassment and scrutiny. Civil rights advocates argue that for youth, their ability to play sports that align with their gender is a matter of basic dignity and equal protection under the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Izzy Gardon, the governor\u2019s communications director, said in a statement on Thursday evening: \u201cThe governor rejects the right wing\u2019s cynical attempt to weaponize this debate as an excuse to vilify individual kids.\u201d His office earlier pointed out that in the podcast, the governor noted the high rates of suicide and anxiety among trans people, saying: \u201cThe way that people talk down to vulnerable communities is an issue that I have a hard time with. So, both things I can hold in my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bamby Salcedo, a longtime Los Angeles-based activist and president of the TransLatin@ Coalition, said it was devastating to hear Newsom fail to even correct Kirk when he appeared to be referring to trans women as men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor someone who says he is supportive of our communities to come out and say these awful things, he\u2019s using us as political pawns,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDenying the opportunity for young people to participate in sports is denying them the opportunity to be who they fully are. It is really damaging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scott Wiener, a state senator and proponent of trans rights, said in an interview that he considered Newsom a longtime ally of LGBTQ+ people and that it had been \u201cbrutal\u201d to hear the governor\u2019s comments. He noted there has been a \u201cdecades-long strategic plan by the right wing to demonize trans people\u201d, adding: \u201cThey\u2019ve done it very methodically. It\u2019s disgusting, but it\u2019s had some success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trans youth in the public eye have faced national ridicule, Wiener noted: \u201cIf they\u2019re out as trans, they\u2019re so courageous and they\u2019re putting themselves at risk. It\u2019s really important for people who know better to have their backs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wiener, who has introduced<\/a> legislation to strengthen the state\u2019s trans refuge law, said Newsom has had a good track record on trans civil rights bills, and he hoped that wouldn\u2019t change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n State assemblymember Alex Lee, another LGBTQ+ caucus member, said Newsom\u2019s remarks were \u201cshocking and offensive\u201d and that it would hurt his future ambitions: \u201cThrowing trans people under the bus will alienate lots of people who are LGBTQ+ and allies across the nation \u2026 If you\u2019re running to be a Republican nominee, this is a great strategy. But if you want to run as a Democrat and someone who is pro-human rights, this is a terrible look.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some California Republicans<\/a> were dubious of Newsom, a longtime champion of LGBTQ+ rights who drew national attention when, as the mayor of San Francisco, he defied state law and began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is stunning,\u201d the California assemblymember Bill Essayli wrote on X. \u201cTalk is cheap @GavinNewsom. Why don\u2019t you support my bill AB 844 to reverse CA\u2019s law allowing boys to compete in girls sports? You\u2019re the Governor, not a commentator!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donald Trump made the issue of trans women in sports a central pillar of his campaign and as president has tried to erase trans and non-binary Americans<\/a> from public life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He signed an executive order declaring that the federal government would only recognize two sexes, male and female, and another titled Keeping Men Out of Women\u2019s Sports, which threatens to withhold federal funds from schools that do not comply. Meanwhile, the US state department has ordered officials<\/a> worldwide to deny visas to transgender athletes attempting to come to the US for sports competitions, including the Olympics, which Los Angeles will host in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his joint speech to Congress this week, the president spotlighted<\/a> the story of a volleyball player who was injured by a trans athlete on the opposing team and threatened to pull federal funding from any school that defied his executive order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this week, Senate Democrats banded together<\/a> to block a Republican bill that would have barred transgender women and girls from playing on female sports teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat Republicans are doing today is inventing a problem to stir up a culture war and divide people against each other and distract people from what they\u2019re actually doing,\u201d the senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat of Hawaii, said<\/a> in a floor speech during debate over the bill on Monday. Instead of addressing the most pressing issues of the day, such as rising grocery costs and a growing measles outbreak, Schatz said, Republicans were instead focused on an issue that was \u201ctotally irrelevant to 99.9% of all people across the country\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since Kamala Harris\u2019s 2024 loss, Democrats have been embroiled in a debate over what went wrong, ostensibly the reason for the governor\u2019s podcast in which he will \u201ctalk directly with people I disagree with\u201d. Desperate for answers, some Democrats have pointed to<\/a> the party\u2019s support for trans rights as a reason for their defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the interview, Newsom conceded Trump\u2019s signature campaign ad \u2013 \u201cKamala is for they\/them, President Trump is for you\u201d \u2013 was both \u201cbrutal\u201d and effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe didn\u2019t even react to it, which was even more devastating,\u201d the governor told Kirk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just that this was like the Willie Horton ad of the 2024 [cycle]. It wasn\u2019t just like Lee Atwater brilliance. It\u2019s that it reflected truth that the voters felt,\u201d Kirk said. \u201cYeah, I appreciate that,\u201d Newsom interjected, as Kirk continued: \u201cBecause voters felt as if their country was slipping away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n