California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has become the latest prominent Democrat to at least partially push back on allowing trans-identified males to compete in women’s sports, drawing swift backlash from LGBT activists and members of his party.
During the debut episode of his podcast “This is Gavin Newsom,” released Thursday, Newsom spoke with notable conservative commentator Charlie Kirk of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA. During their 81-minute conversation, the two focused on the state of the Democratic Party following its loss in the 2024 presidential election.
Kirk told Newsom, widely viewed as a potential contender for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028 who has always signaled strong support for the LGBT community, that he had an “opportunity” to “run to the middle” by speaking out against the participation of trans-identified males in women’s sports.
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“You right now should come out and be like, ‘you know what, the young man who’s about to win the state championship in the long jump in female sports, that shouldn’t happen,'” Kirk said.
When asked if he would “do something like that” and say “no men in female sports,” Newsom responded, “I think it’s an issue of fairness; I completely agree with you.”
After Newsom reiterated that “It’s deeply unfair,” Kirk asked him again if he would “speak out against this young man, A.B. Hernandez, who right now is going to win the state championship in long jump.”
“I revere sports, and so the issue of fairness is completely legit,” Newsom replied. He also brought up what he described as the necessary “humility and a grace” that must be shown to the trans-identified community because “these poor people are more likely to commit suicide, have anxiety and depression.”
Newsom indicated that “the way that people talk down to vulnerable communities is an issue that I have a hard time with as well,” highlighting his desire to “address this issue with the kind of decency that I think … is inherent in you but not always expressed on the issue and at the same time, deal with the unfairness.”
At the same time, Newsom acknowledged that support for allowing trans-identified male athletes in women’s sports and other practices seen as running afoul of common sense in order to show support for the trans-identified people has hurt Democrats electorally.
He described an ad from the campaign of now-President Donald Trump asserting that 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is for “they/them,” referring to voters who do not identify with either gender, while Trump “is for you” as “devastating” for his party.”
Newsom lamented that Harris “didn’t even react to it,” a development he characterized as “even more devastating.” The ad featured Harris discussing how “every transgender inmate in the prison system would have access” to sex-change surgeries.
In a statement, Equality California, one of the state’s leading LGBT advocacy organizations, said it is “disappointed and angered” by Newsom’s comments.
“Transgender kids — like all kids — deserve the chance to play sports alongside their teammates and learn important values like leadership, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Transgender young people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang said.
Scott Wiener, a Democratic state senator from San Francisco who is openly gay, called Newsom’s comments and interview with Kirk “profoundly disturbing.”
“Now is the time for Democrats to stand firmly with trans people. The Governor’s remarks to Charlie Kirk do not meet that standard,” Wiener wrote in a statement.
Newsom is the latest Democrat to express concern that his party’s position on the issue of trans-identified men participating in women’s sports is affecting their ability to win elections.
In a statement to The New York Times shortly after the election, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., insisted that “Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face.”
Moulton mentioned how he has “two little girls” and doesn’t “want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete.”
“But as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that,” Moulton stated.
Despite his rhetoric, Moulton joined all but two of his fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives in voting against a bill that would ban trans-identified males from women’s sports. Earlier this week, all Democrats in the U.S. Senate voted against the same measure.
A January New York Times/Ipsos poll found that two-thirds of Democratic or Democrat-leaning voters surveyed (67%) do not believe that athletes who were born male should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
Prominant Christian conservative scholar Robert P. George of Princeton University is hopeful that Newsom’s comments signal a shift in how the issue is discussed in the American political landscape, calling the governor a “reliable weathervane.”
“Despite the Democrats’ recent vote in the U.S. Senate, the backdown begins,” he tweeted.
“Now that Gavin Newsom has hoisted the white flag on men in women’s sports, maybe we can candidly and accurately describe the issue as … men in women’s sports,” George continued. “The issue is not properly characterized as whether ‘transgender athletes’ can compete in women’s sports. It’s not about the psyches of athletes; it’s about their sex. It’s not about how they ‘identify’; it’s about whether they are male or female. A woman may compete in women’s sports regardless of how she ‘identifies’ or presents herself; a man may not participate in women’s sports. Period.”
Polling conducted after the 2024 election found one of the most commonly cited reasons for backing Trump among swing voters who ultimately supported him over Harris was the belief that the Democratic presidential nominee was “focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues rather than helping the middle class.”
In the aftermath of the election, CNN political commentator Shermichael Singleton was accused of transphobia by a fellow panelist after he stated, “I think there are a lot of families out there who don’t believe boys should play girls’ sports.”
“Regular people, with children, look at these things, and they say, ‘You know what, this was a bit too far. I do not agree with this. I don’t like this. I think Democrats have gone way too much to the left on social issues,'” Singleton said during a Nov. 8 discussion. “They’re uncomfortable with it. A lot of people believe that, a lot of families believe that.”
Concerns about trans-identified males competing in women’s sports loomed large at Trump’s address to a joint session of U.S. Congress this week.
Trump brought up the plight of Payton McNabb, a former high school volleyball player who suffered serious injuries after a trans-identified male athlete forcefully hit the ball in her direction. Now a high school graduate, the incident derailed McNabb’s athletic career.
Examples of males dominating women’s sports, most notably trans-identified swimmer Lia Thomas breaking women’s swimming record after joining the women’s team following three years of competition on the men’s team, have also generated outcry and calls for government action on the matter.
USA Powerlifting cites biological advantages enjoyed by males, on average, over females in sports, specifically “increased body and muscle mass, bone density, bone structure, and connective tissue.”
Last month, Trump signed an executive order establishing it as “the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational institutions that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities” by allowing trans-identified men to compete on women’s sports teams.
After the executive order, the National Collegiate Athletics Association, the governing board for athletics at several colleges and universities, banned trans-identified males from competing in women’s sports.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
