In a rebuke against the Democratic Party, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has revealed his thoughts on transgender athletes competing in girls and sports, and it has spurred reactions from across the state.
Newsom spoke to far-right conservative commentator Charlie Kirk for the debut episode of his new “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast, which premiered on Thursday. During that conversation — a civil, friendly talk between the two despite some disagreements — Newsom broke off from the Democrats on a hot-button issue.
After Kirk brought up an example of a transgender athlete competing in a girls’ high school track and field competition, Newsom the rare phenomenon was “deeply unfair.”
“It is an issue of fairness, I’ll agree with you on that,” Newsom said. “I revere sports, so the issue of fairness is completely legit.”
He also said the Democratic Party has been getting “crushed” on the issue.
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference about legislation directing $2.5 billion in relief to support response and recovery efforts for Los Angeles, with attendance of Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Senate pro-Tempore Mike McGuire, legislators, and local leaders in Pasadena, California on Jan. 23, 2025. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In the hours since he revealed his opinion, several Democrats across California have condemned the governor, who is a possible 2028 presidential candidate.
State Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco, where Newsom was mayor from 2004-11, called Charlie Kirk a “vile bigot” and said that “standing with him on this issue is profoundly disturbing.”
“The Republican strategy to eliminate trans people is to create fake moral panics — to falsely paint trans people as threats,” said in part of a lengthy statement. “They’ve made a huge issue out of gender-affirming care for trans kids when the vast majority of trans kids don’t receive that care. They’re painting trans people who use restrooms or who are incarcerated as predators.”
Wiener, who is openly gay, praised Newsom’s previous “courageous” efforts to protect the LGBTQ+ community and said Republicans’ stance on transgender athletes is simply part of a “culture war” and a political strategy.
“They’re painting trans young people who play sports as a threat to women’s sports, which they are not,” he said. “Of 510,000 NCAA athletes, fewer than 10 are trans. Fewer than 10.”
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, right, prepares to announce his proposed measure to provide legal refuge to displaced transgender youth and their families during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., on March 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
Assemblymember Alex Lee, who represents part of the Bay Area, also took issue with Newsom’s statements.
“WTF. Trans people and LGBTQ+ people are under attack,” he said on X, formerly Twitter. “We don’t need our [governor] caving to conservative talking points that further hurt and scapegoat 1% of the population.”
Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang expressed his disappointment with the governor in a lengthy statement.
“We are profoundly disappointed and angered by Governor Newsom’s comments about transgender youth and their ability to participate in sports,” the statement reads in part. “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.”
“His comments are all the more harmful in the context of the continued attack on the rights and dignity of transgender people happening at all levels of government across the country,” the statement continues. “We are coming out of an election cycle where extremist politicians spent hundreds of millions of dollars spreading hateful disinformation about transgender people and have a federal administration that unleashed five anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders in its first two weeks. California and our leaders have an obligation to fight back and protect transgender people who are just trying to live their lives.”
Meanwhile, Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli, of Corona, expressed confusion at Newsom for his stance, wondering why he speaks about the issue as a commentator but not a politician.
“This is stunning. Talk is cheap,” he said on X, formerly Twitter. “Why don’t you support my bill AB 844 to reverse CA’s law allowing boys to compete in girls sports? You’re the Governor, not a commentator!”
