Newsom deviates from progressives on women’s sports issue

For the Thursday launch of his podcast Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom discussed a variety of cultural issues with Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative nonprofit organization Turning Point USA. The governor agreed with Kirk that allowing “transgender athletes” to participate in women’s sports was deeply unfair.

While he expressed sympathy for people who claim to be transgender, he broke with an unofficial Democratic Party line supporting their participation in girls’ and women’s athletics. His comments came a month after President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at keeping men out of women’s sports. Newsom is considered a top Democratic candidate for the 2028 presidential election.

How have politicians responded? Newsom’s comments drew frustration from some Democratic lawmakers. The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus issued a joint statement criticizing his remarks. Meanwhile, Democrats around the country have spoken out about the issue after Republicans won all three branches of the government in the November election. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., in November told The New York Times that identity politics was hurting Democrats. Earlier this week, Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-led bill aimed at protecting women’s sports.

Meanwhile, a New York Times and Ipsos poll released in January found that the vast majority of Americans do not believe that “athletes who were male at birth” should compete in women’s sports. Even 70% of Democrats in the poll opposed male participation. 

Dig deeper: Read R. Albert Mohler Jr.’s opinion piece about Newsom’s comments.