California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing backlash from progressive lawmakers and LGBTQ leaders after speaking out on Thursday against allowing transgender athletes to compete in female sports.
Newsom, a Democrat who was once called the state’s “most liberal governor ever,” used the inaugural episode of his new podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” to split with his party’s social progressives on an issue championed by President Donald Trump.
In an extended conversation with conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk, the governor said he “completely” agreed with the right’s opposition to allowing trans women and girls to compete in sports alongside their cisgender peers.
“It is an issue of fairness — it’s deeply unfair,” Newsom told the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics and helped increase Trump’s support among young voters.
“I am not wrestling with the fairness issue,” he said. “I totally agree with you. … I revere sports. So, the issue of fairness is completely legit.”
Newsom’s “deeply concerning comments” were sharply criticized by LGBTQ rights advocates and liberal lawmakers, who accused the politician — once seen as a powerful Trump critic — of lacking courage and betraying vulnerable communities.
“When LGBTQ+ lives are under attack, real leaders don’t hedge — they fight,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson told the Daily News in an email. “Across this country, extremists are stripping away rights, banning books and targeting trans kids just for being who they are. This is not the time for political calculations or playing it safe — it’s time to be bold, to stand up, and to say unequivocally: we will protect LGBTQ+ people with everything we’ve got.”
Newsom, a potential 2008 Democratic presidential candidate, should “have the courage to stand up for what’s right and do the hard work to actually help the American people,” Robinson said.
California Assemblyman Chris Ward and state Sen. Carolina Menjivar, who lead the state’s LGBTQ legislative caucus, said they were “profoundly sickened and frustrated by [the governor’s] remarks.”
“Sometimes Gavin Newsom goes for the Profile in Courage, sometimes not,” they said.
Lori Lightfoot, who served as Chicago mayor from 2019 until 2023, slammed Newsom’s remarks as “disgusting,” according to Politico.
“There are kids waking up today in California with this news thinking that their governor hates them, and rightly so,” she said.
Research suggests that transgender athletes facing social discrimination and inequality in sports may experience mental health issues and increased risk of suicide. Additionally, transgender women who have undergone hormone therapy have no clear advantage over cisgender women in elite sports, according to multiple studies.
In December, NCAA President Charlie Baker told a Senate panel that fewer than 10 trans athletes currently compete in college sports — or less than 0.002% of 530,000 NCAA athletes nationwide.
With News Wire Services
