California Governor Gavin Newsom sparked headlines Thursday during a podcast with conservative host Charlie Kirk, calling men competing in women’s sports “deeply unfair” while defending his state’s expansive transgender rights policies.
The Democratic governor’s remarks on his new show, This is Gavin Newsom, revealed a rare point of agreement with Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, even as Newsom’s record shows consistent support for laws that blur gender lines in sports, prisons, and schools.
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When Kirk pressed Newsom on whether he’d ban men from female sports, the governor didn’t dodge. “I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness, it’s deeply unfair,” Newsom said. “I am not wrestling with the fairness issue. I totally agree with you.”
He argued Democrats are “out of touch” on the topic, conceding its legitimacy. Yet he accused some conservatives—like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a vocal foe of gender ideology—of “weaponizing” the debate, urging more “sensitivity” in approach.
Newsom’s stance contrasts sharply with policies he’s championed. In 2020, he signed a law letting male inmates transfer to women’s prisons based on gender identity, mandating the Department of Corrections to log preferred pronouns.
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Last year, California became the first state to bar schools from notifying parents if a child seeks to change names, pronouns, or team affiliations—cementing a hands-off approach to gender transitions. The state’s education code also allows athletes to join teams matching their gender identity, backed by a Civil Rights Act defining “sex” to include it.
Further, Newsom’s 2022 “sanctuary” law welcomes transgender youth nationwide for sex-change procedures, dodging red-state bans and parental consent rules. Other measures fund transition care for illegal immigrants and train judges to probe parents who don’t affirm a child’s gender identity.
In 2023, he mandated “gender neutral” sections in kids’ retail, with fines for noncompliance. “California is proud to have some of the most robust laws in the nation when it comes to protecting and supporting our LGBTQ+ community,” Newsom said in a past release, touting safer, inclusive spaces.
The podcast exchange—cordial yet pointed—exposed a tension in Newsom’s platform. While nodding to fairness in sports, he’s built a legacy prioritizing transgender access over traditional boundaries, drawing praise from progressives and ire from conservatives.
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Kirk, a frequent critic of such policies, pressed the inconsistency, but Newsom held firm, framing his broader agenda as protective.
The comments come as transgender issues roil national politics, with red states like Florida cracking down and blue states like California doubling down. Newsom’s podcast pivot—agreeing with a conservative firebrand on sports—may signal a rhetorical shift, but his policy record tells a different story.
For now, the governor’s words are stirring debate: can he square “fairness” with a state where gender identity often trumps biology?
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