Gov. Gavin Newsom shocked the political world last month when he announced on his own podcast that he agreed with Charlie Kirk about trans-women competing in women's sports. Newsom called it "deeply unfair" and has since repeated that claim on Bill Maher's show.
Many people watching this have suggested that Newsom made a clear calculation that in order to be a more appealing national candidate for president in a few years, he needed to separate himself from the far left of his own party. In other words, this was a strategic shift. But in an interview with the LA Times, Gov. Newsom claimed that wasn't the case, that in fact his announcement last month was spontaneous.
Newsom, in a recent interview with The Times, said that although he had been deliberating over the issue for years, he didn’t set up the interview with conservative personality Charlie Kirk to express his views and break news on his podcast last month.
The governor said the moment happened organically after Kirk “pushed so hard” on the topic and referenced a California transgender high school athlete who beat their competitors by 8 feet in the triple jump.
“And then asked me, ‘Tell me, that’s not fair?’ And I looked at him, I said, ‘You’re right. That’s not,’” Newsom said. “And so it wasn’t some grand design. And I know, I know that hurt a lot of people. But respectfully, I just disagree with those on the other side of this.”
Whether you believe that story or not, the fact is that Newsom is now the most high-profile Democrat in the country to take this position. And as it happens, he'll have a chance to demonstrate that he really means it as soon as today. California is considering two new bills which would change the current law and stop trans women from competing against females in sports.
Two bills sponsored by Assembly members Kate Sanchez, R-Rancho Santa Margarita, and Bill Essayli, R-Corona, will be considered at an April 1 meeting in that chamber’s Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism committee, according to a member of the office of Assemblymember Chris Ward, a San Diego Democrat who chairs the committee and also the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.
Sanchez’s bill would require the organization that oversees public school sports and extracurricular activities to ban trans girls from playing women’s sports. Essayli’s bill would overturn a landmark 2013 state law enshrining the rights of students from kindergarten to 12th grade to participate on sports teams and use locker rooms that reflect their gender identity...
Despite their advancement, neither Essayli nor Sanchez’s bills are likely to overcome the Legislature’s Democratic supermajority, which has previously killed bills with little chance of passing out of committee. Essayli, known more for generating headlines than getting bills passed, tried to force a vote on his bill during a floor session Monday afternoon.
“Very unfair to our girls!” he said after the motion failed. “Any thoughts, Gavin Newsom?”
State legislators aren't the only ones pushing the governor to weigh in.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon weighed in on California’s proposed ban. She sent Newsom a letter last week, saying his remarks on his podcast caught her attention and requesting he clarify his stance and support the bill that would reverse the 2013 law.
“Take a stand on your convictions,” she wrote. “Be clear about the harms of gender confusion. Protect female spaces. Do not encourage children to seek permanent medical interventions to their sex. Inform parents.”
But Newsom is getting pressure from both sides. Just yesterday about 100 protesters marched to his home.
More than 100 LGBTQ+ rights activists and community members marched in Kentfield, the Marin County community where Gov. Gavin Newsom recently purchased a new home, on Monday as part of International Transgender Day of Visibility...
Participants held signs that read “Let Trans Kids Play” and “Do Better Newsom,” a reference to Newsom’s comments about the trans community on his new podcast...
The march to Newsom’s home ended in a dance party as Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way” and Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” played. The demonstration ended peacefully after law enforcement arrived.
So what's probably going to happen here is nothing at all. Newsom probably won't cave to the protesters and reverse himself. He also isn't likely to come out in support of the two bills which would show he actually believes what he says he does. Instead, it seems he plans to sit on the sidelines and pretend he's not the governor of California. That's a shame because at this point there really no reason for him not to move forward. He's already paying the price for betraying his allies. And as he said in the LA Times interview, he's already learning how unforgiving those allies can be.
“I’ve had a solid, a solid record on a lot of issues, and for people to question, you know, to talk in disloyal terms, made me actually start to believe the critique from the right a little bit more,” Newsom said. “I always thought the right overstated how judgmental my party was, and I’ll be candid with you, I have a deeper understanding now of that critique than I ever, ever, ever understood.”
Newsom should come out in support of overturning the 2013 law. That would demonstrate to everyone that he's not just talking, he's willing to act on his convictions. If he's not willing to do that, then he needs to explain why. If what is happening to female athletes is "deeply unfair" why not take action to stop it? He's going to have to answer that question the next time he goes on one of these shows to talk about his position.
