California Governor Gavin Newsom is likely running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028. He is also not stupid enough to follow his fellow Californian, Kamala Harris, over the cliff of advocating in favor of biological males playing against girls on athletic teams.
“I think it’s an issue of fairness; I completely agree with you on that,” Newsom told his guest, Charlie Kirk, on the inaugural episode of his podcast "This is Gavin Newsom."
"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.”
In one of the most effective political ad campaigns in recent history, Donald Trump tied Kamala Harris so closely to the transgender issue that she couldn't wiggle away. Making matters worse, Harris froze like a deer in headlights and made no response. It killed her.
Newsom agreed it was a killer ad.
“She didn’t even react to it, which was even more devastating,” Newsom said, especially since, as he pointed out, 90% of Americans disagreed with giving inmates gender transition surgery in prison. “Then you had the video [of Harris] as a validator. Brutal,” Newsom added. “It was a great ad.”
Newsom was just full of surprises during the podcast.
Newsom’s interview with Kirk was friendly, sometimes exceedingly so. He mentioned the influence Kirk and other MAGA-world figures have had on his 13-year-old son, distanced himself from the use of pronouns and the gender-neutral term “Latinx,” called police defunding “lunacy,” denounced “cancel culture” and agreed that there had been some internal issues in the leadership of the Black Lives Matter organization.
Indeed, the 75-minute interview presented Newsom in the opposite light than he appeared in over recent years when stumping as a surrogate for former President Joe Biden and Harris and sparring with ideological foes like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
Newsom in the podcast also was self-deprecating — joking that he only eats meals (including grabbing take-out) at the famed three-Michelin star French Laundry where he got considerable heat for attending a friends’ party during Covid lockdowns and conceding that he should have been celebrating at the everyman eatery Applebee’s.
This is truly a radical departure for Newsom, who embraced radical left causes, signed some of the most radical bills in American history, and disdained most people on the right.
The unusual part of this transformation is that, usually, a candidate for president, especially a Democrat, will float as far left as possible in the primaries and then moderate his views once the general election begins.
The LGBTQ community will no doubt feel betrayed. Major media covering this story all claim that Newsom is abandoning his support for gay marriage and other related issues.
The New York Times writes, "The comments by Mr. Newsom, who has backed L.G.B.T.Q. causes for decades and was one of the first American elected officials to officiate same-sex weddings, represented a remarkable break from other top Democrats on the issue, and signaled a newly defensive position on transgender rights among many in his party."
Perhaps, but the lumping of all LGBTQ issues in with the trans issue is just plain goofy. Boys playing on girls' teams is a far different issue than gay marriage. There may be solidarity in the LGBTQ community with trans people, but standing against reality is never a good place to be.
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