Newsom Tells Kirk on His New Podcast That Transgender Athletes in Women's Sports Are 'Deeply Unfair'
On March 6, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom released the inaugural episode of his personal podcast, "This Is Gavin Newsom." Newsom's office is in Sacramento, the state capital in Sacramento County, California; his first guest was Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, the organization that helped President Donald Trump increase his support among the youngest voters in the 2024 election. The two spoke for more than an hour, and one part of the conversation turned to transgender athletes competing in women's sports.
It was Kirk who raised the issue on the program. He pressed Newsom to say, as governor, that transgender athletes competing in girls' and women's events should not happen. Newsom replied: "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 continued: "I am not wrestling with the fairness issue. I totally agree with you. … I revere sports. So, the issue of fairness is completely legit." The Associated Press noted that Newsom played varsity baseball as a college student.
Newsom also said the discussion was about more than competitive advantage. He said there is also a humility and a grace in recognizing that transgender people are "more likely to commit suicide, have anxiety and depression, and the way that people talk down to vulnerable communities is an issue that I have a hard time with, as well," and that he could hold both things in his hand at the same time: addressing the issue with decency while also dealing with the unfairness.
On the program, Newsom also pointed out that the California law allowing transgender athletes to compete consistent with their gender identity was established in 2014, years before he became governor. The Associated Press reported that the law requires California schools to allow transgender student athletes to play on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity, that Republican state lawmakers had introduced bills in the Legislature this year to ban the practice, and that the governor's office declined to comment on the proposals, saying Newsom does not typically weigh in on pending legislation.
The remarks drew sharp rebukes from LGBTQ+ advocates and some fellow Democrats. Assemblyman Chris Ward and state Sen. Carolina Menjivar, who lead the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, said they woke up "profoundly sickened and frustrated by these remarks." Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, said he was "disappointed and angered" by Newsom's statements and that they "added to the heartbreak and fear" the transgender community feels under the Trump administration.
Newsom has long positioned himself as a social progressive. In 2004, as mayor of San Francisco, he drew national attention for the first time by directing the city clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Associated Press reported that his approach on the podcast marked a different political tack from that long-standing stance.
At the federal level, President Trump had signed Executive Order 14201, "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," on February 5, 2025, defining eligibility for women's sports by sex.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加利福尼亚州州长纽森在州长讲台前发表讲话（2025年5月14日住房新闻发布会资料图，非播客录制现场）。图：加州州长办公室，公共领域，via Wikimedia Commons / Photo: California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at the governor's podium (file photo from a housing press conference on May 14, 2025; not the podcast recording). Photo: Office of the Governor of California, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
