Gavin Newsom is divided with Democrats on transgender athletes: “ It is deeply unfair ” ‘

Governor Gavin Newsom in California, embarking on a personal post-mortem of the failures of his Democratic party, suggested this week that the participation of transgender athletes in female sports was “deeply unfair”.

The comments of Mr. Newsom, who supported the LGBTQ causes for decades and who was one of the first elected officials to officer of homosexual marriages, represented a remarkable rupture of the other main democrats on the issue and reported a newly defensive position on transgender rights among many in his party.

Just as surprising as Mr. Newsom’s remarks was the person to whom he made them: Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old right-wing influencer, better known for starting Turning Point USA, the pro-Trump organization which is active on university campuses.

Mr. Newsom invited Mr. Kirk, who has a story of inflammatory and conspiracy remarks, on the first episode of his new Podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom”, for an 81 -minute discussion. The governor, who has long been fascinated by the conservative media ecosystem and tried to inject himself, explained his improbable guest saying: “People need to understand your success, your influence, what you have done.”

Mr. Newsom is widely considered to have presidential ambitions in 2028 – something he joked about the podcast. For years, he has been one of the most ferocious democratic antagonists towards President Trump, presenting himself as a liberal warrior of new generation commonly the conservative orthodoxy who could lead his party to the post-bife era.

But in recent months, he has softened his tone towards Mr. Trump and has attacked the Democrats for their strategy. In December, Mr. Newsom cursed the name of the president elected in an interview with the New York Times, but shortly after the inauguration, the Governor went to Washington for a meeting with Mr. Trump to discuss funding for the relief of forest fires.