SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: California Governor Gavin Newsom surprisingly agreed with Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro on Thursday, January 15, that the question of whether boys can become girls is a huge deal-breaker for Democrats.
They talked about it on the ‘This is Gavin Newsom’ podcast.
Newsom and Shapiro tangled over school policies. The conservative commentator pushed back against teachers keeping parents in the dark when children are socially transitioning at school.
Gavin Newsom’s comments on transgender issues
During a discussion on his podcast, the Democratic governor responded to remarks from Ben Shapiro about how transgender rights debates have influenced the 2024 election and the broader political landscape.
Shapiro argued that many voters are turned off by what he calls the inability or unwillingness of Democrats to articulate a clear policy on gender identity.
“I think one of the major failings of the Democratic Party in the last election cycle is the unwillingness to say whether it was true or untrue that a boy could become a girl,” he said.
To this, Newsom responded, “We’re talking about so few people that are struggling with gender identity issues.”
“I’m with the governor, Gov Spencer Cox, who said about many of these issues, never has so much attention been placed on so few people,” he added.
While he did not endorse Shapiro’s framing outright, the governor acknowledged the point in the context of broader electoral challenges facing Democrats.
Gavin Newsom says he understands Ben Shapiro’s thinking
“The problem is I do think that, on an electoral level, to go to the politics, it is a barrier to entry for a lot of people when you say a boy can become a girl,” Shapiro said about trans individuals.
Newsom agreed that this cultural debate has created a political barrier for some voters, saying that if certain issues related to transgender identity make people less likely to support the Democratic Party, “so be it.”
“I respect if that’s your barrier to then listening to people on a myriad of other issues,” Newsom said. “So be it. It is what it is.”
“I find it strange that even if you wish to have a public policy that pursues something different, we cannot just admit that boys and girls are two different things and that a boy cannot become a girl,” Shapiro said. “Why is this so difficult?”
“Yeah, I understand your point of view,” Newsom replied, later saying that Shapiro is a “facts over empathy guy.”
Newsom has been a long-time supporter of LGBTQ+ rights. But he has also had a nuanced stance lately.
Speaking with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, Newsom said, “I want to see trans kids. I have a trans godson. There’s no governor who has signed more pro-trans legislation than I have. No one has been a stronger advocate for the LGBTQ community.”
News
The crash of porcelain wasn’t just noise. It was a signal flare.
You hear the first crash like a gunshot dressed in porcelain.A plate explodes on marble, bright shards skittering under chandelier light like little knives of embarrassment.The room freezes mid-breath, the kind of silence that makes even rich people suddenly remember they have lungs.And in the middle of it stands a seven-year-old boy with his arm […]
I froze on the last step, barefoot on cold hardwood, my heart pounding so hard I felt like the sound alone could wake the whole house
The first thing I noticed was the way my father said my name. Not “Max.” Not “son.” Just: “Fitzpatrick.” It was 3:00 a.m., and the ring of my phone sounded like a fire alarm in the dark. I blinked at the screen, my throat already tight. “Dad?” His breath came in short, controlled bursts. “Are […]
No one inside the Wakefield mansion dared to say it out loud, but everyone felt it.
No one inside the Wakefield mansion dared to say it aloud, but everyone felt it. Little Luna Wakefield was fading away. The doctors had been clear—cold, almost mechanical—when they pronounced the number that hung in the air like a final sentence. Three months. Maybe less. Three months to live. And there was Richard Wakefield —a […]
My fingers dug into his wrist, but Jason’s grip only tightened. The kitchen light flickered over his knuckles as he snarled, “Obey me, you useless old woman! Go cook my dinner—NOW!”
My fingers dug into his wrist, but his grip only tightened. I tasted panic and iron as he roared, “Obey me, you useless old woman! Go cook my dinner—NOW!” Behind him, my daughter-in-law giggled like it was a show. I stared into my son’s eyes and realized the boy I raised was gone—replaced by something […]
The scream split the morning open like a siren.
The scream split the morning open like a siren. Agnes Rotic hit the stone courtyard hard, the cold jolting straight through her bones. One hand flew to her swollen belly before she even realized she’d moved, instinct louder than pain. Somewhere above her, a shadow shifted—silk, perfume, the sharp click of heels on stone—and then […]
My Blood Ran Cold Hearing Those Words. My Mother-In-Law Had Always Insisted They Were ‘Good Vitamins For Her Growth And Health.
Cold flooded my body despite the warm Tuesday afternoon light pouring through the kitchen window. Diane—my mother-in-law—had been staying with us for three weeks while recovering from knee surgery. She’d insisted on helping with Emma, saying she wanted to “bond” more with her granddaughter. She read her bedtime stories, brushed her hair, brought her little […]
End of content
No more pages to load
