Gov Newsom agrees with Shapiro that trans issue is 'barrier' for people to support Democratic Party
California Gov. Gavin Newsom agreed with Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro on Thursday that whether or not boys can become girls is one of the great deal-breaker issues for the Democratic Party.
"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," Shapiro said on the "This is Gavin Newsom" podcast.
Newsom and Shapiro went back and forth about the policy of teachers being allowed to withhold from parents that their children are being socially transitioned at school without their parents’ knowledge, but the governor argued this is a statistically minute issue.
"We’re talking about so few people that are struggling with gender identity issues," Newsom said. "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."
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"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 replied.
"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."
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Newsom has shown nuance on this issue in recent months.
Last March, Newsom noted in his interview with Charlie Kirk that biological men in women’s sports is an issue of fairness, calling it "deeply unfair."
He also spoke about the issue with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein.
"That’s an issue no one wants to hear about because 80 percent of the people listening disagree with my position on this. But it comes from my heart, not just my head. It wasn’t a political evolution," he 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."