Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ‘civility’ displayed on his new podcast looks spineless | Opinion
California Governor Gavin Newsom wears civility like a badge of honor. Whether it’s his so-called debate with Florida Governor Ron “This is where woke goes to die” DeSantis or his hug with President Trump amid the Los Angeles wildfire disaster in January, the guy loves appearing as if he is some conservative whisperer.
Respect for opposing political views only happens when both sides commit to it. Conservatives are not committed to seeing the other side of any major issue in our country. So what Newsom thinks is going across the aisle to find consensus is nothing more than surrendering his values for a superficial photo-op.
On his new podcast “This is Gavin Newsom,” the governor appeared weak when he and his guest, conservative pundit Charlie Kirk, had an exchange on transgender issues
“Get better ideas, governor,” Kirk responded. “You, right now, should come out and be like, ‘You know what? The young man who’s about to win the state championship in the long jump in female sports—that shouldn’t happen.’ You, as the governor, should step out and say, ‘No.’”
Kirk was talking about a transgender high school student from Southern California who has won competitions in the long jump and high jump.
Newsom could have pointed out that conservatives are attacking transgender athletes as if there were an army of them. There is not.
But instead, Newsom’s “civility” came out.
“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,” he said.
Newsom nodded in agreement so much with Kirk I would be surprised if he didn’t strain his neck. He allowed Kirk to say whatever he wanted and didn’t provide much in the way of opposition. If you told someone who doesn’t follow politics to watch this podcast episode and choose who was the conservative, I’m sure they would say both.
This episode demonstrates how Republicans and conservatives are rarely forced to budge on their values. When Trump instigated an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, mainstream Republican politicians largely remained quiet or defended the actions of the insurrectionists. It’s the Democrats who always give in.
To see Newsom, a guy who appeared to care about trans issues, take a verbal beating from Kirk was quite an example of how far mainstream Democrats have fallen.
Everyone is trying to understand how Trump was re-elected to the presidency and how to oppose him. I can’t blame Newsom for that, but you’re not gonna find the answers by cuddling up to a guy like Kirk. I guess Newsom forgot that Trump’s election win was a terrible outcome for some Americans to face. For trans people and immigrants in particular, the future in this country can seem bleak. Some communities can be justified for feeling despondent about their country right about now. They are looking to Democrats to provide them an alternative to Trumpism.
They wouldn’t find it watching Newsom, minus his spine, getting played by Kirk.
This story was originally published March 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
