Governor Newsom, who is widely expected to enter the 2028 presidential race after leaving office next year, is making a sharp break with his party on the issue of transgender people in girls’ and women’s sports, saying that it is fundamentally unfair for biological males to compete against those who were born female. The governor says that Republicans’ attacks on Vice President Harris on the issue was “devastating,” “brutal,” and highly effective last year. 

During the first episode of his new podcast, released Thursday morning, Mr. Newsom sat down with Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and a close advisor to President Trump. During their wide-ranging conversation about the 2024 election and the rapid shift of young people to the GOP, Mr. Newsom conceded that even his own liberal friend group agrees with the president’s position that biological males should be barred from competing against women. 

“It’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that,” Mr. Newsom said. “It’s deeply unfair. … I totally agree with you.”

“The issue of fairness is completely legit, and I saw that. The last couple years? Boy, did I [see] how you guys were able to … highlight it,” he added.

Mr. Newsom’s position deviates substantially from earlier ones he has staked out on behalf of transgender Californians. In 2020, he signed a bill allowing males who identify as female to be housed in women-only state prisons, and in 2022 signed a proclamation making California the first “Sanctuary State” for transgender people in the nation.

The governor even waded into a public fight with one of the country’s most famous transgender personalities, Caitlyn Jenner, after the former Olympic gold medalist suggested that allowing biological men to compete in girls’ sports “just isn’t fair.”

Following the remarks, a spokesman for Mr. Newsom said the state allows students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity and that it “isn’t going backwards on these issues.” Mr. Newsom wants to ensure “trans Californians are fully acknowledged in accordance with their gender identity while interacting with public services,” the spokesman said.

According to recent polling, Mr. Newsom is a favorite to compete in the Democratic presidential primaries, which will kick off in earnest less than two years from now, even though the jockeying has already begun. The two-term California governor is among the first major Democrats to acknowledge not only the issue of fairness, but also the political implications for his party. 

Earlier this week every single Senate Democrat voted against a bill that would have barred biological males from taking part in athletic contests against women. When the same bill came up in the House for a vote, just two moderate Hispanic Democrats from Trump-won districts in southern Texas voted for the legislation. Another Democratic lawmaker from a swing district voted “present.”

“We’re getting crushed on it — crushed,” Mr. Newsom said, referencing polling that shows 79 percent of Americans agree with Republicans’ position on the issue, while just 18 percent say biological men should be allowed to compete against women. Even 67 percent of Democrats, according to the poll, agree with Mr. Trump. 

“You guys are giving us an 80–20 issue that is just permeating the country, and it’s such an affront to our senses,” Mr. Kirk told the governor. “The country is going far more in our direction and away from your direction.”

“Even my own friend cohort, people said, ‘What the hell is going on? Why aren’t you calling this out?’” Mr. Newsom said of the issue.

The governor offered mild criticism of Ms. Harris as well, saying that she did not effectively talk about the issue of biological males in women’s sports last year. Mr. Newsom brought up an ad from the Trump campaign last year that described Ms. Harris as being radically out-of-touch on the issue. The ad said that Ms. Harris was “for they/them,” not for everyday Americans. 

“Devastating, devastating, devastating,” Mr. Newsom said of that ad, which was blanketed across swing states. “She didn’t even react to it, which is even more devastating. … It was a brilliant campaign commercial.”