Latest news with #post-Biden
The Hill
07-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Kamala Harris stumbles right out of the gate
It might be the only thing Team Biden got right politically — the slow-motion trainwreck that is Kamala Harris and her political operation. The Harris disaster is history in the making. Never before has a putative presidential campaign failed so badly in getting anything right. Harris should be dominant in the Democratic Party. She entered the post-Biden world with strong approval among Democrats, sky-high name recognition and the benefit of 95 percent of Democrats having voted for her in 2024. Plus, she had a built-in excuse for losing — the colossal unpopularity of Joe Biden was clearly a drag for her and rocket fuel for President Trump. But Harris and her team have squandered these advantages in record time. They have demonstrated no coherent plan and no political sense. They don't appear to have any allies in the media or the punditry. Her brief flirtation with running for governor of California is emblematic of her incoherence. Running for major office is not like buying a used car. You either want it or you don't. If Harris truly wanted to plant herself in California and be governor, her pause to 'consider' running would have been a delaying tactic to plan her announcement and her campaign. Instead, it appears that dropping out of sight was her way of preparing to announce basically nothing. She isn't going to run for governor and she is going to release a book about her campaign — not now, but later. On top of that, her 'media tour' has consisted of going on the soon-to-be-out-of-work Stephen Colbert, where she was at her word salad worst. Not only did she have no message, but she whiffed on a series of softball questions so badly that it can only encourage every other Democratic hopeful. The very fact that Colbert had to ask her who is leading the Democrats was insulting — as the immediate previous nominee, it's supposed to be her. But her non-answer made things worse. Any decent politician would have found a way to maneuver Colbert to declare Harris the leader. Compounding matters, she expressed her disappointment that there has not been enough opposition to Trump. Does Harris realize she just called herself out for being weak and absent? Trump's disapproval rating among Democrats is 93 percent. Yet Harris just declared herself AWOL. The big problem for Harris is the same problem Joe Biden faced after his disastrous debate in June 2024: It's not so much the current moment that is the problem — it's the future. With Biden, there was no chance he could have made it through the campaign — debates, public appearances, speeches. With Harris it is the same thing. She has shown no improvement despite ample experience. She remains unprepared, terrible off-the-cuff, and utterly without original ideas. What could possibly change? And clearly, the people who saw Harris up close when she was Vice President figured this out. In my view, one of the great unreported stories from the Biden Administration is the tryout Team Biden gave Pete Buttigieg during the 2022 midterms to replace Kamala Harris — not necessarily as Vice President, but as the heir-apparent to lead the Democratic Party. Never before had a Secretary of Transportation been so visible and a vice president so invisible during the midterms. Too bad for Buttigieg that he mostly flopped or at least failed to catch fire. But what really showed that Harris is not ready for prime time was her presidential campaign. With the nomination dropped in her lap, she completely choked on the two most critical decisions. First, she chose as her running mate perhaps the only Democratic politician more inept than herself. Tim Walz brought nothing to the ticket — not even Minnesota, which was closer in 2024 than it had been in 2020. Harris could have picked Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a much better vote-getter than Walz, but the howls from the most leftist parts of the party were too loud. Second, she failed to break with Biden. All the polling in the summer was terrible for the president. His favorables were way underwater and his rating on inflation (the top issue) was disastrous. In an environment very hostile to the incumbent, Harris needed to make a break and present herself as something new. But again, she choked. And this is what will sink any chance she ever had of becoming the nominee for a second time. Harris is just not a risk-taker. She is petrified of angering any part of the squabbling Democratic Party, even the much-discredited Biden and his hangers-on. She crumbles in the face of any loud faction and tries to please everyone while saying nothing. Harris has missed the moment. By not breaking with Biden, she threw away her chance to win in 2024. As she stumbles around trying to figure out what to do, other Democrats are charging forward, making their own plans. Nobody is intimidated by her. Even the Biden inner circle — who should be cast out of Democratic politics permanently — have threatened to sink her if she dares criticize them. The nerve of Team Biden is pretty incredible. Even after an avalanche of books ripping Biden's White House staff to shreds, they have no qualms about threatening Harris. And, of course, Harris dutifully defended Biden in her Colbert interview. Pathetic. The true test for any politician is to work without a net. Kamala Harris has proven not only that she cannot work without a net, but also that she can barely crawl forward.
Politico
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Lynch passed over for Oversight
PASSING THE TORCH — Rep. Stephen Lynch faced his first generational challenge Monday night and came up short in a race that could signal a shift in how Democrats are dealing with questions about age and seniority in the post-Biden era. The 70-year-old South Boston Democrat didn't win the approval of a key panel in the battle for the top Democratic spot on the powerful House Oversight Committee. It was 47-year-old Rep. Robert Garcia of California who came away with the support from the Steering and Policy Committee. Lynch notched 15 votes, behind Garcia's 33, and ahead of Rep. Kweisi Mfume of Maryland, 76, who earned 8 votes and 44-year-old Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, who won 6, according to Axios. It's not a done deal yet. The full Democratic Caucus will vote today on the Oversight post, though members typically follow the recommendation from the Steering and Policy Committee. Lynch, a long-time member of the panel, was running with the endorsement of his predecessor, the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, whose role he's been temporarily filling. Garcia's victory — after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35, unsuccessfully challenged Connolly for the role last year — is the latest sign Democrats might be starting to move away from the seniority-based system in the wake of age-related setbacks last cycle. For Lynch, it's also a warning shot ahead of next year's midterm election. The moderate Democrat is facing a challenge from Patrick Roath, a 38-year-old lawyer who's running to Lynch's left. Roath's message extends beyond Lynch's long tenure, though he noted in a recent Substack post that he was 7 years old when Lynch first entered public office. He's also taken aim at Lynch's record, including votes against the Affordable Care Act and in favor of the Laken Riley Act, a controversial immigration bill named 22-year-old woman killed by an undocumented immigrant in Georgia last year. GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips, scoops, thoughts on the Jrue Holiday trade? Drop me a line: kgarrity@ TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll unveil a bill on disaster preparedness and infrastructure permitting at 10:30 a.m. in Braintree. Healey signs the supplemental surtax budget at 1:30 p.m. at the State House. Rep. Ayanna Pressley joins a press conference marking three years since the Dobbs decision at noon in D.C. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at the opening of the Frog Pond spray pool at 11 a.m. on Boston Common and gives remarks at the launch of the MassHire Boston ABCD Career Center at 11:30 a.m. in Roxbury. DATELINE BEACON HILL TRANSPARENCY RULES — For the first time since 2019, the state House and Senate have an agreement on joint rules for the session. The new rules, Senate President Karen Spilka told reporters after huddling with House Speaker Ron Mariano, Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll Monday, are 'a win for the public,' and will 'increase access for the public and tremendously increase transparency' in the legislative process. Is it a sign of detente between the House and Senate after a bit of a bumpy start to the session? Maybe, if you want to read into the (literal) post-leadership meeting back-slapping between Spilka and Mariano Monday. But the new rules also make it easier for each chamber to avoid working together. One provision allows House members on joint committees to vote solely on bills filed in their respective branches (with a few exceptions), which means we could see a flurry of floor votes on separate House and Senate bills without a lot of compromises hitting the governor's desk. '[The] first step is getting to the floor,' Mariano said Monday, 'And getting the vote, the bill moved off the floor. So right away, you're picking up speed.' What else is in the compromise? Lawmakers are moving up the bill-reporting deadline, so-called Joint Rule 10 day, to the first Wednesday of December of the first year of the two-year session. They're allowing for some action after the long-standing July 31 deadline of the second year of the two-year session that they worked passed last session. And they're requiring at least 10 days notice for joint committee hearings. More from GBH News and the State House News Service. BUDGET WATCH — Legislative leaders struck an optimistic note about passing an FY26 budget on time this year. Mariano told reporters he's 'hopeful that there's a chance' they get a compromise spending bill to Healey before the end of the month — and ahead of the July 1 start to the new fiscal year. FROM THE HUB — How Boston's homeless are navigating the summer swelter by Nathan Metcalf and Ava Berger, The Boston Globe. — Boston now has late-night food trucks by Will Katcher, MassLive. WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET — AG Campbell testifies before Dems in Congress about fighting the Trump administration in court by Julian E.J. Sorapuru, The Boston Globe: 'Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell was among four blue state attorneys general who testified before a group of Democratic members of Congress Monday about the role they have played in combatting the Trump administration's policy agenda in court. Lacking control of either the House or Senate, Democrats from both chambers have united to hold a series of forums highlighting areas of disagreement with the Trump administration and giving a platform to experts Republicans are unlikely to invite for official congressional hearings.' FROM HARVARD YARD AN ASK FROM THE ALUMNI — A coalition of Harvard alumni is urging administrators and Harvard President Alan Garber to hold their ground after President Donald Trump indicated on Friday that the feud between his administration and the university may end in a deal 'over the next week or so.' The letter is here. DAY IN COURT — Jury says former Boston employee did not defame Felix G. Arroyo amid sexual harassment allegations by Niki Griswold, The Boston Globe: 'A jury on Friday found that former City of Boston employee Hilani Morales did not defame former city health chief Felix G. Arroyo after she claimed he sexually harassed her while she worked for him in the Department of Health and Human Services, attorneys for both parties confirmed to the Globe Monday. The jury issued its verdict after 4 p.m. on Friday following three hours of deliberations, Morales' attorney John Tocci told the Globe. Tocci said the decision came after an eight-day-long trial, which included six days of testimony.' FROM THE DELEGATION — Moulton: Trump Administration 'outright lying' about Iran outcome by Adam Reilly, GBH News: 'Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton is offering a harsh assessment of the Trump Administration's description of recent U.S. attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, saying in an interview on GBH's 'Boston Public Radio' that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are not telling the truth when they state that U.S. bombing operations obliterated key Iranian nuclear-enrichment facilities.' — Rep. Auchincloss: 'world is safer' after Iran strikes, but Trump must be reined in by Sharon Brody and Rob Lane, WBUR: 'Massachusetts Congressman Jake Auchincloss is tentatively optimistic that President Trump's strikes on Iranian nuclear sites could bring Iran to the negotiating table. But, he argues, the bombings should spur Congress to shrink the president's war powers.' — On Dobbs anniversary, Massachusetts pols warn of attack on abortion rights in Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' by John L. Micek, MassLive: 'It's been three years since the U.S. Supreme Court toppled Roe v. Wade in a ruling that sent the fight over abortion rights back to the states, resulting in laws that restricted or banned access to the procedure for millions of people nationwide. And just in time for Tuesday's anniversary of the high court's ruling in a case formally known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Republicans on Capitol Hill are launching another assault that would result in a de facto nationwide ban on abortion even in states where the procedure remains safe and legal. The four women members of the Bay State's Capitol Hill delegation — U.S. Reps. Lori Trahan, D-3rd District. Katherine Clark, D-5th District, and Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, along with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., gathered at Planned Parenthood's offices on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston on Monday to deliver that message.' THE NATIONAL TAKE — Trump announces Israel-Iran ceasefire by Megan Messerly, Eli Stokols and Eric Bazail-Eimil, POLITICO: 'President Donald Trump on Monday announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran after a nearly two-week war between the two countries. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said that the ceasefire will take effect just after midnight on the East Coast of the United States, with the war slated to officially end 12 hours later. … Neither Israel nor Iran immediately confirmed Trump's announcement that they had agreed to a ceasefire.' FROM THE 413 — What's at stake as Pittsfield prepares for key middle school restructuring vote by Greg Sukiennik, The Berkshire Eagle: 'It's been a school year full of big decisions for the Pittsfield School Committee. But Wednesday's meeting presents perhaps the biggest decision they'll make this year: Should the district commit to fundamentally changing the way it has delivered middle-grade education since the 1980s?' THE LOCAL ANGLE — Massachusetts health commissioner worries CDC vaccine panel won't allow open discussion by Mark Herz and Diego Lopez, GBH News: 'Massachusetts' top public health official says he'll be watching the first meeting of the newly assembled CDC vaccine advisory panel this week. Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, who was once a senior policy advisor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says he's skeptical about their recommendations.' — The price to dispose of Fall River's trash is going up by Emily Scherny, The Herald News: 'In a city that relies on waste haulers to be punctual in their trash and recycling pick-ups, week after week, residents who cart their trash to the curb expect it to be taken care of. But what appears as a steady public service may be a delicate balancing act of keeping contractors and companies hitched. Regular trash pick-ups by EZ Disposal are tied into Fall River's Department of Community Maintenance, and if they threaten to abandon their contract with the city, explained DCM Director Al Oliveira to the June 10 City Council Committee on Finance meeting, a 'public safety emergency' could — and almost did — happen.' — Salem school board backs off ban of religious orgs renting school buildings by Michael McHugh, The Salem News: 'Elected Salem school officials are now backing away from a proposed ban on religious organizations renting school facilities, following the threat of legal action from a religious liberty organization if the School Committee were to approve the prohibition.' — Peabody tasked with pinching its purse strings over upcoming budgets by Caroline Enos, The Salem News: 'The city is looking to approve a $208 million budget for fiscal 2026 and is bracing for especially tough budget seasons over the next few years. 'Although significant challenges remain, including skyrocketing costs for equipment and supplies and ever rising increases to non-discretionary budget items, I am happy to report that our progress continues and that the city's financial picture remains strong,' Mayor Ted Bettencourt said at the City Council's first budget meeting on June 17. HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Jon Latino, Peter Cutrumbes, former MassGOP Chair Kirsten Hughes, Henry Santoro, Roger Fisk, Thomas Doane Perry III, Jonathan Yuan, Ed Palleschi, Baker administration alum John Alvarez, Katherine Marie Kulik and Morgan Smith.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kamala Harris cursed out Anderson Cooper to colleagues after brutal post-Biden debate interview, book claims
Former Vice President Kamala Harris had some nasty things to say about CNN anchor Anderson Cooper after their 2024 interview, according to a new book. CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson's new book, "Original Sin," claimed that the former vice president called Cooper a "motherf-----" to her colleagues last summer following a tense interview the two had over former President Biden's debate with then-GOP candidate Donald Trump. "This motherf----- doesn't treat me like the damn vice president of the United States, she said to colleagues," the excerpt read. Jake Tapper's Book Is 'A Slap In The Face' To Anyone Who Questioned Biden's Fitness For Office, Lindy Li Says Harris allegedly added, "I thought we were better than that." The account from Tapper and Thompson's book provided details about Harris' mood following the June interview where he grilled her over her boss' dismal performance in his debate with Trump. Read On The Fox News App During the conversation, Cooper did not hold back, telling her there were Democratic lawmakers who lamented Biden's performance. "One said it was a disaster and another called it a trainwreck. Those are Democrats especially worried that Biden did not punch back on Trump's lies," he said. Media Figures Shocked At Biden's 'Bad' Debate Performance: 'Total And Complete Disaster' She responded, "People can debate on style points, but ultimately, this election and who is the president of the United States has to be about substance." The anchor cut her off with another question, asking, "You debated against then-Vice President Biden four years ago, and he was a very different person on the stage four years ago when you debated him. That's certainly true, is it not?" She dismissed Cooper's insinuation that Biden's mental decline was on display for the world to see at the debate, responding, "I got the point that you're making about a one-and-a-half hour debate tonight," Harris said. "I'm talking about three-and-a-half years of performance in work that has been historic." Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture Harris appeared visibly frustrated with Cooper's line of questioning. When asked if the man on the debate stage was the same person she'd been working with in the White House, she snapped, "I'm not going to spend all night with you talking about the last 90 minutes when I've been watching the last three-and-a-half years of performance." Tapper and Thompson's book appeared to corroborate Harris' anger towards Cooper that night. They wrote, "After the interview, Harris was visibly angry with Cooper. He had been asking the questions the nation had been wondering, but she took it personally." Reps for Harris did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital for article source: Kamala Harris cursed out Anderson Cooper to colleagues after brutal post-Biden debate interview, book claims
The Guardian
12-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘If there's fascism we need to call it out': Delaware governor on post-Biden world
When Matt Meyer was elected as governor of Delaware last year, the outgoing US president called with congratulations – and a warning. 'Joe Biden did tell me that I had to do my job and do it well or in four years he's running against me,' Meyer said, smiling. 'He's a Delawarean and I don't doubt that he would run.' Now 82, Biden has retired to Delaware after leaving the political stage. At 53, Meyer is among a new generation of Democrats trying to navigate a post-Biden world in which Donald Trump is eviscerating the federal government, stress-testing the rule of law and prosecuting a global trade war. As governor of America's second smallest state, Meyer finds himself playing Whac-A-Mole as he deals with the consequences of Trump's capricious actions while pursuing an ambitious agenda of his own. The keen cyclist is also trying to maintain a balance between defending progressive values and finding pragmatic ways to work with Washington. 'If there is fascism we need to call it out,' he says during a Zoom interview from Wilmington. 'We shouldn't be shy about it. At the same time I'm working hard with my head down, understanding that my job, at its root, is delivering for Delawareans and doing that however I can.' Born in Michigan, Meyer moved to Delaware as a child and knew Biden's sons Beau and Hunter. He attended the Wilmington Friends school and went on to study computer science and political science at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Then came Africa. He recalls: 'In middle school social studies, my teacher talked about Kilimanjaro, this amazing snow-capped mountain on the equator in Kenya, and so I always wanted to go to Kenya. In my junior year in college, I was flying into Kenya to study abroad there and a Tanzanian guy sitting next to me said, 'You're going to the wrong country: Kilimanjaro's in Tanzania, not in Kenya.' But I was stuck.' Meyer loved his time in Kenya and became fluent in Swahili. One day he bought a pair of sandals made from used tyres that were sold on the side of the road in Nairobi and discovered they were a hit with US students. He founded Ecosandals, a recycled footwear company selling to customers in 17 countries on five continents. It was the first e-commerce company in Kenya and grew to 30 staff. Meyer went on to spend a year in Mosul, Iraq, as a diplomat embedded with the US army. He then returned to the US and worked at one of the lowest-income middle schools in Delaware, where he felt 'pissed off' as he witnessed communities facing problems including unstable housing and gun violence. 'It's disheartening when you spend time in places like Kenya and Iraq and then you come back home, teach in a school that's a couple miles from where I grew up, and the education kids were getting, the safety of their neighbourhoods, in many ways was worse than neighbourhoods and schools I saw in places like Iraq and Kenya,' he said. 'I felt that's not what America should be in 2016.' Meyer – who is married to an emergency room doctor, Lauren Meyer – ran for elected office, winning a New Castle county executive position in 2016 by defeating a three-term incumbent through grassroots campaigning. His subsequent run for governor was an example to Democrats of the need to engage with tangible issues such as failing schools and unaffordable housing. But what Meyer could not know was that he would also be confronting the return of Trump – emboldened, unfettered and hellbent on maximum disruption. He reflects: 'We put together what may be the most extensive set of policies of what we were going to do that anyone running for governor has ever put together in Delaware history. Then we came into office and found ourselves trying to play Whac-A-Mole, trying to stop holes in the pipes.' Trump's cuts to the federal government meant 62 state public health employees, funded through a CDC grant, were in jeopardy. Market-shattering tariffs could also upend the Meyer agenda, especially if the country enters a recession. 'Whatever was in those policy papers we've got to put lower in the pile and we've got to figure out how we wade through what's looking like is going to be a challenging time for Delaware and for America.' Trump's first term was notable for the resistance of blue states such as California and New York. California's governor, Gavin Newsom, and then attorney general, Xavier Becerra, filed more than a hundred lawsuits against the Trump administration over gun control, immigration and other issues. Should we expect a repeat this time? Meyer replies: 'Look, I'm naive, I'm an outsider, I'm not a partisan. I'm not a fan of very much of what Donald Trump says but if there's any way possible for us to work with the Trump administration to move Delaware forward, to protect those in vulnerable communities, and to make sure our economy is growing and expanding – my preference is more prescribed programmes but if he wants to do it through block grants, I'm game. 'But we're not seeing that. We're not seeing resources. Pretty much everything any governor is seeing right now is cuts – sometimes dramatic cuts to services, cuts to the federal workforce that have an impact.' Trump has spent his first two and a half months in office demonising immigrants and transgender people. Yet some business and university leaders have capitulated to his administration. Meyer does not intend to. He insists: 'We need to hold strong when the president or any elected official, anyone in a position of leadership, are vilifying people from certain communities. I don't begrudge any of my Democratic colleagues or colleagues of any party that are standing up and calling it out in the harshest language.' Locked out of power, the Democratic party has been soul searching and struggling to find an inspiring and unifying narrative. Meyer believes that it should include delivering for working people, protecting the most vulnerable, allowing people to celebrate their sexuality and gender identity and helping legal immigrants to pursue the American dream while treating undocumented immigrants without cruelty or hatred. He says: 'The more we can deliver on these things and show people that even in this crazy Trump time, look at the benefits to our schoolchildren and in our hospitals and healthcare systems, look at the availability of affordable housing, that's going to be good for the Democratic party and it's going to be good for the country.' Delaware, long dominated by credit card companies and the chemical giant DuPont, remains Biden country. Rail travellers between New York and Washington pass through the Joseph R Biden Jr Railroad station in Wilmington, where he launched his first campaign for president in June 1987. Yet Biden left office in January with a 36% approval rating and recriminations from fellow Democrats for not dropping out of the presidential race sooner. Meyer, who as a schoolboy volunteered for his first campaign in 1988, swerves past the question of Biden's mental acuity and whether White House officials engaged in a cover-up. But he says: 'You can agree or disagree with his policies and his politics. This is a man who cares deeply for our country and has personally sacrificed so much for our country. 'He was widely seen in Delaware as a bipartisan guy who could get support across the aisle and was fighting for America first. I see it not as a sad statement of the Bidens or Joe Biden or his presidency but a sad statement of America and the state of our political spaces now that someone like that seems to be vilified by a sizable percentage of America.' Despite this, and all the other turmoil in Trump 2.0, Meyer remains optimistic about the future. Last weekend the former teacher joined other Democrats and union members to protest against potential cuts to the Department of Education. 'It's hard to get teachers out early on a Saturday morning but I was with hundreds of teachers. People are galvanised. People have a lot of enthusiasm about getting back to the values of what makes this America.' Thousands of people were also taking to the streets for 'Hands Off' demonstrations across Delaware. From abortion to Doge, from immigration to Medicare, from Gaza to Ukraine, the protesters had myriad causes. Meyer adds: 'My guess is there was a lot of disagreement among the protests about what America should be. But there is broad agreement that it is not this, that we need a government that's working for the American worker, not working to get crazy headlines or not pursuing a Project 2025 agenda to give benefit to the few over the majority of us. 'We need smart people coming around the table and saying, come on, America, we can do better than this and there are Democrats and Republicans who are coming to that realisation.'
Boston Globe
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Newsom splits with Democrats on transgender athletes: ‘It's deeply unfair'
Newsom invited Kirk, who has a long history of inflammatory and conspiratorial remarks, onto the debut episode of his new podcast, 'This Is Gavin Newsom,' for an 81-minute discussion. The governor, who has long been fascinated with the conservative media ecosystem and tried to inject himself into it, explained his unlikely guest by saying, 'People need to understand your success, your influence, what you've been up to.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Newsom is widely seen as having presidential ambitions in 2028 — something he joked about on the podcast. For years, he was one of the fiercest Democratic antagonists toward President Trump, casting himself as a next-generation liberal warrior fluent in conservative orthodoxy who could lead his party into the post-Biden era. Advertisement But in recent months, he has softened his tone toward Trump and attacked Democrats over their strategy. In December, Newsom cursed the president-elect's name in an interview with The New York Times, but shortly after the inauguration, the governor traveled to Washington for a meeting with Trump to discuss funding for wildfire relief. Newsom spent much of his conversation with Kirk reflecting on the myriad ways that former Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign failed to reach key voters during the 2024 election, losing ground with young people, men, and Hispanic voters. But his most significant revelation on his podcast, which was released Thursday morning, came when Kirk pressed the California governor to agree with him that it was unfair for transgender women to compete in women's sports. Advertisement 'I think it's an issue of fairness; I completely agree with you on that,' Newsom said. 'It is an issue of fairness. It's deeply unfair.' He also acknowledged the effectiveness of Trump's signature campaign ad, which declared, 'Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.' 'It was devastating,' Newsom said. 'And she didn't even react to it, which was even more devastating.' Since Democrats' election loss last year, Newsom has become the most prominent official in the party to lament its position on transgender participation in sports, but he is hardly the first. Hours after the presidential race was called, Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts told the Times that he did not want his young daughters 'getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete,' a remark that set off weeks of blowback. Since taking office, Trump has taken steps to try to erase transgender people from American life. He has eliminated the T — for transgender — from federal LGBTQ+ policies online and moved to ban transgender people from serving in the military. Trump also signed an executive order meant to prohibit transgender women and girls from competing in women's sports, directing federal agencies to withhold funding from schools if they did not comply. A day later, the NCAA, led by former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, instituted such a ban. More than two dozen states now bar transgender athletes from school sports, whether in K-12 schools or at colleges. Democrats have shown increased caution on the issue, but many have tried to push back. On Monday, the party's senators blocked a Republican bill that closely resembled Trump's executive order, arguing that the GOP was seeking political gain by targeting a small, vulnerable group of children. Advertisement Scott Wiener, a Democratic state senator from San Francisco who is openly gay, said it was deeply disappointing to hear Newsom 'align' with Republicans on the issue. 'It was a gut punch from any Democratic leader, and particularly from Governor Newsom, because he has been such a staunch ally for the LGBTQ community,' Wiener said. Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said Newsom's comments were misguided and politically inept. 'The fight for equality has never been easy, but history doesn't remember those who waver; it remembers those who refuse to back down,' Robinson said. 'Our message to Governor Newsom and all leaders across the country is simple: The path to 2028 isn't paved with the betrayal of vulnerable communities.' On his podcast, Newsom spoke at length about the political effectiveness of attacking transgender people in the presidential campaign. He also questioned the practice of people announcing their preferred pronouns when introducing themselves. 'I had one meeting where people started going around the table with the pronouns,' Newsom said. 'I'm like, 'What the hell? Why is this the biggest issue?'' But at other points in the conversation, the governor criticized 'the way that people talk down to vulnerable communities' and discussed the high rates of suicide and depression among transgender people. 'So, both things I can hold in my hand,' he said. This article originally appeared in .
