Newsom pushes the Democratic Party to be 'more culturally normal' if they want to win

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., told CNN's Dana Bash that Democrats will need to be more "culturally normal" on issues like transgender athletes in women's sports if they want to win voters.

The "Inside Politics" host aired the rest of her lengthy interview with the California governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate about his new book, "Young Man in a Hurry," on Monday. One of the topics included whether he still believed transgender athletes were being used as a "wedge issue" in the party.

"From a tactical perspective, from the prism of purely politics, there’s no doubt that the Democratic Party needs to be, dare I say, more culturally normal. I believe that – less prone to spending a disproportionate amount of time on pronouns, identity, politics, more focused on tabletop issues, things that really matter, the stacking of stress in terms of electricity bills and childcare costs and healthcare and obviously housing costs and how easily we get trapped in that, how I’ve fallen prey to that," Newsom said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has moderated his position on transgender athletes competing in women's sports in recent months. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Newsom claimed to have spoken from his experience being at the forefront of Democrats defending the issue and after receiving backlash for his more moderate position, arguing that there needed to be more nuance.

"But I think if you can’t hold the line on competitive sports — again, sports, there’s some nuance in this larger conversation. But competitive medal sports, if we can’t find that nuance, I think we’re going to lose a lot of people that aren’t — we’re not going to get invited to a larger conversation. So I do think we have to be more sensitive in that respect," he said.

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Newsom was asked about his past comments on transgender issues, particularly in an interview with Charlie Kirk last year when he called biological males competing in female sports "deeply unfair."

Gavin Newsom admitted to Charlie Kirk in 2025 that trans women playing in women's sports is "deeply unfair." (Screenshot/This is Gavin Newsom)

"I said that, and I believe that," Newsom said. "And it’s not out of an indictment to the trans community, quite the contrary, and a record that can back that up, a record that is — you know, that I’m attacked for my advocacy for the community, but I do think it’s a very different issue in sports."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom's office for comment.

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Newsom faced backlash from members of his own party for his more moderate position on transgender issues. He has insisted that he remains a staunch advocate for the transgender community.

Gavin Newsom has continued to defend himself as an advocate for the transgender community despite his more moderate comments. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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"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 in an interview with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein. "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."

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