California: California Governor Gavin Newsom has said it is “Deeply unfair” to allow transgender women and girls to compete in female sports, marking a shift from many elected Democrats.

Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, made the remarks on his new podcast, This is Gavin Newsom, during a discussion with conservative figure Charlie Kirk. “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. We’ve got to own that. We’ve got to acknowledge it.” His comments come as Democrats debate the role of cultural issues in their defeat in November’s elections, when Republicans secured the White House and both chambers of Congress. A number of Democrats criticised Newsom’s remarks. However, some Democrats agreed with Newsom’s stance. Seth Moulton, a moderate Democrat from Massachusetts, told Politico that Newsom was “Correct, and polling shows it.”

  "More and more are willing to say what they've probably always thought - and that's a good thing," he said. According to an opinion survey in January by the New York Times/Ipsos, almost all Republicans and nearly seven in 10 Democrats oppose allowing transgender female athletes to participate in women's sports. Throughout his career, Newsom has positioned himself to the left of his party on LGBT rights. He made headlines in 2004 as San Francisco mayor when he ordered the city clerk to issue same-sex marriage licences, which at the time wasn't allowed under state or federal law.

Newsom made the state the first sanctuary for transgender youth and protected school curriculums that included LGBT history. Last year he signed legislation that made California the first state to bar school districts from requiring staff to notify parents if their child changed gender identity.