California Governor Gavin Newsom, a longtime champion of LGBTQ+ rights, just threw a curveball at his own party. Known for boldly issuing same-sex marriage licenses years ago against state rules, he’s now saying Democrats got it wrong by letting transgender athletes join girls’ and women’s sports in college and youth leagues. “It’s about fairness,” Newsom said on the first episode of his new podcast, This is Gavin Newsom. “I totally get that—it’s really unfair.”

His comments came up during a chat with Charlie Kirk, a big name in Trump’s MAGA circle who runs Turning Point USA. The two talked about a hot topic splitting the country: transgender athletes in female sports. Newsom, a dad of four—including two daughters—shared how much he and his wife love sports from their college days playing baseball and soccer. “Sports mean a lot to me, so fairness matters,” he said.

Kirk pushed Newsom to call out AB Hernandez, a trans high school track star from California whose triple jump wins in girls’ events have sparked outrage on the right. Newsom didn’t dodge it—he admitted the issue’s real. “The last few years, I’ve seen how you guys turned this into a big deal,” he told Kirk, swapping “weaponize” for “highlight” after a nudge.

Newsom’s podcast, first reported by POLITICO, takes cues from folks like Bill Maher, who often finds middle ground with conservatives while poking at Democratic ideas—especially on trans youth topics. In this 75-minute talk, Newsom came off friendly with Kirk, even joking about his son picking up MAGA vibes. He trashed “cancel culture,” called defunding police “nuts,” and distanced himself from pronouns and terms like “Latinx.”

He also took a swipe at Kamala Harris, saying Trump’s attack ads about her support for taxpayer-funded gender transition care for immigrants and prisoners hit hard. “She didn’t even fight back, and that made it worse,” Newsom said, guessing most Americans—maybe 90 percent—didn’t like her stance. “That ad was brutal.”

Newsom got personal, too, laughing about his French Laundry scandal during COVID lockdowns. “I should’ve been at Applebee’s instead,” he quipped. But on trans athletes, he dug in deeper. While there aren’t many transgender college athletes, he said the unfairness stands out. “It’s easy to see,” he noted, sounding a lot like Republicans who want trans girls out of female sports for fairness’ sake.

Still, Newsom showed heart for trans folks, calling them “poor people” who face depression and suicide more often. “I hate how some talk down to them,” he added. Yet he agreed with Kirk: Republicans are winning big by painting Democrats as out of touch on this. “We’re getting crushed,” Newsom said flat-out. “Crushed.”

He’s proud of his LGBTQ+ wins but admitted even friends ask why he’s quiet on trans athletes. He pointed to a 2014 California law—signed by Jerry Brown—that lets trans kids play on teams matching their identity. Newsom compared his stance to conservatives who still oppose gay marriage despite its acceptance. “I respect that you stick to your view,” he told Kirk.

This podcast marks Newsom’s boldest take yet on trans athletes, blending sympathy with a call for fairness—and showing he’s not afraid to break from the Democratic line.