Can’t say that I’m surprised by this:
Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympic champion and reality TV personality now running for governor in California, said she opposes transgender girls competing in girls' sports at school.
Jenner, a 1976 decathlon gold medalist who came out as a transgender woman in 2015, told a TMZ reporter on Saturday that it's “a question of fairness.”
“That's why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls' sports in school. It just isn't fair. And we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools,” Jenner said Saturday during a brief interview in a Malibu parking lot.
It was Jenner's first comment on the issue since announcing her candidacy to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, in a recall election. Five states have passed laws or implemented executive orders this year limiting the ability of transgender youths to play sports or receive certain medical treatment. There’s been a vehement outcry from supporters of transgender rights.
But Mother Jones points out that Jenner had a completely different view on this back in 2015:
In July 2015, Caitlyn Jenner had just publicly come out as a trans woman. She took the stage at the ESPYs—a quasi-award show hosted by ABC to crown ESPN as much as attendees—and thanked a series of trailblazers: Renee Richards, Chaz Bono, Laverne Cox, Arthur Ashe. She finished by saying she wanted “to acknowledge all the young trans athletes who are out there—given the chance to play sports as who they really are.”
This week Jenner, the former Olympic gold medalist and Kardashian TV personality, who has now announced her hopes to unseat California Gov. Gavin Newsom in an expected recall election later this year, reversed herself.
In an interview with TMZ, when Jenner was asked her opinion on “biological boys” participating in school sports, she responded that it was it “is a question of fairness.” “That’s why I oppose biological boys who are trans from competing in girls sports in school,” she continued. “It just isn’t fair. We have to protect girl’s sports in our schools.”
The interviewer pressed her for more comment: “But if someone transitions and now identifies as a girl isn’t it delegitimizing their identity to prevent them?”
Jenner declined to responded. “Have a good day,” she said as she got into her car and closed the door.
Jenner continues to go full Trump in this campaign:
In her first national TV interview since declaring her candidacy in the expected California gubernatorial recall, Caitlyn Jenner weighed in on immigration, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity that she is “all for the wall.”
“I am all for the wall, I would secure the wall,” she said. “We can’t have a state, we can’t have a country without a secure wall. You have two questions here,” Jenner said, per excerpts released by the network. “One is stopping people from coming in illegally into the state. And then the second question is, what do we do with the people that are here? We are a compassionate country, okay? We are a compassionate state. Some help, I mean, some people we’re going to send back, okay, no question about that. But I have met some of the greatest immigrants into our country.”
Jenner released a list of policy points on her website on Wednesday, and while it included issues like the Covid-19 response, regulation and taxes, it did not include immigration.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and his supporters have characterized the recall effort as an effort led by allies of Trump. In fact, Newsom’s campaign blasted out a fundraising email on Wednesday that noted that Jenner was “going on Trump’s favorite television station for an event with Trump’s favorite host.” Jenner’s decision to do an interview Hannity, though, suggests a desire to shore up support on the right. She faces Republican rivals including John Cox, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and former congressman Doug Ose.
Republican businessman John Cox was surrounded by reporters in a Sacramento park on Tuesday as he pitched Californians on voting for him in a recall election that could unseat Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
Many observers, though, were not staring at Cox as much as the 1,000-pound Kodiak bear lounging behind him, chewing pieces of chicken and cookies his trainer threw his way.
That was exactly what Cox was hoping for as he kicked off his “Meet the Beast” campaign tour.
“We certainly expected that the bear would get some attention,” Cox, 65, told The Washington Post late Tuesday. “It worked.”
But Jenner’s candidacy truly is a gift for Newsom:
Caitlyn Jenner’s candidacy for governor of California is a political gift to the embattled incumbent she is trying to defeat, Gavin Newsom. Just ask…Caitlyn Jenner. Four days after announcing a long-shot Republican bid, the 71-year-old Olympic gold medalist and Kardashian stepmom posted a tweet congratulating Newsom on a Jenner-fueled $300,000 fundraising burst. “You’re welcome, Gavin!” Jenner, or one of her campaign staffers, wrote. “I am glad I am such a fundraising asset to your team.”
Even if the tweet was an attempt at sarcasm, it highlighted the fact that Jenner’s high-profile entry into an already-cartoonish field of challengers should do nothing but help Newsom survive a recall vote. Her first-time run for office will suck up media attention that might otherwise be focused on Newsom’s record. And by enlisting Trumpworld advisers, including former campaign manager Brad Parscale; deploying email blasts with a Trumpian flavor; and coming down firmly on the conservative side of the culture wars, Jenner’s campaign is strengthening the case Newsom’s team has been making for months: that the recall effort is a hard-right ploy to steal an office California Republicans can’t win in a conventional election.
Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly two to one in California, with about a quarter of voters unaffiliated; in November, Joe Biden clobbered Donald Trump by 29 points. So Newsom—wisely and obviously—has cast the effort to oust him in starkly partisan terms. “Look at who we rolled out in our first announcement,” says Nathan Click, the Newsom campaign’s communications director. “People like Stacey Abrams and Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. These are the leaders of our national Democratic Party. And more locally, Katie Porter and Alex Padilla. Democrats across the ideological and issue spectrum see this recall for what it is, and they’re backing Newsom.” Jenner’s entry, in late April, almost seemed scripted—by her target. “For months Newsom has been calling the recall a Republican power grab and trying to brand it as very Trumpy,” says Michael Trujillo, a California Democratic political strategist. “Which was smart. Now you have Caitlyn basically highlighting all their talking points by hiring a bunch of Trump aides. If you’re Team Newsom, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
Here’s the latest on the recall:
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