California Governor Gavin Newsom appeared to walk back some of the strong statements made about immigration enforcement by his own team during a tense podcast interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro on Thursday.
The California Governor was grilled by Sharpio on his own podcast "This is Gavin Newsom" in an exchange that clashed over immigration, rhetoric and gender identity. One of the biggest flashpoints came when Shapiro confronted Newsom about the language used by his office to describe the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis as an act of "state-sponsored terrorism".
Newsom initially agreed with Shapiro's characterization of federal agents, saying he thought it was a fair description. However, this stance seemed at odds with messaging from his own communications team, which had used the phrase to describe the incident.
The discussion later turned to education and gender identity, where Shapiro repeatedly pressed Newsom on whether he believes biological sex can be changed and whether children should be taught otherwise in public schools. Newsom struggled to give a direct answer, saying "for the grace of God... yeah", which was seen as evasive by critics.
Shapiro also raised questions about why the issue of biological sex was so difficult to discuss, suggesting it was surrounded by hate, bigotry and condemnation. Newsom argued that his children should be taught in public schools that a boy cannot become a girl, describing such an idea as "an act of rationality and biological simplicity".
Despite repeated follow-ups from Shapiro, Newsom declined to give a clear yes-or-no answer on the issue of whether boys can become girls.
The California Governor was grilled by Sharpio on his own podcast "This is Gavin Newsom" in an exchange that clashed over immigration, rhetoric and gender identity. One of the biggest flashpoints came when Shapiro confronted Newsom about the language used by his office to describe the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis as an act of "state-sponsored terrorism".
Newsom initially agreed with Shapiro's characterization of federal agents, saying he thought it was a fair description. However, this stance seemed at odds with messaging from his own communications team, which had used the phrase to describe the incident.
The discussion later turned to education and gender identity, where Shapiro repeatedly pressed Newsom on whether he believes biological sex can be changed and whether children should be taught otherwise in public schools. Newsom struggled to give a direct answer, saying "for the grace of God... yeah", which was seen as evasive by critics.
Shapiro also raised questions about why the issue of biological sex was so difficult to discuss, suggesting it was surrounded by hate, bigotry and condemnation. Newsom argued that his children should be taught in public schools that a boy cannot become a girl, describing such an idea as "an act of rationality and biological simplicity".
Despite repeated follow-ups from Shapiro, Newsom declined to give a clear yes-or-no answer on the issue of whether boys can become girls.
. It feels like we're stuck in this limbo where no one wants to take a clear stance, and it's causing more confusion than clarity. Newsom's response on biological sex was evasive at best, and Shapiro's frustration is valid, but it also feels like he's not giving Newsom the space to explain himself properly 
. Can't we just have a calm and respectful discussion about these issues without resorting to "for the grace of God" or anything that comes across as condescending? I think our children deserve better than to be taught in schools with mixed messages and unclear boundaries 
. I mean, come on, he's basically saying that boys can't become girls and that's a fact! Why does it have to be so complicated? Can't we just accept what makes each person who they are? It's like, hello, this is 2025 and we should've figured out how to talk about this by now 
.
. Can't he just be honest for once? It's not like it's rocket science, right? Biological sex is what it is, and we should be teaching kids that instead of trying to confuse them with this whole gender identity stuff 
He's literally trying to walk back all these statements his team made about immigration enforcement and now he's getting roasted by Ben Shapiro! 
I mean, one minute he's agreeing with Shapiro that the language used was fair, and the next he's trying to backtrack. It's like, dude, make up your mind already? 
And can we talk about how awkward it is when you can't give a simple yes or no answer on whether boys can become girls? 
.
And can we talk about how awkward it got when Shapiro asked him about biological sex in schools? Like, Ben, just be honest, right? 
And on a more serious note, I feel like this convo brought up some important points about how we talk about identity and education in our schools. We need to be having these conversations, but maybe not as awkwardly as Shapiro did 
. I mean, one day you're agreeing with Ben Shapiro that it's state-sponsored terrorism and the next your team is saying something else... like what? It feels like there's a whole lot of confusion going on in Sacramento 
. And then they got called out for their language about Renee Good's death too 
...
. gotta wonder what happened in that podcast interview - did sharpio just keep it real? 
anyway, love when leaders have open conversations, even if they don't always get everything right 
. I mean, cant we just have a real convo about these issues instead of playin politics? 
I'm thinking about how this whole immigration enforcement thing is like a super long thread that gets tangled up in so many different conversations... like what even is the definition of "state-sponsored terrorism"? 
What's going on here? And then there's this whole issue of biological sex... it's like, can't we just agree that our bodies are our own and we should be able to make decisions about them without being judged or condemned? 
. It's crazy to think that California is one of the states with the highest influx of these kids 
. Anyway, did you see Ben Shapiro's poll from last year? 55% of Americans believe that biological sex is fixed at birth 
. Meanwhile, Newsom's team has been saying the opposite since 2019 
. Maybe it's time for some clarity on this issue 
. I wonder if that had any impact on his stance on biological sex?