Over the past month, California Governor Gavin Newsom has been making headlines for all the right reasons: he's led an effort to respond to Texas Republicans' push to further gerrymander their state, used his profile to pressure Border Patrol and ICE, and found a very effective-and hilarious-way to get under Trump's skin through his Press Office's parodies of the president's writing style. All of these actions have catapulted him to national stardom, where he's taken on the role of leading the fight against the Trump administration.
However, to the trans community, his rise only brings fear. Because before these developments, he was trying to win over potential voters in a very different way: by abandoning the LGBTQ+ community.
In the United States, California has long had a reputation. And not just for its stereotyped sunny weather, surfer culture, and affluent, snobby culture, but for its liberal politics as well. California Democrats are synonymous-especially in more Republican-leaning areas-with the liberal style of politics conservatives detest. It's so difficult to overcome that despite California's large population and plethora of Democratic figures with a national profile, of the three presidents from California, none of them have been Democrats.
Evidently, Newsom is facing an uphill battle. So he's set off to appear more palatable to conservatives, starting with LGBTQ+ issues. Beginning in 2024, he started attempting to suppress pro-LGBTQ+ bills while they were still in the legislature in order to keep him from having to either veto them-losing progressives-or sign them-angering conservatives. Then, he went public with his new opinions during a conversation with Charlie Kirk on his podcast earlier this year, calling trans athletes' participation in girls' and women's sports 'deeply unfair.' And more recently, he signalled he changed his stance on gender-affirming care for minors as well.
I shared it because I think it's important that we understand how the right organizes to weaponize our beliefs against us. Trans people may understand it intimately, but not everyone on the left does.
The republicans have been very effective in hiding what they truly believe to get votes. It's working extremely well for them, in fact, as we can see now. They read the room, then keep quiet about certain policies that would cause voters to shy away from them.
I'm not saying that's the tactic the left should take, but it's worth study and thought. If harm reduction and generational policy shifting is the goal, we may need to be a little more coy about messaging. If harm reduction isn't the goal, then I'm going to need to be brought up to speed on the plan for revolution.