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Democratic strategist and former Hillary Clinton spokesperson Karen Finney said Thursday evening on CNN that Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s callout of biological men participating in women’s sports is an “obvious gimmick.”

Newsom announced his new podcast on Feb. 26, titled “This is Gavin Newsom,” saying he would bring on “some of the biggest leaders and architects in the MAGA movement.” In his first episode, the Democratic governor hosted Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk and made headlines after saying that it was “deeply unfair” to have biological men participating in women’s sports.

On “The Source with Kaitlan Collins,” Collins asked fellow guests David Axelrod and Finney about their thoughts regarding Newsom’s sudden stance.

“The thing that bothered me about the whole incident was it was such an obvious gimmick, right? He needed some headlines to say, ‘Newsom breaks with the left,’ right? And what does he do? He picks — out of all the people that you could pick to try to say, ‘Hey, I want to talk to somebody who’s coming from a different perspective than me,’” Finney said.

“It was such a gimmick. To David’s point, I mean, it’s like the thirstiness is dripping off of him, and it’s like, just stop it. It’s gross,” Finney added. “You know he’s using the left basically. These are the people  who have had his back for a very long time — when they tried to recall him, actually. I just don’t think people are not going to take too kindly to it.”

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Since the release of Newsom’s episode, some of his fellow party members have criticized the governor’s statement, with the California Legislature’s LGBTQ caucus releasing a joint statement from Assemblymember Chris Ward and Sen. Caroline Menjivar, saying they were ‘profoundly sickened and frustrated’ by the remarks.

Finney said her issue with the governor’s comments stemmed from the way he “demonized people.” She said she participated in “college sports,” and while she doesn’t believe she would have “felt it was fair if a trans person” won, she said she could’ve taken a stand against Kirk.

“The conversation that he could have been having is you don’t have to demonize people,” Finney said. “You don’t have to demonize children who are trans and who are vulnerable and have high suicide rates, right? Instead of sort of gushing at Charlie Kirk about, ‘Oh, you weaponize it.’ Why not take a stand?”

Newsom’s statements come just days after Democratic senators blocked Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act on Monday evening, which sought to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports.

However, despite Newsom’s comments, the governor’s track record has been in support of pushing for transgender rights in his state, as he has supported policies such as allowing men in women’s prisons and allowing schools to privately transition children without the parents’ knowledge or consent.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/CNN/”The Source With Kaitlan Collins”)

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