Jeopardy!’s Ken Jennings won’t support Gavin Newsom for president due to trans kids stance

Gavin Newsom may be many people’s favorite for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, but he has many detractors.

One such detractor is Jeopardy! champion and host Ken Jennings. Jennings recently spoke out on the social media platform Bluesky, agreeing with trans journalist Parker Molloy that he will “never, ever” vote for Newsom due to the California governor’s stances on issues surrounding transgender youth.

Jennings shared Molloy’s post, which read “I will never, ever vote for Gavin Newsom. Ever, under any circumstances. I don’t care if he becomes the Dem nominee, he’s still not getting my vote.”

“This is correct,” Jennings replied. “Any candidate cynically ‘triangulating’ on trans kids is a non-starter, and now is the time to say so. There’s still so much time to advance candidates that DON’T suck.”

Molloy’s post shared a video of Newsom discussing his views on issues like trans inclusion in sports and gender-affirming care for minors on a right-wing podcast. He said his opinions have changed over the years.

“I come to this very much more open-minded than I’ve ever been,” Newsom says, noting that he used to easily dismiss arguments against gender-affirming care for minors because it came from “people that were opposed to just basic rights.”

“The natural inclination was sort of to dismiss, and now I recognize more fully and deeply — and I think the sports issue really opened that door for me — the nuances in the space,” he says.

Newsom extolled his virtues, saying he wants to “stand up for ideals and strike out against injustice.”

“That said, on the issue of children, this is a tough, tough issue,” he adds.

Newsom is one of the favorites for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. However, he’s been facing backlash from the LGBTQ+ community after he began echoing right-wing rhetoric around trans athletes this spring.

Newsom had conservative media personality Charlie Kirk on his podcast in March. When Kirk asked Newsom to take a stance on trans athletes, Newsom was ready to answer.

“I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness, it’s deeply unfair… I revere sports. So, the issue of fairness is completely legit,” he said.

GLAAD condemned his statement, saying in part, “This podcast episode left out facts about inclusion in sports. The truth is, young people learn many life lessons playing sports: leadership, confidence, self-respect, and the value of teamwork. No one should be denied the opportunity to play sports just because of who they are. Players at all levels — high school, collegiate, and professional — already follow rigorous protocols to maintain their eligibility. In fact, the International Olympic Committee states that there should be ‘no presumption of advantage’ for transgender athletes. Individual opinion shouldn’t override these commonsense guidelines that are already in place.”

In May, the issue of trans kids in sports came directly to California when Trump threatened to cut federal funding for the state unless it disqualified a transgender teen girl from a high school track and field championship.

The California Interscholastic Federation instituted a new “pilot entry process” that gives cisgender girls who are beaten by allegedly transgender girls a chance to advance. There could potentially be three winners per event: one transgender girl, one cisgender girl, and one boy.

“CIF’s proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing,” Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s communications director, told The Advocate in a statement. “The Governor is encouraged by this thoughtful approach.”

Newsom was also criticized in June when he cut $40 million from the state budget for LGBTQ+ health programs. Newsom had proposed a state budget that eliminated funding for the California Department of Public Health’s Office of Health Equity, which is “dedicated to eliminating systemic bias that impacts health outcomes based on gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation.”

The California legislature restored the funding in its revisions of the governor’s budget.