In the likely recall election of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, trans activist and former male Olympian Caitlyn Jenner has announced a campaign to replace Newsom. Fellow trans activists have already declared non-support for Jenner.
Summary
Former Olympian and reality television star Caitlyn Jenner announced last week a run for Governor of California in the recall election of current Gov Gavin Newsom.
- Jenner, who came out as transgender and transitioned from Bruce to Caitlyn in 2015, follows in the footsteps of celebrity politician Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger who won during a gubernatorial recall in 2003.
- While Jenner is not branding as a Trump-style Republican, the candidate is relying on strategists and consultants who are close to the former president.
- During a Friday taping of The View, comedian Joy Behar used masculine pronouns while discussing Jenner’s run for governor, for which Behar apologized and to which Jenner responded “California has bigger issues than pronouns” while accepting Behar’s apology.
- While Axios noted the lack of policy positions on Jenner’s website, Newsom came under fire from Jenner when the current governor announced California would ban fracking (hydraulic fracturing used to extract oil and natural gas) by 2024, a policy Jenner said would increase “dependence on foreign oil, jeopardize good-paying jobs, and generates less state and local tax revenue” for schools and first responders.
- Leftist LGBTQ activists, which comedian Dave Chappelle called “the alphabet people” in a 2019 stand-up special, have announced they will not endorse Jenner because of Jenner’s ties to Republican politics and 2016 support for Donald Trump.
- Vox covered Jenner’s announcement as more of a nuisance for Newsom than anything else, calling the recall efforts a “Republican-led challenge” in a state that is “more heavily Democratic” than it was in 2003.
- CNN followed a similar but less derisive tack as Vox, saying that Jenner’s celebrity will enable the candidate to cast a wider net in terms of publicity, but that Newsom’s popularity is still north of 50% while those willing to recall the governor is below 50%.
- Fox News focused on Bill Maher’s monologue poking fun of Jenner’s trans status as bills being called anti-trans are being introduced or passed in various Republican-controlled states, with Maher’s most crude joke being that Jenner’s slogan will be “taking the sac out of sacramento.”
- The Daily Mail reported on a bizarre aspect of Jenner’s candidacy: the family member of a person killed in a 2015 car crash caused by Jenner is considering supporting Jenner for governor.
- The Daily Wire emphasized the immediate dismissal of Jenner from LBTGQ-allied groups and twitter folks, including from Charlotte Clymer with pro-abortion group “Catholics for Choice” (which, if one knows anything about the Catholic Church, should not logically exist), who called Jenner’s candidacy “a vanity campaign.”
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
