California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he believes transgender athletes participating in girls’ and women’s sports is “deeply unfair,” breaking with Democrats on an issue that has become one of the party’s most politically fraught.

Newsom made the comments on the inaugural episode of his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” featuring Charlie Kirk, a conservative political activist and co-founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, an organization that brings conservative politics to high school and college campuses.

The governor announced the new podcast venture last month, promising frank conversations with some of the “biggest leaders and architects in the MAGA movement.” The first episode, which aired Thursday, saw Newsom engage in a friendly back-and-forth with Kirk, at one point asking him what advice he had for the Democratic Party.

“Get better ideas, governor,” Kirk responded. “You, right now, should come out and be like, ‘You know what? The young man who’s about to win the state championship in the long jump in female sports — that shouldn’t happen.’ You, as the governor, should step out and say, ‘No.’”

Kirk was referencing a transgender high school student’s victory in a girls’ triple jump event in California last month. He pressed Newsom to speak out against the student’s participation.

“I think it’s an issue of fairness; I completely agree with you on that,” Newsom said. “It’s an issue of fairness. It’s deeply unfair.”

Newsom, a likely contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, is the highest-profile Democrat so far to explicitly question or oppose the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s athletics.

Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi (N.Y.) and Seth Moulton (Mass.) criticized their........

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