Caitlyn Jenner: It Was Easier To Come Out As Trans Than It Was To Come Out As a Republican
On Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla, Candidate for California Governor Caitlyn Jenner talks about transgender athletes, why it’s so hard to tell people you’re a Republican in California, and if Kanye West supports her run for office.
FAILLA: “Defensive end Carl Nassib came out as an openly gay player in the NFL, got a lot of support in the media day one. Day two, he was outed as a Republican. And a lot of that support kind of dried up a little bit. And it kind of reminded me of someone else I know, who transitioned a few years back, got a courage award, but is now under at times heavy criticism from the same people on the left who applauded your coverage five years ago. Are you not amazed at how quick the left does turn on people, whether they be trans, whether they be black, whether they be gay, if in fact they don’t stick with the party orthodoxy?”
JENNER: “Yes, I am. To be honest with you, it was easier to come out as trans than it was to come out as a Republican. Isn’t that sad? I think both should be easy to come out with a lot. You know, the Republicans, they need a lot of help, and to be honest with you, I want to help that process. The perception of what a Republican is has got to change. And it’s sad to see that. I look at it this way, I’m inclusive. So obviously, I like I have no problem with everybody. I want to hear everybody’s opinions. Tell it to me, I’m an intelligent human being. I have great common sense. I think we’re lacking common sense.”
JENNER: “In ’76, I won the decathlon, but honestly, I was trans then. Nobody knew it. All these thoughts were in my head. I just wasn’t doing anything about it. And so what if four years later I decided, oh you know what, maybe I should run in the heptathlon, which is the women’s equivalent of the decathlon. And would that be fair? No, it wouldn’t be. The bottom line on this, I want to protect women’s sports, girls sports in school. At the high school level, there’s no rule or regulations. Get in the NCAA, if you are a trans athlete, there are regulations and rules that you have to follow. You get to the Olympic level, the same thing. There are rules. The Olympic Committee has been dealing with this issue for 50 years. They were testing back in the 60s. They were all the girls at the Olympics would have to take a saliva test to make sure their DNA was right. This is the years of the East German women, swimmers, the East German track girls, the Soviet track athletes. I was looking at them and I’m going, well, you know, is this right? And so the Olympic Committee has been dealing with this for a long time.”
JENNER: “You just saw the first transgender weightlifter is going to be competing for New Zealand. At first I go, OK, well honestly, let’s see how this works. But over the last four years has passed all the requirements as far as hormone levels and everything and became eligible to be able to compete as a as a female trans athlete. And you know what? That’s good. Let’s see how it works out. But when it goes down and there’s no rules and regulations as it gets into the high school level, we have to protect women’s sports. We’ve got to protect Title IX. I think that’s extremely important. And there are no rules and regulations at that level. Maybe in the future we do something like that. But for right now there isn’t. So let’s protect women’s sports.”
JENNER: “I love Kayne. We have sat down and had some of the greatest conversations one way or the other. I love Kanye and he’s been a tremendous supporter of me. He was around when I transitioned, when I went through all of that. And he was just so on my side and I’ve been on his side the whole way. Running for governor, the first time for me being on the inside of a political campaign. I’ve always been on the outside kind of watching. Boy, is it interesting. And I’m going to first give this the absolute best shot I can because I think I can do a lot to save California, putting the right people in place. And I’m excited about that.”
