Michigan’s Slotkin Trips Over Transgender Sports Debate on Camera [WATCH]

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin sidestepped a direct answer on whether biological men should compete in women’s sports during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.

The question came after California Gov. Gavin Newsom sparked controversy within his own party by calling it “deeply unfair” for biological men to compete in women’s sports.

NBC’s Kristen Welker played a clip of Newsom’s remarks from his newly launched podcast and pressed Slotkin on whether she agreed with his stance.

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Rather than giving a clear position, Slotkin deflected, pointing to her personal experience in sports while emphasizing that decisions on the matter should be left to local communities.

“Well, look, I think you’ll have to talk to Mr. Newsom and his podcast, and we’re all talking about it now because it’s good controversy. For me, I grew up playing three seasons of sports. In Michigan, sports is like our religion, right? I wouldn’t be here, I think, without the leadership training that I got in women’s sports,” Slotkin responded.

Slotkin went on to highlight Michigan’s existing policy on transgender participation in sports.

“But for me, it’s like, let the local community figure this out, right? In Michigan, we have a process in place where if someone who’s born a boy wants to play in women’s sports, you have to get a waiver,” she said.

“We’ve had it happen two times in our entire state.”

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Newsom’s comments have caused friction within the Democratic Party, particularly in California, where state lawmakers criticized his remarks.

The California Legislature’s LGBTQ caucus, led by Assemblymember Chris Ward and state Sen. Caroline Menjivar, issued a statement condemning the governor’s position.

They said they were “profoundly sickened and frustrated” by his remarks.

Despite his comments, Newsom has a history of supporting policies that advance transgender rights.

As governor, he has backed legislation allowing men who identify as women to be housed in female prisons and permitting schools to facilitate gender transitions for students without requiring parental consent.

Slotkin reiterated that she believes the issue should be handled at the local level, suggesting that the controversy surrounding the topic was politically motivated.

“So let the local communities, just like everything with schools, handle that issue. For me, though, I think this issue is being sort of brought up in order to make sparks and see sparks fly,” she said.

The debate over biological men in women’s sports remains a divisive issue at the national level.

Senate Democrats recently blocked the GOP’s Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act on March 3, voting 51-45 along party lines to kill a cloture vote on the bill. The legislation aimed to prohibit biological men from competing in women’s sports.

Polling suggests that a majority of Americans oppose allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports.

A recent Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll found that 69% of respondents supported “banning men who have undergone operations and hormones to become women from girls’ sports,” with half of Democrats agreeing with the measure.

As the debate continues, the divide within the Democratic Party on the issue appears to be widening, with some leaders like Newsom breaking from the party’s broader stance, while others, like Slotkin, avoid taking a definitive position.

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