California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office ignited outrage this week after launching a deeply personal attack on former Trump adviser and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk — going so far as to claim Musk’s own child “hates him.” The attack came as Newsom continued promoting himself as the nation’s leading defender of transgender policy, boasting in an interview with Ezra Klein that “there’s no governor that’s done more pro-trans legislation than I have.”
The interview clip went viral after being reposted by America PAC, an organization founded by Musk. Rather than defending Newsom’s remarks or offering policy justification, the official X account for the governor’s press office fired back with a jab at Musk’s family, writing: “Correct. We’re sorry your daughter hates you, Elon.”
Musk responded immediately and forcefully. “I assume you’re referring to my son, Xavier, who has a tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus you push on vulnerable children,” he said. “I love Xavier very much and hope he recovers. My daughters are Azure, Exa (she goes by Y) and Arcadia, and they do indeed love me very much.”
Musk has spoken extensively about his family’s struggles and his son’s transition, which he has described as the result of manipulation by activists pushing irreversible procedures on minors. In a 2024 conversation with Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, Musk said he was “tricked into” signing medical documents allowing Xavier to undergo gender procedures during the confusion of the COVID era. He said he was told Xavier might commit suicide if he didn’t comply.
“It’s incredibly evil,” Musk said at the time. “Puberty blockers are sterilization drugs… They call it ‘deadnaming’ because your son is dead. My son, Xavier, is dead — killed by the woke mind virus.”
Newsom’s willingness to take personal shots at Musk stands in stark contrast to the governor’s own history of inconsistencies on transgender issues. When speaking with the late Charlie Kirk last year, Newsom openly acknowledged the fairness concerns that arise when biological males compete in women’s sports. “I completely agree with you,” he said. “It is an issue of fairness — it’s deeply unfair.”
Yet Newsom’s actions tell a different story. Just months after acknowledging the fairness problem, California doubled down on policies allowing transgender-identifying males to compete in girls’ sports. As the Sacramento Bee reported, California refused to follow the Trump administration’s push to protect female athletes, becoming only the second state to explicitly defy federal efforts to restore fairness in K–12 athletics.
Newsom’s press office has also taken aim at federal officials working to protect women’s sports, mocking Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s order to eliminate prizes awarded to biological males in girls’ competitions and calling the move “dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality.”
The governor’s attack on Musk — dragging a father’s painful family struggle into the political arena — underscores the increasingly personal and aggressive posture Newsom has adopted toward prominent conservative figures. But as critics point out, his own record shows a governor who says one thing about fairness, science, and children’s well-being, and then governs in a completely opposite direction.
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