Gavin Newsom Trans Scandal Exposes a Growing Democrat Civil War, Target DEI Boycott, & Today’s News
PDS Published 03/06/2025
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That is a question people are asking after he launched his new podcast and had Charlie Kirk on as his first guest.
Which, yes, if you did not know this, the governor of California is now a podcaster, last week announcing a show called “This is Gavin Newsom.”
And it has already landed some backlash for a few reasons, with the first being him choosing to have Charlie Kirk, a right-wing influencer, on the show.
Right, Kirk is the co-founder of Turning Point USA, Forbes previously describing him as “a conservative youth activist known for his repudiation of liberal college education and embrace of pro-Trump conspiracy theories.”[]
And since Newsom is largely seen as a leader of the Democratic party, as someone who might want to throw their hat in the ring in 2028, some were not thrilled that Newsom chose to have this conversation, writing:
Though, some did think it was a good idea.
Right, when Newsom announced his podcast, he said one of his goals was to talk to people he disagrees with.
And so some think that politicians like Kamala Harris could have learned from this playbook, writing:[]
“everything about this — approach, guest, tone — is smart. gavin newsom is the only democrat who actually seems to be thinking about the last election, and adapting to what he learned.”[]
“The thing I like about Newsom is that, like Buttigieg, he not only does not shy away from talking to right-wingers, indeed he seeks them out. Dialogue is helpful.”[]
But some people were not thrilled with the actual dialogue itself, with the part facing the most criticism being a moment where trans athletes came up:
C: You aright now should come out and say the young man who is about to win the state championship in the long jump in female sports, that should not happen. You as the governor should step up…[crosstalk] would you do something like that? Would you say no men in female sportsG: Well, I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. So that’s easy to call out, the unfairness of that. But there’s also humility and grace that these poor people are more likely to commit suicide, have anxiety and depression, and the way that people talk down to vulnerable communities is an issue that I have a hard time with as well. So both things I can hold in my hand.” (0:00-0:37)
And outlets like Politico characterized this as Newsom “break[ing]” with Democrats on this issue because he agreed with Kirk on the “fairness” of trans athletes.
Tons of people upset with Newsom’s rhetoric there, thinking it will not even help his cause, writing:
“What’s great about Dems agreeing with GOP transphobia is that it earns no votes with conservatives who would never believe Gavin Newsom, so it’s just cravenly hateful for no political benefit.”[]
“The issue with Gavin newsom is he stands for nothing except his own path to power. He is willing to sell anyone out if he can benefit.”[]
A California State Senator also released a statement condemning Newsom’s comment, saying:
“The Governor has had many courageous moments over the decades supporting LGBTQ people…[]
“This is not one of those moments. Charlie Kirk is a vile bigot, and standing with him on this issue is profoundly disturbing.”
“The Republican strategy to eliminate trans people is to create fake moral panics — to falsely paint trans people as threats…Trans people are just trying to live their lives.”
Though, on the other side, people did not see Newsom’s comments as so black and white and thought he was more riding the fence.[]
And some did note there were moments where Newsom defended his stances on this issue, including a California law that prevents schools from forcing teachers to tell parents if their student identifies as LGBTQ in the classroom.[]
Right, meaning teachers can choose to tell parents if they want, but they cannot be fired if they chose not to.
And even though Kirk pressed him on this, Newsom defended it, saying:
“The law was specific. You can’t be fired for not snitching on a kid, not just for being trans, for being gay.” (0:10-0:21)
But still, tons of people thought Newsom overall spent a lot of time caving, writing:
“The way Charlie Kirk has Gavin Newsom sprinting to the right in this interview is something to behold…Charlie didn’t move an inch.”[]
And because Newsom struck such a chord with his comments on trans athletes, even Kirk himself wrote:
“Looks like the Democrat civil war is brewing.”[]
And so I would love to know your thoughts on any of this.
Right, it was a much longer conversation, so we don’t have time to get into everything, these were just kind of the moments that got the highlight responses.
But I would love to know what you think of someone like Newsom talking to Kirk, about conversations like these, anything at all.
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President Trump is preparing to sign an executive order that will dismantle the Education Department.
That is what’s being reported this morning by numerous media outlets that obtained a draft of the order.
Right, and this isn’t a surprise at all — it’s something Trump has been vowing to do for a while now.
And his pick to run the department, Linda McMahon (McMan), also publicly committed to unwinding the agency.
But on Monday, McMan was officially confirmed by the Senate, with all Democrats voting against her nomination.
And just days later, Trump is moving full speed ahead.
Now, as far as the specifics, according to reports, the draft order directs McMan to, quote:
“take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.”
And that last part is super key here, because it really doesn't seem like “the law” will actually permit the Trump administration — or any other administration, for that matter — to unilaterally dismantle the Education Department.
Right, the agency was created by Congress, and many of its responsibilities as well as the major programs it administers — including student loans and programs for students with disabilities — those are all written into federal law.
So, as a result, legal experts widely agree that it would require an act of Congress to fully dismantle the agency or even remove key responsibilities outlined under statute.
And that would almost certainly require 60 votes in the Senate to break the filibuster, which, of course, Democrats would never go for.
Hell, even McMan herself acknowledged during her confirmation hearing truly eliminating the department would require congressional approval.
With her also conceding that several programs are codified in law and can’t be slashed without Congress, including several that impact students with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
So, as far as what McMan could actually do, that really remains unclear.
Right, the Education Department oversees a ton of important initiatives, many of which are either delegated to the agency under law or would be difficult for another department to manage.
Especially at a time when Musk and Trump are dramatically cutting the federal workforce, leaving many agencies understaffed to handle the duties they’re already given.
But the most likely scenario is that the Trump administration will make a wide range of questionably legal plays here that will inevitably be challenged in lawsuits.
And team Trump will just see what sticks, what doesn’t, and what they can take all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Right, that seems to be the going strategy for basically everything they’ve done.
Now, as far as what happens next, the draft version of this order circulating right now is just that — a draft version.
So it could be subject to change, though it’s unclear if the core substance will really be altered at all.
And as for when we’ll see Trump actually signing a final version, sources initially told multiple outlets that it will come soon — potentially even as soon as today.
But this morning, we saw Trump’s Press Secretary responding to the circulating reports in a post on X, writing:
“More Fake News! President Trump is NOT signing an Executive Order on the Department of Education today.”[]
Yeah you fucking liars! He’s going to sign an executive order dismantling the Education Department TOMORROW, idiots!
I’m kidding… obviously…
Unless it actually does happen tomorrow… then I’m not…
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Trump is already walking back his massive tariffs on Mexico and Canada — sort of.
Right, after previously issuing a 1-month delay, Trump on Tuesday officially imposed 25% tariffs on almost all products from two of our biggest trading partners.
But just this morning, Trump announced that he has granted ANOTHER one-month delay for the tariffs on most goods from Mexico.
Writing on Truth Social that, after speaking to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, he has agreed to temporarily exempt Mexico from paying tariffs on goods that trade under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement — or USMCA.[]
A free-trade agreement that Trump himself signed during his first term in office.
Right, and this move comes one day after Trump announced that he would be giving U.S. automakers who operate under the USMCA a 1-month exemption from complying with the tariffs on Mexico and Canada following a meeting with major companies.
But after that, the Trump administration gave the public some VERY mixed signals about whether other industries would get exemptions.
Right, on one hand, you had Vice President JD Vance suggesting that other sectors wouldn’t get carve outs, saying:
“A number of industries have reached out to us to ask us for exceptions to the tariffs. [Trump] wants tariffs to apply broadly. He doesn’t want to have 500 different industries getting 500 different carve outs.”
But then when the press secretary was asked about other carve outs, she said that Trump is “open to hearing about additional exemptions.”
And then this morning, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that tariffs on BOTH Canada and Mexico would “likely” be delayed.
Arguing that both countries “have done a good job offering us ever more work” on stopping fentanyl at the border.
But in his Truth Social post announcing the exemptions for Mexico, Trump said nothing about Canada.
Writing that the delay will be in place for Mexico alone until April 2nd and adding:
“I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl. Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!”[]
Now, very notably here, this announcement comes just days before the Sunday deadline Sheinbaum set to announce retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
Right, unlike Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, she held off on any immediate action until she could speak with Trump, emphasizing her desire for some kind of agreement.
With her thank Trump in a post on X today and writing:
“We had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results, within the framework of respect for our sovereignties.”
Adding, “We will continue to work together, particularly on migration and security issues, which include reducing the illegal crossing of fentanyl into the United States, as well as weapons into Mexico.”[]
Now, as far as what will happen to Canada, as of recording, there has been no additional news about whether they will also be granted a similar delay for tariffs on goods under to the USMCA.
Right, on one hand, you have Lutnick’s comments from this morning about Canada being “likely” included.
And we’ve also seen Canadian government sources telling the BBC that the country is expecting an exemption of the “same nature.”[]
But, at the same time, you also have Trump repeatedly attacking Trudeau on Truth Social and claiming that he is trying to use the tariffs for political gain.
Writing in one post today that Trudeau “is using the Tariff problem, which he has largely caused, in order to run again for Prime Minister.”[]
Which, 1) that’s not how it works — people don’t “run” for prime minister the same way you run for president in the U.S. .
It’s a parliamentary system, and the usually, the leader of whichever party has the most seats in the House of Commons after a general election becomes the Prime Minister.
And 2) Trudeau has said he will step down as prime minister after his party selects a new leader this weekend.
And when asked during a news conference just today if he would consider staying on as prime minister in a caretaker role amid all the uncertainty with the U.S. tariffs, Trudeau literally said: “No. I will not be.”
What’s more, while Trudeau said that Lutnick’s comments about the likely delay for Canada was “a promising sign,” he also added:[]
“I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future.”[]
So we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Canada, and if they’re given the same delay as Mexico.
As well as if any additional exemptions are made either in the near future or once we reach the April deadline.
Right, it seems like a real possibility that Trump will just keep “delaying” the tariffs a month at a time indefinitely rather than admitting that they are a horrible idea and scrapping the whole thing altogether.
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For Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump is the gift that just keeps on giving.
Right, while the Russian president hasn’t budged on any of his sweeping demands to end the war in Ukraine, the American president has been handing him win after win.
And with every one, Europe is getting a little more worried, and a little more willing to consider a future where the US isn’t an ally but an adversary.
But with that, starting with the American side, senior members of Trump’s team have reportedly held secret talks with some of Zelenskyy’s top political opponents –
Including former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko (Yoo-lee-uh Tame-oh-shane-koh) and Zelensky’s predecessor as president Petro Poroshenko (Puh-tro Pour-oh-shane-koh).
They’re reportedly speaking via back channels about the possibility of holding presidential elections AFTER a temporary ceasefire is agreed but BEFORE full-scale peace talks get underway.
And notably, of course, the idea of an early presidential election is also being pushed by the Kremlin – which has wanted to get rid of Zelenskyy for years. []
And with that, as we’ve talked about, Trump officials and other Republicans have been more and more been suggesting Zelenskyy should step aside unless he gets fully on board with a plan to end the war rapidly –
Even if it involves major concessions by Ukraine.
Right, with Trump having gone so far as to call Zelensky a dictator based on the fact that the presidential election originally scheduled for 2024 never happened.
Notably, not because Zelensky “cancelled” the election as some have claimed, but because Ukraine’s constitution states that an election can’t be held while martial law is in effect.
With critics of holding elections claiming they would likely be chaotic and leave out people serving on the front lines or living abroad as refugees – ultimately playing into Russia’s hands. []
Although, notably, I will say, there may be fewer Ukrainians abroad very soon.
With the Trump administration now reportedly planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion of their country.
With this being part of the administration’s broader effort to strip legal status from more than 1.8 million migrants allowed to enter the U.S. under temporary programs launched under Biden.[]
But in any case, the Trump administration has denied that it is interfering in Ukraine’s domestic politics.
The parties of both Tame-oh-shane-koh and Pour-oh-shane-koh have also issued statements to defend their diplomatic activities – also both saying they oppose holding elections now during the war.
But you also have one Republican foreign policy expert telling Politico about the Ukrainian politicians:
“...they’re all talking to Trump World, positioning themselves as people who would be easier to work with. And people who would consent to many of the things that Zelenskyy is not agreeing to.”[]
And with that, Trump’s people are reportedly confident that Zelenskyy would lose any vote due to war fatigue and public frustration over corruption.[]
However, notably, the most recent poll shows Zelenskyy would still be comfortably ahead in the race for the presidency. []
That said, public opinion is also starting to shift regarding the war.
Right, reportedly, roughly 25 percent of the population supports continuing the war until Russia is fully kicked out of Ukraine.
But around two-thirds are more focused on talks and want the war to end – with half of those prepared to accept major concessions by Ukraine. []
Right, with the point being, yes, there’s real disagreement within Ukraine about how this war should end.
But also what Trump is doing is making it far more difficult for Ukraine to come to the negotiating table from a place of strength.
And that brings us to the second piece of big news out of the White House.
And that’s that on top of suspending all American military aid to Ukraine, Trump has now paused intelligence sharing with the country.
And just like halting the delivery of high-tech American defense systems, this has the potential to have serious consequences on the battlefield.
Right, US intelligence is reportedly important to helping Ukraine both strategically, in terms of understanding Moscow's next moves…
But also tactically, for example, by providing information on Russian troop positions for weapons guidance and targeting.[]
With one former deputy assistant secretary of defence and retired CIA paramilitary officer telling the BBC that cutting off intelligence to Ukraine "will have an immediate impact" on its ability to defend itself, adding:
"There is no way to replace the capabilities that the US intelligence can provide from our European allies.”
And going on to say: "This will likely inspire Russia to push harder on their efforts to take more terrain from Ukraine and away from the negotiating table." []
And notably, with all this, US allies are now reportedly thinking about scaling back the intelligence they share with Washington.
Right, worried that information such as identities of foreign assets could inadvertently be shared with Moscow.
And these allies reportedly include Israel, Saudi Arabia and members of the so-called Five Eyes spy alliance that’s made up the US along with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK.
Though, notably, the White House is reportedly pushing to kick Canada out of the alliance.
But in any case, beyond that, Politico is also reporting that these worries about the future of friendly intelligence sharing are also making their way into NATO more broadly.
Something not just due to Trump also more Russia-friendly European leaders like Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
And that brings us into the whole European side of the conversation.
Right, just a few hours after Russian drone and missile attacks targeted his home town, killing four, Zelensky joined EU leaders in Brussels for an emergency summit on defense.
Notably, with them reportedly close to agreeing on an 800 billion euro defense plan to increase European defence spending – all while individual countries are also taking action.
Germany, for instance, is set to raise the country’s debt ceiling to allow for higher defense spending.
And then perhaps, most notably, French president Emmanual Macron has now said his country is willing to discuss extending the protection afforded by its nuclear arsenal to its European allies.
With him noting in a televised address yesterday that Russia is now spending 40% of its state budget in military spending, with plans to expand its army even more, saying:
“Who can believe that today’s Russia will stop at Ukraine?” []
And with that, adding:
“The United States, our ally, has changed its position on this war, is less supportive of Ukraine and is casting doubt on what will happen next,”
“Europe’s future does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow.”
And an important thing to know with all this is that France is the only nuclear power in the European Union.
And until now, the continent’s primary nuclear deterrence came from the United States.
And so with that many worried that the US can no longer be counted on, you have countries Poland as well as the Baltic States quickly welcoming the French proposal.
And the person likely to be Germany’s next chancellor actually already floated the idea last month.
Of course, this isn’t a done deal, there’s opposition within France and elsewhere to the idea – including, obviously, in Russia –
With a Kremlin spokesperson today casting Macron’s remarks as “very, very confrontational.” []
And then the country’s foreign minister describing his comments as a “threat against Russia” and calling the idea that his country had plans to attack other European nations as “stupid" and “delirious nonsense.” []
Of course, I have my own opinion, but you can decide for yourself how far-fetched the idea of Russia invading another country for no good reasoning is.
But otherwise, as usual, we’ll just have to wait and see where this all leads next.
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Thousands of people are giving up Target for Lent.
Right, a boycott of the company started yesterday, Ash Wednesday, and will last for 40 days, which as all my Catholics and “Catholics” out there know, coincides with Lent.
Faith and civil rights leaders are spearheading the effort, and organizer Pastor Jamal Bryant said that roughly 110,000 people have signed up to participate.[]
With the Washington Post reporting that many of the people boycotting are parishioners at Black churches.
And as for why they are holding their money back, it comes as Target was one of the many companies to roll back its DEI initiatives following Trump’s inauguration and executive order on DEI, with a website on the boycott saying:
“In recent days, we have witnessed a disturbing retreat from DEI initiatives by major corporations—companies that once pledged to stand for justice but have since chosen the path of compromise. These rollbacks represent more than just corporate decisions; they reflect a deeper erosion of the moral and ethical commitments necessary to build a just society. As people of faith, we cannot be silent.”[]
And because the protest aligns with Lent, they are billing it as a “corporate fast” and “spiritual act of resistance” that will start with Target.
With the group also partnering with the Black Chamber of Commerce to give participants a digital directory of 300,000 Black-owned businesses to shop at instead of Target during this time.
And right now, that 40 days is a benchmark, but depending on how things go it could get extended.[]
With Pastor Bryant calling Target’s rollbacks “disheartening” and telling the Post:[]
“I was shocked because they made a commitment to invest in Black businesses upward of $2 billion after the death of George Floyd. A company that we believed was an ally to our community suddenly had convenient amnesia under this administration.”
And you have some outlets noting that this comes at a pretty tricky time for Target, right, the company did report a decline in sales in February.
And while that could be attributed to cold weather and a slowdown of spending post-holiday season, there have also been other recent boycotts against the company.
Right, other groups and consumers have been protesting Target and other companies that rolled back DEI measures over the last month and change.[]
Data from Placer.AI also found that Target saw a drop in foot traffic during the month of February,
And while many other major companies also experienced this, that data showed that Target’s drop was the biggest.
But Target is just one of many companies that have been, well, targeted with boycotts lately.
Last week, there was a one-day economic blackout from consumers, and while it was unclear how many people were participating, it was aiming to hit basically all major companies.
Right, people were encouraged to not shop either online or in stores, to not get fast food, and to not fill up their gas tanks.
And while it is hard to figure out just how impactful a 24-hour action was, USA Today reported that some companies may have felt it, but only ever so slightly.
Right, one marketing intelligence firm found that traffic at the top 100 e-commerce sites overall went down 6% on February 28 compared to a year before, and it was down 4% compared to the week before.
With one analyst telling the outlet that:
"I wouldn't necessarily call it a huge impact since negative 6% is not unheard of, but it is still a weakness."
But as for the big companies like Amazon, well, most firms found that its sales saw largely no change, with one even finding a 1% increase compared to the average over the last week.
But the group that ran the 24-our economic blackout still has other boycotts up its sleeve, including one that starts Friday against Amazon-owned companies.
And it will be interesting to see how any of this ends up playing out, if these boycotts grow, if consumers get riled up, or if the urge to boycott kind of dies out.
When it comes to the upcoming one against Target, you did have USA Today noting that “Target's market share for Black consumers is around 18% and its core audience is millennials at around 38%.”[]
And both those groups are more likely to use their dollars on brands that align with their morals.
And 40 days is obviously longer than one day, so its potential for impact is bigger than the recent blackout.
But I would love to know your thoughts on any of this here, if you have been boycotting brands, if you were aware they were happening or not, anything.
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And for your spot of sunshine on this incredibly bleak news day, I’d like you to meet David Kraning and Christina Cavanaugh.
Right, David here owned the very last video store in Pocatello, Idaho.
His dad had opened the shop when David was a kid and David kept it running despite streaming making video stores nearly obsolete. []
But in recent years, he was feeling the squeeze as profits dropped and expenses grew.
Once David realized he would have to close, there was only one question on his mind: what was he going to tell Christina?
You see, Christina has Down Syndrome and is very nearly non-verbal.
And she’s also the video store’s best customer.
She’s been coming in 3 times a week for over 15 years with her mother Toni and it’s a vital part of her weekly routine. []
And Toni said she had heard David mention that he’d been thinking about shutting down for a while - telling a local news outlet,
“They’d been talking about (closing) it, because it just hadn’t been thriving. I just kept thinking, ‘Oh, maybe just one more year, one more year for the rest of our lives,’” []
Going on to say that when she heard the news that it was actually happening, she was devastated. []
And she recalled the last time one of Christina’s go-to video stores shut down.
With Toni saying that Christina didn’t quite grasp what happened - that she doesn’t understand stores closing. []
And when they drove to the defunct location, Christina still tried going inside - with Toni saying,
“Her and I drive over and I let her get out of the car and she goes up and there’s nothing there, and the doors are locked. She still wanted to go in, and it is really heartbreaking to watch the anguish.” []
According to Toni, the only way Christina was able to move past that was because David’s video store was still open - she could still maintain that integral routine. []
And the people working at David’s video store know and care about Christina - when new hires came in, they were reportedly specifically trained on how to talk to her and what to expect.
With David telling the Washington Post,
“They’d been coming in for years. They were almost like family.” []
So about a week before his store permanently closed, David got an idea.
He outfitted an unused corner of the convenience store he owned next door with shelves from the video store.
And filled them with roughly 200 DVDs - including the Disney movies that Christina loves.
With one of David’s employees at the convenience store nicknaming it “Christina’s Corner.” []
And David adding,
When David first showed the new set-up to Toni, she said she was crying so hard she could barely thank him.
Telling the Washington Post,
“David is such a humble person, and he’s usually very quiet. I had no idea he’d been worrying about how closing the shop would affect Christina. I thought, ‘My gosh — he’s been losing money, but he came up with a plan just for my daughter?’ Who knew this guy’s heart was so big?” []
And so David’s video store continues to be a thrice weekly stop for Christina, even if it looks a little different.
And that is your good news story for the day - just a wholesome reminder that there are some good people out there and maybe humanity isn’t doomed.
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