Republican Caitlyn Jenner calls herself an ‘outsider’ in California governor race
Caitlyn Jenner has described herself as an “outsider” as she bids to become Governor of California.
Jenner, a Republican whose election attempts have elicited angry reaction from some members of the LGBTQ community, added her response to critics was “I move on”.
The 71-year-old Jenner – who won the men’s Olympic decathlon in 1976 and decades later became a reality TV star and transgender woman – announced her candidacy about two weeks ago in a written statement on Twitter.
She was speaking during a one-on-one interview on Wednesday with Fox News host Sean Hannity at her private airplane hangar near Malibu, California, in which she gave her backing to former US president Donald Trump’s border wall.
‘Smartest people out there’
Jenner said she wanted to “surround myself with some of the smartest people out there” to develop her platform and ideas, adding: “I am an outsider. I understand that.”
Last weekend, Jenner witnessed an outcry from many in the transgender community after she told TMZ that she opposes transgender girls competing in girls’ sports at school, calling it “a question of fairness”.
While discussing her place as a transgender role model on Fox News, Jenner lamented the high suicide rate within the community and added, “For me to be a role model for them, to be out there. I am running for governor of the state of California, who would ever think that? We’ve never even had a woman governor.”
But Hannity queried back: “But some are mad at you.”
Jenner shook her head and stumbled over her initial response before saying: “I move on.”
Her cautious steps into the campaign highlight the risks for a political newcomer who could be tripped up by a vast array of complex subjects, from immigration to tax policy to vaccine distribution.
The written statements and video released so far, which include shots of her Olympic competition and gold medal, appear intended to introduce Jenner’s story to voters who might know little about her.
With the Olympics more than four decades behind her, she’s probably best known these days for reality TV shows, Keeping Up with the Kardashians and the spin-off, I Am Cait.