Caitlyn Jenner Gives First Interview as Candidate

Caitlyn Jenner wants to be governor of California—but despite her extensive reality TV history, critics say she doesn't seem ready for prime time. The Republican appeared on Fox News on Wednesday night and told Sean Hannity that it was "not an easy decision" to enter the race, but she's ready to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The hour-long Hannity interview was Jenner's first of the campaign and there was a "good amount of hand-holding" from the host as she outlined her policy proposals, including lifting all COVID restrictions, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. At one point, Jenner said she was "pro-illegal immigration." She thanked Hannity after he corrected that to "you're pro-legal immigration." "You've got my back Sean, I appreciate that," Jenner said.

Jenner—who spoke to Hannity in her private airplane hangar in Malibu—told Hannity that she is an "outsider" entering the race as a "thoughtful disruptor," the Guardian reports. Asked for her assessment of Donald Trump, Jenner said he did "some things I didn’t agree with" but she liked the way he "shook the system up." Jenner said that as a trans woman, she sees herself as a role model for young people. When Hannity observed that "some of them are mad at you" for saying transgender girls shouldn't compete in girls' sports, Jenner said, "That’s that, I don't care. I move on." Michael Blood at the AP says Jenner showed "signs of a first-time candidate" in the interview, including rambling answers, but she "made no disastrous blunders that might follow her throughout the campaign." No date has been set for the recall election. (More Caitlyn Jenner stories.)