Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Caitlyn Jenner, a Republican candidate for California governor, lamented on Wednesday that her wealthy friends were leaving the state in droves, recounting the story of one man who decided to pack up his private airplane hangar because he was tired of seeing homeless people.<\/p>\n
The remarks from Jenner came in her first major media appearance since announcing her gubernatorial bid last month: a sit-down interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, conducted in Jenner\u2019s own Malibu-area hangar.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy friends are leaving California,\u201d Jenner said. \u201cActually, my hangar, the guy across \u2026 he was packing up his hangar. I said, \u2018Where are you going?\u2019 And he says, \u2018I\u2019m moving to Sedona, Arizona. I can\u2019t take it anymore. I can\u2019t walk down the streets and see the homeless.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to leave,\u201d Jenner added. \u201cEither I stay and fight, or I get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jenner\u2019s complaints about her friends\u2019 exodus from California were criticized by some on social media as tone-deaf and unhelpful to her developing campaign. As of Thursday morning, \u201cSedona\u201d was still trending on Twitter.<\/p>\n
The comments also seemingly undercut Republican efforts to portray Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is facing a recall election, as an elite career politician who remains out of touch with the state\u2019s residents amid the coronavirus pandemic. <\/p>\n
Jenner and other Republicans have particularly sought to highlight Newsom\u2019s attendance last November at a multi-person birthday dinner at California\u2019s upscale French Laundry restaurant, as Newsom was urging constituents to stay home and avoid congregating in groups.<\/p>\n
In her interview with Hannity, Jenner also offered praise for former President Donald Trump, describing him as a \u201cdisrupter\u201d who \u201cshook the system up\u201d and saying she was \u201call for the wall\u201d Trump pledged to construct separating the U.S. and Mexico.<\/p>\n
Over the past two weeks, however, Jenner largely eschewed public appearances after formally launching her gubernatorial campaign, provoking concerns among state Republicans who were broadly skeptical of her bid.<\/p>\n
A notable exception to Jenner\u2019s silence came last weekend, when she announced her opposition to female transgender athletes competing on all-girls school sports teams. \u201cIt just isn\u2019t fair, and we have to protect girls sports in our schools,\u201d she told TMZ.<\/p>\n
Jenner, a socialite and reality television personality, is herself one of the most high-profile transgender Americans and a former Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete.<\/p>\n
In a campaign video introducing herself to California voters on Monday, Jenner showed footage of her athletic achievements and transgender activism, while also flashing images of Newsom, homeless tents and a bin of discarded needles.<\/p>\n
\u201cCalifornia was once the envy of the world,\u201d Jenner said in the video. \u201cWe had what everybody else wanted. The American Dream grew up here. Yet career politicians and their policies have destroyed that dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also vowed to serve as \u201ca compassionate disrupter\u201d for the state if elected.<\/p>\n