April 9, 2021
Donald Trump's campaign manager for the 2020 elections is lending his assistance to Caitlyn Jenner as Jenner contemplates jumping into the field of candidates to replace embattled California governor Gavin Newsom, who faces a recall vote,
Brad Parscale "has known Jenner personally for a few years," the Post points out, before adding, according to source, Pascale "is helping her with staffing critical personnel as she considers launching a gubernatorial bid".
The Post goes on to say that Pascale "began connecting the Olympian and reality television star with the right politicos for her team after she reached out asking for assistance."
The article adds that, according to a source, Pascale is "not interested in being campaign manager for a second time, though he could be asked to join the Jenner team as an adviser down the line."
In the event that a recall vote against Newsom does take place and succeeds, Jenner would face a field that is already crowded with Republican hopefuls. In that event, her name recognition as a television personality and transgender rights activist could boost her chances.
Another GOP celebrity, Arnold Schwarzenegger, captured the California governorship in 2003 when a recall election ousted then-Gov. Gray Davis. After serving out the remainder of what would have been Davis' term, Schwarzenegger won re-election in 2006.
Jenner was a Trump supporter herself until she withdrew her support in 2018 in a Washington Post column titled "I thought Trump would help trans people. I was wrong."
"Following Trump's election as president, I saw fertile ground for change within the Republican Party on LGBTQ issues," Jenner wrote in that column. "I believed I could work within the party and the Trump administration to shift the minds of those who most needed shifting."
That honeymoon came to an end when Jenner realized, "The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president."
Jenner went on to add that Trump "has made trans people into political pawns as he whips up animus against us," and said her support of the ultimately one-term president was "a mistake".
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
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