Malcolm Gladwell, a notable leftist thinker, has acknowledged that pressure from transgender activists has muted progressive critiques regarding the involvement of men in women’s sports.
“I feel a bit ashamed about that performance during the March 5, 2022 panel,” Gladwell remarked. “I was fully in support of women’s rights, yet I just… didn’t express it the way I should have,” he shared in a podcast, The Real Science of Sports.
On the other hand, Breitbart News has seemingly remained unaffected by this kind of pressure, particularly leading up to the November 2024 election.
Watch – President Trump: Competing against trans athletes is “demeaning to women.”
For instance, in 2022, Breitbart published around 400 articles discussing transgender ideology, which posits that government must acknowledge unverified claims regarding gender identity.
Before and after Gladwell’s remarks, Breitbart consistently reported on the controversial and, some might say, harmful agenda of transgender activists.
Gladwell’s admission occurred during an interview with Ross Tucker, where he opposed transgenderism. National Review noted his comments on that panel:
Malcolm Gladwell: “The panels were biased. They assembled supporters of trans athletes and advocates, while I acted as the moderator. It was odd to even feel scrutinized in that context. I sensed that only a fraction of the audience aligned with me.”
Ross Tucker: “I felt like everything I said was met with silence, whereas the others received applause.”
Gladwell: “There was definitely a crowd of staunch supporters for that viewpoint, but it highlights something intriguing about the dynamics of that conversation. It seemed like a pivotal moment. If we were to host that same panel at the Sloan Conference next year [2026], it would likely yield an entirely different outcome.”
“I suspect the consensus would lean toward excluding trans athletes from women’s categories. There’s really no doubt about it. I just felt a pang of embarrassment regarding my role at that panel because I was completely in alignment with your perspective.”
Gladwell now expresses regret over his handling of the situation. He’s not the only one from the center-left facing criticism. Many intellectuals have taken this opportunity to voice their concerns about the implications of men competing as women in sports. National Review noted this shift.
This discourse among thinkers has been largely fueled by the perspectives of average Americans, including those who follow Breitbart News, who have shared their insights leading up to the 2024 election.
