‘I am all for the wall’: Caitlyn Jenner details immigration agenda in California governor bid

Reality star running to replace Gavin Newsom in recall election

Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympian and Kardashian family reality TV star, has expressed a desire to carry on former president Donald Trump’s goal of building a wall across the US-Mexico border saying she is “all for the wall”.

Ms Jenner told Fox News’s Sean Hannity in an interview on Wednesday: “I am all for the wall,” adding: “We can’t have a state, we can’t have a country, without a secure wall.”

She also said she would do her “absolute best” to end California’s status as a sanctuary state that avoids working with federal immigration agents, though she said the US immigration system needs to “modernise” and allow more people to come to the state.

The interview was her first since launching a bid to defeat California governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, in a likely upcoming recall election.

The star also described herself as an “outsider” in the race saying she is “in a race for solutions.”

She said: “I need to find solutions to be able to turn this state around. I absolutely love this state. I'm a fighter. Always have been."

Ms Jenner, who is transgender, also spoke about standing as a role model for the trans community. “For me as a trans woman, I think role models are extremely important for young people,” she told Mr Hannity.

She added: “And for me to be a role model, for them, to be out there, I am running for governor of the state of California, who would ever thunk that? We've never even had a woman governor.”

Following Ms Jenner’s announcement of her bid for governor, a number of LGBT+ rights groups and prominent activists spoke out in criticism of the reality star over her previous support of Donald Trump and other GOP lawmakers who have advocated for anti-trans legislature.

One of the state’s largest LGBT+ rights groups, Equality California, criticised Jenner for the move. “Make no mistake: we can’t wait to elect a (hash)trans governor of California,” they said.

“But Caitlyn Jenner spent years telling the LGBTQ+ community to trust Donald Trump. We saw how that turned out. Now she wants us to trust her? Hard pass,” they said.

She also faced backlash this week after she said she opposes “biological boys who are trans competing in girl’s sports in school,” saying it “just isn’t fair”.

When questioned by Hannity during the interview over how Jenner felt about some people being “mad” at her, the candidate said: “That’s that, I don’t care. I move on.”

Ms Jenner has long voiced support for the Republican party and initially offered her support for Mr Trump in the 2016 election.

In 2018, she reversed her stance on the president, saying “the reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president”.

According to Fox News, Ms Jenner is working with two former campaign aides of Mr Trump, Tony Fabrizio and Steven Cheung, in her bid for election.

Campaign pledges on Ms Jenner’s website include “cutting regulations” in the state, “addressing the affordable housing and homeless crises” and “putting a stop to new and higher taxes.”