Caitlyn Jenner, 71, is discussing her kids’ reactions to her decision to run for governor of California for the first time in a new interview that aired on May 10. The Olympic Gold Medalist admitted that although her brood, including Kendall Jenner, 25, Kylie Jenner, 23, are “not involved” in her political run, they were still “scared” when she told them about it.
“My kids are not involved whatsoever with this. I told him at the start, and I love my kids, the kids love me and I have a great relationship, but I told them right at the start, I said ‘guys’, because they were scared, one for my safety and scared of what the media is gonna do,” she told CNN‘s Dana Bash at her home in Malibu. “You know, my family has certainly been out in the media and they’ve taken their shots that they don’t need to take anymore.”
“I said, ‘I am not going to ask you for one tweet, I am not going to ask you for one thing. You guys go live your life this is my deal, this is my decision to do this and I’m going to tell the media, stay away.’ Don’t ask them. I told them just [to say] ‘no comment’,” she added.
Caitlyn also discussed her former stepdaughter Kim Kardashian‘s goal to one day be a lawyer and her work in the criminal justice system, which has helped former prisoners like Alice Marie Johnson obtain freedom, and how she would definitely go by her “guidance” if there’s a Jenner administration in the future. “I love Kim and I think she’s doing a great job with the criminal justice system,” she gushed. “And if I become governor, I would follow her guidance because she has been very, very good at that, on the rehabilitation side of it.”
“But I don’t have her involved in the campaign at all, whatsoever,” she continued. “I can’t say we’ve never discussed it, but.. she’s great, I love Kimberly. She’s smart, a great businesswoman and very dedicated to, you know, doing a better job when it comes to criminal justice. And she would have my ear, I can tell you that, when I’m up in Sacramento.”
Caitlyn’s latest interview comes just a few weeks after she first announced her run for governor of California in a potential recall election against current Governor Gavin Newsom. She took to social media on Apr. 23 to release a photo of a statement saying she filed the official paperwork to start the process of the campaign. In her mission statement, she said that “Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision” and she feels she’s that person.
“I have been a compassionate disrupter throughout my life, from representing the United States and winning a gold medal at the Olympics to helping advance the movement for equality,” the statement read. “As Californians, we face a now-or-never opportunity to fundamentally fix our state before it’s too late.”