New Zealand PM stumbles when reporter asks him to 'define a woman': 'The — well, biology, sex, gender, umm'

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins froze Monday when a reporter asked him to explain his government's definition of a "woman."

At a press conference, journalist Sean Plunket confronted Hipkins with the basic question: "How do you, and how does this government, define a woman?"

The question sent Hipkins into a tailspin. It took several seconds for Hipkins to gain his bearings before he stumbled forward and pushed the progressive view on gender.

"To be honest, Sean, that question has come slightly out of left field for me," Hipkins said. "The — well, biology, sex, gender, umm — people define themselves, people define their own genders."

Sensing the prime minister's desire to dodge the question, Plunket followed up by referring to comments made by British Member of Parliament Keir Starmer, in which the leader of the U.K. Labour Party defended the rights of biological women over those of trans women.

"I'd ask again: How do you define what a woman is?" Plunket asked.

This time, Hipkins dodged providing a substantive response by claiming he has not made a "pre-formulated" answer.

"I wasn't expecting that question, so it's not something I've pre-formulated an answer on. But in terms of gender identity, I think people define their gender identity for themselves," the premier said.

Finally, Plunket asked Hipkins to respond to Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, a women's rights activist also known as "Posie Parker," who believes the rights of trans women do not override the rights of biological women. Hipkins called her views "abhorrent."

"I think some of the views being conveyed around the transgender community, some of the sentiment that she has expressed towards the transgender community is abhorrent," he said.

The viral moment was particularly ironic because Hipkins' predecessor, Jacinda Ardern, is a woman. Hipkins became premier after Ardern, known worldwide for her strict COVID lockdown policies, resigned in January.

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