Overview
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocked Riley Gaines on X by saying she might have placed higher if she had focused on “swimming faster,” referencing Gaines’s 2022 NCAA tie with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
- Appearing on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, Gaines challenged Ocasio-Cortez to a debate and said she would argue for capitalism and a biblical worldview while attacking Democratic positions on abortion and other issues.
- Ocasio-Cortez replied to the debate call by posting, “And I would like to challenge this person to get a real job,” prompting Gaines to answer that she is a mother and to taunt the lawmaker over a government shutdown.
- Gaines escalated on social media by calling Ocasio-Cortez a “misogynistic dunce” and reiterating claims about Thomas and locker-room conduct, framing Democrats as siding against women; those claims were presented as her allegations.
- Republican politicians and conservative media figures, including Sen. Tommy Tuberville, publicly backed Gaines and criticized Ocasio-Cortez, while no debate has been scheduled as the spat continues online.