
“Now you’re competing against men?”: Riley Gaines tries to flex on Zohran Mamdani by benching greater than him
The irony appears to be misplaced on her.
At a Brooklyn “Men’s Day” occasion, New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani struggled to bench press 135 kilos with out assist. Conservative activist and former swimmer Riley Gaines shortly pounced, resurfacing an outdated video of herself urgent 165 kilos to mock him on-line. Many identified the irony of Gaines stating {that a} organic lady is sort of able to outperforming a organic man on the similar sport.
Featured Video
Riley Gaines turns outdated lifting video right into a political assault
Gaines, who rose to fame for shedding a swimming race one time, reposted a 2022 lifting video to X on Sunday as a part of a sequence of assaults towards Mamdani for being unable to bench press 135 kilos on his personal.
“165lb relatively easy reps on bench when I weighed 130lbs,” she bragged. “Take note, @ZohranKMamdani.”
Right-wing pundits are going all-out towards Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who trounced his centrist opposition within the primaries.
Those who may really vote for him are extra involved about the price of dwelling than how a lot weight their mayor can raise, however conservatives crashed out about all of it weekend. Even Gaines admitted as a lot, tweeting, “I’m not saying we should judge politicians for how much they can bench but I’m absolutely judging a politician for how much he can bench,” minutes after her authentic dig.
Gaines turned a recognizable identify among the many conservative commentator class after tying for fifth place within the 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship with Lia Thomas, a trans lady.
Mamdani’s supporters level out the hypocrisy
Critics had been fast to level out the contradiction between Gaines’ declare to fame and her publish concentrating on Mamdani. It’s virtually as if she does perceive that being born with sure bodily traits doesn’t inherently provide you with an edge towards half the human inhabitants.

“This is breaking my brain. Riley Gaines argues in a binary—she says women can never been athletically superior to men, so it’s unfair when trans women compete in women’s sports,” wrote @LOlenyik. “And then she posts a video of her being athletically superior to a cis man? Am I losing my mind?”
“Sooo now you’re competing against men?” requested @s0bergolfer. “Pick a lane.”
“stay out of men’s sports,” wrote @brndxix
“i’m not sure we should be doing athletic intimidation when your whole career is predicated on coming in 5th place,” wrote @mattxiv.
“They so desperate to get this man that they’re going against their previous talking points now,” stated @aerismagna. “Insane work.”
Others had been merely lower than impressed along with her benching talents.

“If you’re gonna try shame someone else’s bench press don’t forget to meet the bare minimum standards,” suggested @cianobriain. “A** leaves bench?”
“Yeah, it’s easy bc your form is sh*t and you still needed assistance,” wrote @zetsubo_chan.
The web is chaotic—however we’ll break it down for you in a single each day e-mail. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s e-newsletter right here.
Categories Politics
Tags apple news feed benching competing democrat Donald Trump flex Gaines Mamdani men Politics republican Riley Riley Gaines samsung news feed sports Trump viral politics Youre Zohran Zohran Mamdani