Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), the progressive U.S. Congresswoman from New York, recently found herself in a public spat with Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and outspoken critic of transgender women competing in women’s sports. The exchange began after Gaines challenged AOC to a debate on socialism, capitalism, and cultural values, sparking a heated back-and-forth that quickly grabbed national attention.
AOC, born in 1989 in the Bronx, became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in 2019. Since then, she’s been known for her progressive views, championing issues like the Green New Deal, workers’ rights, and social justice. With a strong social media presence, she has become one of the most recognizable figures in left-wing American politics.
Riley Gaines, meanwhile, rose to prominence after tying with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. Since then, she has become a leading activist pushing for what she calls fairness in women’s sports, opposing policies that allow transgender women to compete in female categories. Gaines has also taken part in legal efforts to challenge such inclusions, making her a central figure in the national debate over gender and athletics.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Public Clash With Riley Gaines
The conflict between the two sparked after Gaines appeared on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” and issued a direct challenge to AOC. Gaines said, “I want to challenge AOC to a debate. She can defend socialism. I will defend capitalism. She can defend removing God. I defend embracing a Biblical worldview. Any of the radical, insane Democratic policies that they stand for, I will debate the opposite, and I am challenging AOC to it here.”
And I would like to challenge this person to get a real job. https://t.co/N4vCl3lJx0
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 27, 2025
Following Gaines’ challenge, Ocasio-Cortez responded with an X post, sarcastically writing, “Maybe if you channeled all this anger into swimming faster, you wouldn’t have come in fifth.”
This was a reference to Gaines’ performance at the NCAA WD1 championships in March 2022, where she finished fifth behind Lia Thomas and other competitors. The dispute escalated when Ocasio-Cortez fired more bluntly by sharing another X post, “And I would like to challenge this person to get a real job,” adding fuel to the online debate.
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Maybe if you channeled all this anger into swimming faster you wouldn’t have come in fifth. https://t.co/gkiEyZ8JGX
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 27, 2025
For the unversed, Gaines has joined several athletes in a Title IX lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s policies on transgender participation in sports, arguing that these rules compromise fairness and safety in women’s athletics.
She has also spoken publicly about feeling “uncomfortable” and unfairly treated in locker rooms and competitions, which she claims the current policies fail to address.
Riley Gaines Fires Back At Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Over Career Comments
Riley Gaines hit back at AOC after the lawmaker made remarks about her career. The former NCAA swimmer accused the Democrat representative of double standards when it comes to supporting women in sports.
In the comments section of one of Ocasio-Cortez’s X posts, Gaines wrote, “It’s always ‘we support women’s rights!’ until it’s a woman who wants the right to compete & undress free from less than mediocre men. Keep your mentally ill men out of our sports, locker rooms, prisons, etc.”
Ocasio-Cortez later fired back, telling Gaines to “get a real job.” The activist swiftly responded with a personal message about motherhood, commenting, “I have a real job. I’m a mom. It’s the most important & rewarding job in the world. I think if you had a baby girl like I do, you’d understand my positions a little better.”
Moreover, this is not the first time Gaines has clashed with high-profile figures over her outspoken stance on women’s rights in sports.
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In June 2025, Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles publicly criticized Gaines for her comments concerning a trans athlete’s inclusion in a Minnesota girls’ high school softball team.
Biles told Gaines to “bully someone your own size,” which sparked heavy backlash on social media. The gymnast later apologized and temporarily deactivated her X profile. Following the incident, the NCAA swimmer said she hoped that one day Biles would understand her motive and support her cause.
