Riley Gaines Rips AOC’s ‘Misogynistic’ Comments on Transgender Sports Debate [WATCH]

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines pushed back against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) after the congresswoman mocked her 2022 finish in a national swimming championship, reigniting the debate over transgender participation in women’s sports.

As Fox News reported, Gaines addressed Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks on her OutKick podcast, Gaines for Girls, after the two exchanged barbs online earlier this week.

The dispute began when Ocasio-Cortez claimed on social media that Gaines’ criticism of transgender athletes stemmed from “anger” over tying for fifth place at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships.

“Maybe if you channeled all this anger into swimming faster you wouldn’t have come in fifth,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

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

Gaines, who tied with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in the 200-meter freestyle during the 2022 championships, responded that her record speaks for itself.

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“I’m in the roughly 2% of people who competed in Division I athletics,” Gaines said.

“There are only eight women who make the final and are All-Americans in their event.”

The swimmer also pointed out the contrast between Thomas’s record competing as a male and later as a female.

“If they think fifth place is bad, what in the world do they think about 462nd? Because that’s what Will Thomas placed amongst the men just 12 months prior,” Gaines said, referring to Thomas by the name used before transitioning.

On her podcast, Gaines said Ocasio-Cortez’s comments reflected a broader pattern of dismissing women who speak out about fairness in sports.

“This comment is just so snide,” Gaines said. “It’s basically that same tired idea we’ve heard from the Democratic Party and those who support men stealing our opportunities — that women aren’t allowed to be angry when we’re screwed over. And if we are, then there’s something wrong with us.”

She added that the suggestion women should “just try harder” against biological males was “condescending and sexist.”

“They would only feel comfortable saying that to a woman,” Gaines said.

“For the life of me, I cannot understand this line of attack.”

Gaines accused Ocasio-Cortez of consistently taking positions out of step with most Americans.

“She’s hell-bent on being on the wrong side of every 80-20 issue,” Gaines said.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s the border, crime, castrating kids, parental rights, or the men in women’s sports issue.”

After Gaines appeared on The Ingraham Angle and invited Ocasio-Cortez to debate, the congresswoman responded by telling her to “get a real job.”

And I would like to challenge this person to get a real job. https://t.co/N4vCl3lJx0

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 27, 2025

Gaines replied that her most important job is being a mother to her newborn daughter.

“If AOC had a little girl, she would probably feel a little differently about a grown man exposing himself to her daughter,” Gaines said.

“But on the other hand, she’s proven herself to be a self-absorbed, misogynistic socialist, so probably not.”

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