NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
PROGRAMMING ALERT: Watch “The Riley Gaines Show” on YouTube, or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts. New episodes drop Wednesdays and Fridays.
The week before the 2025 election, the Democratic Party’s undisputed leader, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, got a bit sidetracked while campaigning on the trail for the radical Zohran Mamdani in New York City.
After simply pointing out how destructive the new radical left is shaping up to be, as many did, she decided to rage-tweet at me for my well-known stance that men shouldn’t be in women’s sports. Her claim was essentially that if I just swam faster in college, I would have beaten the man I was swimming against.
Unsurprisingly, the insult fell flat. It was an attack that might have been persuasive several years ago, but not today. It was also a laughable reminder of how far we’ve come since President Trump returned to office.
RILEY GAINES SAYS NEW PODCAST WAS PART OF GOD’S PLAN: ‘HE PREPARES THOSE WHO HE CALLS’
Gone are the days when the left could force its alternate reality on Americans, at least for now. Per her post, this seems to have struck a nerve within their party. They went from controlling the narrative to having a new president and a majority of voters who no longer buy into it.
It’s an important reminder that elections matter. But a few things have changed since our landslide victory a year ago. Despite their unpopularity, the left has only gotten more radical and has gained some ground since. And despite our advantage, some on the right seem to have already forgotten who the real adversary is.
“The Riley Gaines Show” debuted on Wednesday. (FOX News media)
AOC’s radical views aren’t the only reminder of what we’re up against. Between Mamdani’s communist rise in New York and Virginia Democrats embracing an attorney general who fantasizes about murdering his opponents and their families, they’re saying the quiet part out loud.
RILEY GAINES RESPONDS TO AOC’S PERSONAL ATTACKS, CALLS OUT ‘VIRTUE SIGNALING’ DEMOCRATS
The left didn’t get the memo after 2024; they got more radical. And they may be down since last year, but they’re not out. All of this is just a preview of what it would be like if we let them mount a comeback.
If conservatives want to live in a world again where our leaders think men can become women or political violence is justified, then by all means, keep the infighting up.
Without a doubt, the most vivid reminder of who they are was the loss of Charlie Kirk. It’s not just that he was murdered by a deranged trans activist and one of their own, but it’s that they also openly celebrated it.
OUTKICK ANNOUNCES NEW RILEY GAINES PODCAST DEAL AS PART OF FOX NEWS DIGITAL’S NEW MEDIA EXPANSION
This was just a few short months ago. But given some of the discourse on the right lately, it might as well have been years. By now, we should be uniting and rallying for him. Keeping policy debates separate from personal ones. And reclaiming the upper hand on the economic, immigration, and cultural issues that won us the White House in 2024.
No one is happier than the Democrats that our focus has seemingly shifted from them to us.
The America First movement has come too far to come up short now. Charlie Kirk lost his life for it. President Donald Trump took a bullet and faced several politically motivated indictments for it. And countless Americans suffered at the hands of the left when they were in charge. If we’re to win again in 2026, a quick reality check is needed.
RILEY GAINES: TITLE IX WAS MEANT TO PROTECT WOMEN, NOT ERASE US
The other side doesn’t mind your daughter’s private spaces being invaded by men; they prefer it. Nor do they care if you’re hurt or killed by their agenda; they cheer it.
When we keep that front of mind, ruthless infighting on our side over foreign and domestic policy issues, or even personal ones, seems silly. It’s not that debating these issues or the direction of our movement isn’t important. It’s that, in many ways, there are more pressing issues.
What difference do your policy preferences matter if one side can shoot you just for advocating for them, while at the same time suffering no consequences at the ballot box?
‘SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS’ 2025 CULTURE WAR TIMELINE — THE YEAR THE TIDES TURNED
That needs to change.
In 2026, leaders throughout the conservative side need to lead the way Charlie did. As for the rest of us? Get involved. That means putting our heads down, door-knocking, registering voters and making the case to our diverse coalition to meet the moment again. There’s no shortage of options to do so. Whether it’s directly through campaigns or with groups like America First Works and Turning Point Action, we should all get back to doing what we do best.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
We won in 2024 by bridging the gaps in our movement. We win in 2026 by doing it again.
I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather keep the AOCs of the world rage-tweeting at us in defeat than climbing back to power over us.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Our movement faces two simple choices: keep infighting and lose, or unite and win.
The outcome of next year and beyond is up to us.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM RILEY GAINES
Riley Gaines is a 12-time NCAA All-American who competed for the University of Kentucky NCAA swim team before retiring from competition and focusing on political activism. Riley is host of “The Riley Gaines Show” podcast. Watch “The Riley Gaines Show” on YouTube, or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts. New episodes drop Wednesdays and Fridays.
