U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) smiles as she gives a tour of the U.S. Capitol to a group of middle school students from her home district, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 1, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Carl Gibson
Editor's note: This headline has been updated.
A social media exchange between Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and conservative activist Riley Gaines ignited a firestorm among MAGA Republicans on Monday.
Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer and vocal critic of transgender women in women's sports, shared a photo on the social platform X of Ocasio-Cortez with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D) at a rally in New York held Sunday.
Gaines wrote, "We're being destroyed from within."
Ocasio-Cortez reacted to her post and wrote, "Maybe if you channeled all this anger into swimming faster you wouldn’t have come in fifth."
The remark referenced Gaines's fifth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championships, where she tied with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), a staunch ally of Gaines' and advocate for legislation aimed at restricting transgender women from competing in women's sports, criticized Ocasio-Cortez's comment.
In a post reacting to Ocasio-Cortez's remarks, Tuberville wrote, "What happened to 'support all women' @AOC? @Riley_Gaines_ is a 5x SEC Champion and 12x NCAA All-American. Not to mention she’s a patriot who has fought every day for women and girls. Meanwhile, AOC thinks 'women’s rights' just means abortion."
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, energized nearly 13,000 supporters at a rally in Forest Hills, Queens, on Sunday. The event, under the slogan “New York Is Not For Sale,” featured prominent endorsements from Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez.
Mamdani, who is leading in the polls, emphasized his platform focused on rent freezes, universal childcare, affordable housing and expanded education.