“Now you’re competing against men?”: Riley Gaines tries to flex on Zohran Mamdani by benching more than him

At a Brooklyn “Men’s Day” event, New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani struggled to bench press 135 pounds without help. Conservative activist and former swimmer Riley Gaines quickly pounced, resurfacing an old video of herself pressing 165 pounds to mock him online. Many pointed out the irony of Gaines pointing out that a biological woman is quite capable of outperforming a biological man at the same sport.

Riley Gaines turns old lifting video into a political attack

Gaines, who rose to fame for losing a swimming race one time, reposted a 2022 lifting video to X on Sunday as part of a series of attacks against Mamdani for being unable to bench press 135 pounds on his own.

“165lb relatively easy reps on bench when I weighed 130lbs,” she bragged. “Take note, @ZohranKMamdani.”

Right-wing pundits are going all-out against Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who trounced his centrist opposition in the primaries.

Those who might actually vote for him are more concerned about the cost of living than how much weight their mayor can lift, but conservatives crashed out about it all weekend. Even Gaines admitted as much, 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 original dig.

Gaines became a recognizable name among the conservative commentator class after tying for fifth place in the 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship with Lia Thomas, a trans woman.

Mamdani’s supporters point out the hypocrisy

Critics were quick to point out the contradiction between Gaines’ claim to fame and her post targeting Mamdani. It’s almost as though she does understand that being born with certain physical characteristics doesn’t inherently give you an edge against half the human population.

“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?” asked @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,” said @aerismagna. “Insane work.”

Others were simply less than impressed with her benching abilities.

“If you’re gonna try shame someone else’s bench press don’t forget to meet the bare minimum standards,” advised @cianobriain. “A** leaves bench?”

“Yeah, it’s easy bc your form is sh*t and you still needed assistance,” wrote @zetsubo_chan.