Fiery left-wing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy tangled on Twitter Tuesday over organized labor in a clash of the social-media titans.
“Hey @aoc welcome to thunder dome,” Portnoy, a well-known right-leaning agitator, challenged the New York congresswoman. “Debate me.”
Portnoy threw down the gauntlet after AOC injected herself into a battle Portnoy was waging on another front over the recent formation of a union by workers at The Ringer, a sports site in competition with Barstool Sports.
“Heard @ringer employees want to unionize. Little refresher how I feel about unions,” wrote Portnoy on Monday.
“If you work for Barstool and want to have a private chat about the unionization process, how little power your boss has to stop you, and how you can leverage that power to make your life better: my DMs are open,” responded journalist Rafi Letzter.
Portnoy fired back on Tuesday, “If you work for @barstoolsports and DM this man I will fire you on the spot.”
It was at that point that famously far-left Ocasio-Cortez dove into the fray.
“If you’re a boss tweeting firing threats to employees trying to unionize, you are likely breaking the law &can be sued,in your words, ‘on the spot,'” wrote the Capitol Hill freshman. “ALL workers in the US have the protected freedom to organize for better conditions.”
Barstool’s editor-in-chief, Keith Markovich, weighed in from the sidelines, tweeting, “AOC from the top rope!”
Portnoy, known along with his site for his bro-bait antics, then fired off his challenge to AOC.
She did not immediately respond to Portnoy directly, but doubled down in a follow-up tweet, writing, “Bosses don’t wield all the power. Workers have plenty — yet many don’t know it!”
Portnoy’s outlet didn’t shy away from the spat, billing it “AOC vs. Dave ‘The Union Crusher’ Portnoy’” in a write-up.
“Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez vs. El Presidente, the fight you never knew how badly you needed it until it was right in front of your face,” read the piece, using one of Portnoy’s many monikers. “Schedule the debate!”