Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy said he moved away from supporting the Democratic Party because he believed young white men were increasingly portrayed as “the bad guys” during the lead-up to last year’s presidential election, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Portnoy discussed his political shift and the antisemitic harassment he has faced in an interview with Tony Dokoupil on CBS Sunday Morning.
Portnoy, who grew up in a liberal Jewish household outside Boston, was asked why many young men abandoned the Democrats and supported President Donald Trump.
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“People often think I have the answer,” he said. “My nutshell [answer] is, generally they were very anti-normal guys, like…” Dokoupil then interjected, “What do you mean, normal guys? Are you saying there’s only one way to be a guy?”
Portnoy continued, alleging Democrats pushed the idea that it was “bad” to be a young man who liked “hot” girls, drinking, and frat-party culture.
“And to be honest, the white guy was the bad guy, became the bad guy,” he said. “And there’s a lot of white dudes who are like, ‘I’m not the bad guy. What are you getting mad at me for? I wasn’t here for colonialism or any of the stuff you guys are complaining about 200 years ago.’”
Portnoy criticized Democrats repeatedly before last year’s election, which President Trump won after carrying all seven key battleground states.
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He said he had voted for Democrats in the past but felt he had “no choice” but to vote for Trump, citing what he described as the “pure arrogance” of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
Later in the interview, Portnoy described the antisemitic abuse he says he now encounters “daily.” He referenced a recent incident in Starkville, Mississippi, where he was recording a pizza review and a man shouted “F*** the Jews” at him.
People think that this Jew-obsession is just some minor problem we can ignore.
It’s not.
Here is Dave Portnoy in the middle of a pizza review, gets interrupted by some kid saying “fuck the Jews”.
I tried to warn you. Young males are being infected.
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) November 8, 2025
The individual, 20-year-old Patrick McClintock, was arrested after video of the confrontation went viral.
“It’s every day now. Like, there’s a definitive shift in what’s going on. For me, being a Jewish person you got to step up,” Portnoy said. “You’re kind of someone people look up to in the Jewish community. You have to be like, alright, this is not normal.”
He described other recent incidents, including one in Toronto in June while filming outside Terrazza, when a passer-by yelled “f*** the Jews” from a car.
Portnoy responded, “There we go,” before expressing anger that some in the surrounding crowd laughed. “What are you guys f***ing laughing about?” he asked, and the crowd immediately went quiet.
Another incident occurred a month earlier at the Barstool Sports bar in Philadelphia, when a bottle service worker held a sign reading “F*** the Jews.”
Portnoy fired two waitresses and identified those he said were responsible for ordering the sign, including Temple University student Mo Khan.
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