Portnoy's Political Path Remains Undefined, but a Presidential Run Is Off the Table

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy knows his pizza and isn’t afraid to speak his mind on political matters, even if his words aren’t the kindest. Take, for example, his comments on Joe Biden and his since-retracted bid for the 2024 presidential race. During a January 2024 appearance on Fox News, Dave referred to Biden as a “walking vegetable” who is “not capable of being the president for another 20 seconds,” let alone another five years.

Although Dave clarified that his remarks weren’t about party lines — Democrat or Republican — but rather about Biden’s capability, he did mention that Donald Trump would be his first pick. So, does that make Dave a Republican? Not necessarily. Some sources suggest that Dave leans socially liberal, which aligns with how he tackles political topics and causes. Let’s dive deeper.

Dave doesn’t perfectly align with either Democrat or Republican ideologies, which makes the speculation about him being socially liberal plausible. While he didn’t explicitly state he would vote for Trump in the upcoming election, it seemed like a given if Biden were still running. Portnoy acknowledged Biden’s age and the influence of others behind the scenes making decisions for him, suggesting that this approach won't cut it any longer.

What further fuels the idea that Dave’s political views don’t lean more to one side of the fence than the other are his comments during a September 2024 interview with Ryan Manion on her podcast The Resilient Life.

While “El Presidente” set the record straight that he would “never” run for a position in political office, he explained, “I’ve thought about it. I get so mad, but I’m a firm believer you can get a lot more done not in political office.” He added, “So if you’re actually trying to help people, I don’t think you want to be an elected official.”

In an effort to defend the notion that we need people with “common sense” in office to implement effective change, Dave replied, “But I don’t know that we’re ever going to get there.” It sounds like Dave doesn’t believe the current candidates running in the 2024 presidential election have what it takes to bring about the change the U.S. needs.

While "canceling" a celebrity or internet personality can have a detrimental effect on that person's career, Dave wasn't worried back in 2020 when the internet called for his cancelation over past racial comments. In a video titled "Emergency Press Conference — Cancel Culture Is Coming For My Head," Dave said, "OK, emergency press conference time. It took them long enough. Cancel Culture [is] finally coming after Barstool," he stated at the beginning of his video.

He continued, "Here's the thing: I've been doing this for two decades. I've made fun of every group of people. Every race, every creed, every culture — you name it. The no-fun club of the Cancel Culture wants to go back, blog-by-blog, video-by-video, day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month, year-by-year, decade-by-decade, and comb through everything we've ever f--king said and done, yeah, you're gonna find a few jokes that missed the mark."

It appears the heat Dave was receiving was related to video clips from 2016 of the Barstool Sports owner comparing Colin Kaepernick to Osama bin Laden and using racist language. However, he explained in the recent video that he was "not going to apologize," adding, "sensitivities change, cultures change. When you've been doing it as long as we have, things f--king change. ... I'm not going to bend the knee."

The internet personality concluded his video by urging others to try and cancel Barstool. "Whenever you try to cancel us, and do these movements that pop up once every couple [of] years, he said. "It only makes us stronger."

This is not the first time that Dave expressed his controversial views and opinions on social media.

Having no filter seems to be part of Dave's shtick. While he is most known for commenting on pizza, relationships, or celebrities, he's not above detailing his political point of view. While the COVID-19 pandemic was running rampant, Dave opened up about his thoughts on shutting down the country.

In a video titled, "Emergency Press Conference - When Did Flattening The Curve Turn Into Finding The Cure," Dave expressed his opinion on businesses still remaining closed if states shut down again.

"I would rather die of corona ... or at least take my chances," he said. "There are no great options but you can’t just decimate the entire economy."

While the Barstool president has certainly leaned more toward Trump in the past and present—Dave wrote in a 2015 post on the website, "I am voting for Donald Trump. I don’t care if he’s a joke"—it seems his political views tend to align with the candidate who is most equipped to tackle the issues at hand, whether they are Republican or Democrat.