Barstool Sports has built a reputation in online circles as a platform that attracts right-wing, bro-centric culture.
And that polarizing image has led many to steer clear of Barstool — whether justified or not.
But it’s also a platform known for fostering some of the biggest personalities in sports media, something founder and CEO Dave Portnoy has proudly cultivated. Portnoy’s outspoken support for Donald Trump in the 2024 election is no secret, nor is the controversy he sparked by interviewing Trump before the 2020 election.
Barstool’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but the platform’s influence is undeniable.
And that’s something that even Tommy Vietor, a former spokesperson for President Barack Obama and co-host of the popular podcast Pod Save America, couldn’t ignore. After years of distancing himself and his Democratic allies from the outlet, Vietor made an unexpected about-face.
Vietor spent over two hours in a recent interview on Barstool’s KFC Radio with Kevin Clancy (KFC Barstool) and John Feitelberg. In promoting his appearance, Vietor wrote they talked “About the Democratic Party’s (many) failures in the 2024 election and how Dems can recover and earn back support from the young men we lost to Trump.”
But it was in his replies to his original post about Barstool that Vietor made a noteworthy admission.
“Democrats (myself included) made a big mistake by refusing to engage with @barstoolsports,” he wrote. “The staff and audience have a wide range of views, and regardless, the only way to persuade people who disagree with you is to talk with them. Hope more Dems go on their shows.”
But that’s also not entirely true. Portnoy revealed that a few weeks before the election, he had been presented with the opportunity to interview Harris. Barstool’s founder turned down the interview, citing concerns that he wouldn’t be able to fact-check the Democratic nominee for president in real-time.
“They reached out, which who knows if they actually researched it,” Portnoy said. “She asked to do BFFs, JackMac and [Pardon My Take]. PMT said no, I said no on behalf of BFFs.”
Vietor’s sentiment echoes a larger struggle within the Democratic Party as it comes to terms with its second defeat to Trump in eight years. The Republican Party has clearly outpaced the Democrats in engaging certain key demographics, particularly the group Vietor referred to, which has steadily shifted toward Trump.
For better or worse, Barstool’s massive, cult-like following represents a group of potential voters that Vietor admitted he and his party had failed to engage with before 2024.