Transphobic Influencer Riley Gaines Told by Her Team What She Should Believe

This only furthers the trend of the open right-wing pundit grift

By: Austin Abbring

June 17, 2026

Far-right mouthpiece Riley Gaines was recently caught on a hot mic, which was really just pre-tape footage from her podcast, needing to be reminded of what she believes in. I would say she is embarrassed, but people of her ilk feel no shame. They do feel the sweet relief of an inflated paycheck from grifting for whoever the signatory of said money is. 

During preparation for her show, Gaines is caught speaking off-camera to what appears to be a team member about pillars central to her beliefs and what they are, before she begins speaking for the official take. Gaines asks, “Wait, tell me the pillars again. So it’s pro-life…” before the off-camera person responds, “First Amendment, Second Amendment, sanctity of life, our veterans, I feel very passionately about…”. Gaines continues by asking whether it is “OK if she broadly speaks about the left.” 

I will say, I have never had the opportunity to sit before a camera and do promotional shoots or appear on a podcast; however, I would never need to be dogwalked into what my principles and ideology are. I have deep conviction in my beliefs, as are, I would say, the vast majority of people on the left. There is a significant number of right-leaning pundits who have been caught accepting exorbitant sums of money from foreign parties to push particular talking points. For example, the Tenant Media scandal from a few years ago involving Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, etc.

Riley Gaines’ rise in far-right media, and why she was even picked up in the first place, is her blatant transphobia. She has spent extensive time traveling across the country, appearing in the right-wing media space, and being around President Trump in her “activism” efforts against trans women competing in college sports. These efforts stem from her fifth-place tie in the NCAA Women’s Swimming Championship with Lia Thomas, a transgender woman. 

A friendly reminder that there are 500,000 collegiate athletes, and only around 10 of whom identify as trans. That is a whopping .00002% of college athletes. An unfriendly reminder that Gaines is heavily backed financially by Turning Point USA and has stated the transgender rights movement is a “house of cards” and that she has expressed her end goal is to make the entire movement “crumble”. She has also described the entirety of transgender people’s existence and their identities as “spiritual warfare”. She is right at home with the Trump movement and the Republican Party’s continual descent towards far-right ideology. She just does not have the brains between her ears to think for herself. Behind her eyes is nothing but a vast and barren wasteland of no original thought. What else should we expect from a fifth-place trophy recipient? The ultimate irony, she only has the trans community to thank for her career and its existence.