Overview
- Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy publicly backed the U.S.-Israel strikes on Tehran and said President Trump was on the right side of the operation.
- Rep. Eric Swalwell rebuked Portnoy on X, telling him to stick to sports and insisting that values-based arguments should oppose a wider war with Iran.
- Portnoy responded by resurfacing Swalwell’s 2014–2015 ties to Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese operative, and urged him to sit out national-security lectures.
- Coverage notes the back-and-forth has gone viral and has renewed scrutiny of Swalwell’s judgment as he campaigns for California governor.
- Recent reporting also recalls that Swalwell faced no charges in the Fang matter, with a House review finding no wrongdoing even as his committee role ended.