You can’t kick Dave Portnoy out of a movement he was never a part of
Dave Portnoy, of Barstool Sports fame, became somewhat of a celebrity to the right during Covid thanks to the Barstool Fund, which helped small businesses stay afloat during lockdowns, and which he promoted through a number of Fox News appearances. Matthew Walther, writing at the Week, went so far as to proclaim him “the future of the conservative movement” in “Rise of the Barstool Conservatives.” While Walther’s piece correctly captured the Barstool conservatives’, and particularly Portnoy’s, views on abortion and other social matters — very bright lines in the sand between social conservatives and their Barstool brethren — that didn’t stop the idea from gaining steam. Portnoy even interviewed Trump ahead of the 2020 election.
