Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy declared on Wednesday that while he is “willing to still give” Donald Trump time for his tariffs to work, he would “absolutely” consider supporting Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections if the stock market and economy continue to flounder.
“I was never some crazy MAGA guy,” Portnoy insisted.
Portnoy, whose “Barstool conservatism” helped swing young males to Trump during the 2024 election, has been one of the growing number of Trump backers in recent days who have been openly critical of the president’s “Liberation Day” import taxes.
“Welcome to Orange Monday,” Portnoy dubbed the start of trading this week on his “Davey Day Trader” livestream. Since then, Portnoy has estimated that he’s lost at least $20 million amid the tariff-fueled “bloodbath” in the stock market. Despite claiming he’s lost roughly 15 percent of his net worth since the tariff announcement, Portnoy said he planned on sticking with Trump, whom he labeled a “smart guy.”
During a Wednesday interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash, which took place just before Trump suddenly announced a 90-day pause on most tariffs that led to a market surge, “El Presidente” reiterated his vow to give the president some space to prove that his economic policies will eventually pan out and not plunge the American economy into recession.
“So it’s uncomfortable anytime the stock market is like this and you’re invested in it, it’s certainly uncomfortable. But I stand with it,” Portnoy said. “You know, he ran on tariffs. He said he was a tariff fan. And I don’t pretend to be an economist. I don’t think I realized that we’d have this market crash. I don’t think most people did.”
He continued: “But I think he believes in what he’s doing and trying to basically strong-arm China and get better deals for the U.S. I’m willing to still give him time. I think the big date is the midterms, which is a long time out. But I do think that in this country, the number one issue, no matter what is going on, is the economy. And if the stock market doesn’t show some signs of rebound or rebounding by then, I think people will speak with their vote.”
Perhaps sensing the stunning reversal that Trump would pull later in the afternoon, Portnoy pointed out how Monday’s false story about Trump considering a 90-day pause on the levies caused a brief spike.
“And when there’s been a fake rumor or a misquote — like he’s going to postpone the tariffs or whatever — if he would come out and say, ‘Hey, we did this great agreement with Japan or Vietnam,’ the stock market would rip,” the Barstool owner said. “I firmly believe that. Instead, what he’s saying is everyone’s kissing his a** last night. But that’s Trump. Like that is that is how he speaks.”
After Portnoy said he couldn’t “wait a year and a half” if the stock market were to keep dropping but is “hoping his ‘Art of the Deal’ comes to fruition,” Bash wondered if the sports pundit would consider switching political parties if the economic chaos continued.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he responded. “I voted for Trump, I support him. I was never like some crazy MAGA guy!”
Saying that what “really drove” him to the right was Democrats “hiding Biden’s mental state” and not having a primary after the former president dropped out of the 2024 race, Portnoy insisted that he’s “not somebody who would just strictly vote based on Republican or Democrat.”
Still, Portnoy noted that his audience — which is primarily young men — weren’t yet “jumping ship” on the president despite his chaotic trade policies and stock market volatility, largely because they feel the left is “far more intolerant” than the right.
This isn’t the first time that Portnoy — who claims the president considered making him commerce secretary — has been critical of Trump and his administration. Following the scandal over the White House’s national security team inadvertently adding a journalist to a Signal group chat that included highly sensitive war plans, Portnoy said that “somebody’s got to go down for this.”
