Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has come under fire from the MAGA community after a heated exchange on social media with conservative activist Riley Gaines, where Ocasio-Cortez suggested Gaines should “get a real job.”

Riley Gaines, known for her advocacy against allowing transgender athletes in women’s sports, fired back at Ocasio-Cortez on Monday. This clash follows Gaines’ past criticism for tying with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in a previous competition.

Gaines initiated the confrontation by posting a photo of Ocasio-Cortez with Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and Senator Bernie Sanders at the ‘New York Is Not For Sale’ rally, captioning it, “We’re being destroyed from within.” Ocasio-Cortez replied, advising Gaines to focus her energy on improving her swimming performance, referencing Gaines’ fifth-place finish in a race against Thomas.

Gaines retorted by stating, “It’s always ‘we support women’s rights!’ until it’s a woman who wishes to compete and change without interference from mediocre men,” emphasizing her stance against transgender women in female spaces.

Later that night on Fox News, Gaines extended a challenge to Ocasio-Cortez, proposing a debate on what she views as several “radical, insane Democratic policies,” following their contentious online interaction.

But Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t appear to be interested, quoting a clip of the interview on X and saying: ‘And I would like to challenge this person to get a real job.’

Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (right) has told Riley Gaines (left) to ‘get a real job’

Gaines didn’t waste any time in firing back, writing: ‘I have a real job. I’m a mom. It’s the most important & rewarding job in the world.

‘I think if you had a baby girl like I do, you’d understand my positions a little better.’

Gaines further put the boot in by retweeting a post from fellow conservative Allie Beth Stuckey, who had reposted an AOC post from 2020 that claimed ‘sex work is work’.

In her response, she said: ‘Being a mom and women’s advocate isn’t a “real job”, but prostitution is.

‘Girls having access to private spaces and fair competitions isn’t women’s rights, but murdering babies is. Noted.’ 

The fiery online back-and-forth comes one month after Gaines secured a huge win in her legal battle to kick biological men out of women’s sport. 

It was reported by Outkick that a federal judge in Atlanta ruled that the Title IX claims against the NCAA can move forward to the next stage, in a big win for Gaines and her fellow female athletes.

The lawsuit surrounds NCAA policies that have allowed biological male athletes to compete in women’s sports, and stems from the 2022 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, in which Thomas won a national title.

At that event, Thomas – a biological male – used the women’s locker rooms, showers and restrooms, after Georgia Tech hosted under an NCAA agreement that gave the association operational control of the venue. 

‘[Thomas] was full naked and, of course, full intact inches away from where we, 18-, 19-, 20-year-old girls, were fully undressed,’ Gaines told Fox News in March. 

Gaines has led the campaign for trans athletes to be kept out of women’s sports in recent years

She became embroiled in a war-of-words on social media with Ocasio-Cortez on Monday

The original lawsuit named Georgia officials and the Georgia Tech Athletic Association but the court has now dismissed those, keeping only the NCAA as a defendant in the case as Gaines and Co seek to hold them accountable for previous policies that allowed transgender athletes to compete.

While the case is allowed to progress, the court also threw out two further claims against the association, keeping only the Title IX claim – and the suit will now center around deciding whether the NCAA received federal funding.

Gaines herself has become the de facto spokesperson for kicking transgender athletes out of women’s sport, regularly appearing in the media to give her views on the controversial matter.