{"id":2469690,"date":"2025-08-01T13:52:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T17:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/greg-gutfeld-fires-back-at-swalwells-bench-press-challenge\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T13:54:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T17:54:26","slug":"greg-gutfeld-fires-back-at-swalwells-bench-press-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/greg-gutfeld-fires-back-at-swalwells-bench-press-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Greg Gutfeld fires back at Swalwell\u2019s bench press challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgreg-gutfeld-fires-back-at-swalwells-bench-press-challenge%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2469690&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Fox News host Greg Gutfeld responded humorously and sharply to Rep. Eric Swalwell&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eric-swalwell-dares-tough-guy-greg-gutfeld-to-bench-press-challenge-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Eric ... dares \u2018tough guy\u2019 ... to ... challenge - Washington Examiner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/can-men-and-women-compete-athletically-heres-what-the-science-says\/\" title=\"Can Men And Women Compete Athletically? Here\u2019s What The Science Says.\">bench press<\/a> challenge<\/a>, in which Swalwell wagered that if Gutfeld could bench more than him for 10 reps, Swalwell would resign from Congress, and if not, Gutfeld would leave Fox News. Swalwell had issued the challenge after gutfeld mocked Swalwell&#8217;s social media gym videos.On his show, Gutfeld declined the challenge, making jokes about Swalwell&#8217;s past controversies and dismissing him as a figure seeking attention.Gutfeld also noted he was busy focusing on other matters like boosting America&#8217;s spirit and Fox News ratings. The incident is part of a broader trend where political figures engage in physical or theatrical challenges to settle disputes, but Gutfeld made it clear he would not accept Swalwell&#8217;s gym challenge.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Greg Gutfeld fires back at Swalwell&rsquo;s bench press challenge<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2181047\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Fox News late-night host Greg Gutfeld delivered a scathing &mdash; and comedic &mdash; response to Rep. Eric Swalwell&rsquo;s (D-CA) bench press challenge, with the wager that the loser resigns from his job.<\/p>\n<p>Swalwell issued the challenge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3486683\/eric-swalwell-dares-tough-guy-greg-gutfeld-to-bench-press-challenge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">earlier this week<\/a> after Gutfeld mocked the California Democrat&rsquo;s social media gym videos, in which the congressman complained about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3483501\/mike-johnson-defends-decision-adjourn-house-vote-epstein-petition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">August recess <\/a>while lifting weights. Swalwell said he had &ldquo;never heard of&rdquo; Gutfeld before, but made him an offer: &ldquo;If tough guy benches more than me for 10 reps I&rsquo;ll leave Congress. If not, he leaves Fox News.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3488339\/kamala-harris-new-book-january-6-late-show-stephen-colbert\/\">Kamala Harris talks new book and horrors of Jan. 6 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/3487473\/shannon-sharpe-at-peace-with-espn-ousting-following-rape-settlement\/\">Shannon Sharpe &#8216;at peace&#8217; with ESPN ousting following rape settlement<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sports\/3487075\/tom-brady-challenges-scottie-schefflers-remarks-on-parenting-over-golf\/\">Tom Brady challenges Scottie Scheffler&#8217;s remarks on parenting over golf<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>On <em>Gutfeld! <\/em>Thursday night, the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >late-night host rejected<\/a> the challenge, roasting Swalwell in the process.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to see him pump something besides a Chinese spy,&rdquo; Gutfeld said, referencing Swalwell&rsquo;s past ties to alleged Chinese operative Fang Fang. Gutfeld then launched into a string of jokes at Swalwell&rsquo;s expense, from his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-kamala-harris-wants-to-memory-hole-her-border-record\/\" title=\"Why Kamala Harris Wants To Memory-Hole Her Border Record\">short-lived 2020 presidential campaign<\/a> to the infamous, viral clip where the Democrat appeared to pass gas during an on-air interview.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here&rsquo;s a deal for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Gutfeldfox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Gutfeldfox<\/a>. (Never heard of him til he spent 8 mins criticizing what I bench press)&#129300;<\/p>\n<p>*The deal: if tough guy benches more than me for 10 reps I&rsquo;ll leave Congress. If not, he leaves Fox News. I&rsquo;ll give Greg 48 hrs to accept, then I&rsquo;m calling him GUTLESSfeld &#129309;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepSwalwell\/status\/1950554810803171794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;This is what the Democrats are left with,&rdquo; Gutfeld said. &ldquo;Sad, thirsty videos of baby men seeking attention. Swalwell is just a Nero in Nikes, flexing for TikTok while his party burns.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Fox host dismissed the bench press challenge outright, saying he was &ldquo;busy lifting other things.&rdquo; For example, &ldquo;America&rsquo;s spirits, Fox News ratings, and [fellow Fox cohost Dana Perino], so she can reach a doorknob.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Gutfeld.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Greg Gutfeld roasts Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on <\/em>Gutfeld!<em> Thursday, rejecting his bench press challenge.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Swalwell&rsquo;s unconventional challenge is not the first time a lawmaker has suggested a physical contest to settle a political score.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) nearly came to blows with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2455483\/sen-markwayne-mullin-stands-up-to-fight-teamsters-boss-during-senate-hearing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Teamsters <\/a>President Sean O&rsquo; Brien during a Senate hearing, challenging him to &ldquo;stand your butt up&rdquo; for a fight before Mullin&rsquo;s colleagues intervened.<\/p>\n<p>Knox County, Tennessee, Mayor Glen Jacobs, a World Wrestling Entertainment legend,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3355485\/mayor-glenn-jacobs-challenges-tim-walz-charity-wrestling-match\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proposed a wrestling match<\/a>&nbsp;between himself and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) in March. On the&nbsp;<em>This is Gavin Newsom<\/em>&nbsp;podcast, the governor said that his masculinity intimidates supporters of President Donald Trump, and that he could &ldquo;kick most of their a****.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3486683\/eric-swalwell-dares-tough-guy-greg-gutfeld-to-bench-press-challenge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>ERIC SWALWELL DARES &lsquo;TOUGH GUY&rsquo; GREG GUTFELD TO BENCH PRESS CHALLENGE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Gutfeld notes that these incidents, while often framed jokingly, highlight how political disputes can spill into theatrics, from boxing match talks to weight-room dares.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In Swalwell&rsquo;s case, Gutfeld has made clear he won&rsquo;t be stepping into the gym, at least not with Swalwell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2181047\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2181047\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gutfeld mocks Swalwell&#8217;s bench press challenge with humor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3970,"featured_media":2469693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GregGutfeldRespondsEricSwalwell.jpg.optimal.jpg-1024x525.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[60304,35815,46667,59373,37043],"class_list":["post-2469690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-bench-press-challenge","tag-eric-swalwell","tag-greg-gutfeld","tag-late-night-show","tag-political-debate"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GregGutfeldRespondsEricSwalwell.jpg.optimal.jpg-1024x525.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3970"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2469690"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469695,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469690\/revisions\/2469695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2469693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}