Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is getting dragged online after his latest attempt at relatability didn’t go as planned.
Swalwell posted a video of himself casually bench pressing 135 pounds while complaining that Republicans had sent Congress home. “I should be working right now,” he says into the camera.
“I should be at the Capitol. I should be in a suit.”
Instead, he blames the GOP for stalling business: “Republicans sent us home because they would rather stand up for Donald Trump than release the Epstein files and stand up for victims.”
The video was quickly mocked, not just for the lightweight lift, but for what critics saw as a failed political stunt.
“If I was a grown man who could only bench 135, you’d never see it on video unless someone secretly recorded it, and even then I would never admit it was me,” conservative commentator Matt Walsh wrote on X.
“Democrats are trying to attract white male voters. Swalwell at the gym ‘pumping iron’ won’t help,” another user chimed in.
Swalwell wasn’t alone in the attempt, as Trending Politics reported.
Other Democrats have been posting workout videos of their own, sparking speculation that the party is leaning into a fitness push ahead of the 2026 election.
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed responded to a viral video of his heavy lifting by writing, “That’s 315, habibi.” That clip has been viewed more than 5 million times.
In New York, House candidate Cait Conley, a U.S. Army veteran, posted a video lifting weights overhead while addressing affordability issues in her district.
Texas Senate hopeful Colin Allred even worked in a dumbbell curl while blasting President Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein case.
Swalwell’s contribution, however, stood out—and not in a good way. Rather than showing strength, it drew eye rolls.
Political strategist Pat Dennis said the effort to appeal to specific demographics could backfire.
“I would caution Democrats against pulling out a checklist,” Dennis told CNN. “For young men, we’ll do some bench pressing; for young women, we’ll talk about the Barbie movie. People don’t like being pandered to. They remember you for who you are.”
Swalwell has struggled to rebuild his image ever since it was revealed that he had a past relationship with a woman believed to be a Chinese spy. While the FBI cleared him of wrongdoing in 2023, the story stuck and Republicans haven’t let it go.
He’s still routinely mocked on Capitol Hill and has been heckled at multiple town halls.
In recent months, Swalwell has made a push to become more visible ahead of a competitive reelection campaign. But the gym stunt didn’t do him any favors. Voters and pundits alike saw it as awkward and inauthentic, a move more likely to fuel memes than momentum.
