Should Barstool Sports’ David Portnoy Run for President?

When no one stepped up, David Portnoy did. A few months ago, Portnoy took a look around and saw small businesses taking it on the chin because of the COVID-19 virus.

Small, family-owned businesses, some of which had been serving their communities for generations, were on the brink of closing their doors forever. It was through no fault of their own. Justified or not (that's a discussion for another day), the government was ordering them to close their doors.

The ones that were lucky enough to be allowed to re-open had massive restrictions on the number of customers that were allowed inside. Curfews were put into place, barring certain businesses from being open past 9:30 p.m., and strict protocols were put into place regulating what customers and staff could do inside the businesses.

Portnoy was dissatisfied with the level of urgency the federal and state governments were placing on helping these businesses. He felt that members of both parties were displaying a lack of compassion towards not only the business owners, but also the staff members that were losing their jobs because these businesses were no longer sustainable in current conditions.

The founder of Barstool Sports launched a fund to help these small businesses. The idea was simple: collect money from his rich friends – and anyone else who was able to help out – and send the money to help businesses remain operational until the pandemic passes. To date, the Barstool Fund has raised more than $35 million, donated by more than 200,000 people, helping nearly 250 small businesses across the country.

We spoke with one of those businesses this morning on Michael and Maddie. Seekonk Speedway is going to receive a grant of $15,000 to help the 75-year-old business continue to run.

"It's hard to make money when you're not allowed to have fans in the building," David Alburn told Michael and Maddie.

Seeing first hand how Portnoy's leadership with the Barstool Fund initiative had me wondering this morning: could he unknowingly be setting himself up to be a candidate for president in 2024?

If you are familiar with Portnoy, he has very strong opinions about everything from pizza to business and government. However, his opinions strike me as common sense takes on everyday issues Americans are facing, something that both parties seem to be lacking at the moment.

I am predicting that this Barstool Fund could propel Portnoy to run for the White House in the future. I mean, isn't his nickname "El Presidente?" Or is that a coincidence?

Besides, who wouldn't vote for a guy that takes pizza so seriously?