Nate Silver, the liberal data guru who occasionally calls out his own side, waded into a Twitter (sorry, X) spat this weekend with none other than professional victim and podcaster Taylor Lorenz. The clash was classic: facts versus feelings, logic versus tantrums, and, of course, a hefty dose of irony from Lorenz herself.
The kerfuffle began when Silver dared to point out something obvious—that the left has plenty of billionaire backing and big-money support. He rightly noted this includes the progressive media ecosystem that dominates mainstream discourse. In fact, it’s why Kamala Harris raised more money than Trump in 2020 and why left-leaning narratives often drown out dissenting voices. But apparently, calling attention to this reality was enough to trigger Lorenz, who decided to make it personal.
Silver then poked at Lorenz’s credibility with a simple question: why trust someone who isn’t even straight about her birthdate? Cue the meltdown. Lorenz accused him of refusing to “engage with her directly,” which, coming from someone infamous for blocking replies and shutting down debate on social media, is peak hypocrisy. Silver, always one for data, offered a solution: he’d debate her on Substack—if she’d just confirm her birthdate, year included. Reasonable, right?
Like just a basic thing but you should probably not trust a “journalist” who refuses to disclose the year in which they were born. pic.twitter.com/YaS5Zfk0rY
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 23, 2024
Not to Lorenz. She claimed her age was irrelevant and refused to share it, citing harassment and threats as her excuse. But here’s the kicker: what does her age have to do with harassment? Absolutely nothing. It’s a dodge, plain and simple. Yet Lorenz doubled down, insisting that men like Silver focus on her age because they can’t critique her reporting. Wrong again, Taylor—there’s plenty to critique in her work, but that’s another story.
* Must include the year.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 23, 2024
In a bizarre twist, Lorenz eventually declared she’s 50 years old. Really? Because Forbes had her on its “40 under 40” list just four years ago, when it pegged her age at 35. Math isn’t everyone’s strong suit, but that’s a leap even Common Core can’t explain. Naturally, people started asking questions, but Lorenz didn’t answer. Instead, she hurled insults, claiming she’d “wipe the floor” with Silver, despite spending the day angrily tweeting about him.
I’m 50 years old. Are you too scared to do a livestream with a 50 year old woman Nate?
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) November 24, 2024
Silver’s best moment came when he acknowledged a deleted tweet where he suggested Lorenz looks younger than her supposed age. He called it mean but funny—and let’s be honest, it was both. Meanwhile, Lorenz’s credibility continues to sink as her age mystery raises more eyebrows than sympathy.
Deleting this because it’s mean. I don’t think highly of this person but I also don’t know this person. pic.twitter.com/jSJQNArsEC
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 24, 2024
The whole debacle showcases why engaging with Lorenz is a lose-lose. She shuts down debate, cries harassment, and spins narratives that crumble under the weight of basic scrutiny. Maybe if she spent less time obsessing over Silver’s tweets and more time fact-checking herself, she’d have fewer public meltdowns. But hey, that might be too logical.
