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Michael Knowles (political commentator)

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Michael Knowles
Knowles in 2021
Born
Michael John Knowles

(1990-03-18) March 18, 1990 (age 34)
Bedford Hills, New York, U.S.
EducationYale University (BA)
Occupation(s)Political commentator, media host, author
Notable workReasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide
Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds
MovementConservatism
Spouse
Alissa Mahler
​
(m. 2018)​
Children3[1]
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2016–present
Genre(s)Politics, Culture, Podcast
Subscribers2.06 million[2]
Total views1.01 billion[2]
Associated actsCandace Owens • Ben Shapiro • Brett Cooper
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: Sept 11, 2024
Websitemichaeljknowles.com
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Michael John Knowles (born March 18, 1990) is an American conservative political commentator, YouTuber, author, and media host. He has worked for The Daily Wire since 2016.

Early life and education

Knowles was born in Bedford Hills, New York, and graduated from Fox Lane High School. Descended from Italian, Sicilian, and Irish immigrants.[3][4][unreliable source?]

Knowles began training as an actor with the Stella Adler Studio of Acting,[5] as part of its Advanced Teen Conservatory. He graduated with a B.A. in history and Italian from Yale University, where he produced the first English rendering of Niccolò Machiavelli's play Andria in 2012. He was raised in the Catholic faith by his family but fell away during his adolescence; at Yale, he experienced a reconversion to the Church, spurred at first by ontological arguments.[6]

Career

Acting

Before graduating from Yale University, Knowles participated in two Web series, Never Do Business with Friends and Survive. Upon graduation, Knowles trained with Wynn Handman at his acting studio in New York City and appeared in various Web series, films, and television shows.[7] It was reported in March 2023 by The Daily Dot that Knowles appeared in the student film House of Shades (2012) as a queer man that seduces another man at a night club.[8]

After moving to Los Angeles, he acted in the television pilot of I'm Back and in the television movies Life Coach and Blend In. He also starred as Alejandro in the comedy feature film Hóllyweird.[9]

Political commentary

In 2016, Knowles was invited to join The Daily Wire, beginning as a regular guest and cultural correspondent for The Andrew Klavan Show podcast.[citation needed] He had worked with Andrew Klavan's son, Spencer, on theater productions while they were undergraduates at Yale.[10][11][better source needed]

In 2018, Knowles reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage and opposed attempts by some in the conservative movement to recognize such unions.[12][better source needed]

In April 2019, Knowles gave a speech at the University of Missouri–Kansas City titled "Men Are Not Women" during his YAF national college speaking tour. Student protesters disrupted his talk. One protester assaulted him and sprayed him with an unknown mixture, later determined to be lavender oil and other non-toxic household liquids. The protester was charged with assault and other violations.[13][14][15] Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal praised the protestors and condemned Knowles, alleging that Knowles's "professed opinions do not align with our commitment to diversity and inclusion and our goal of providing a welcoming environment to all people."[16] Agrawal also acknowledged that how Knowles was treated "crossed a line". Many Missouri lawmakers were dissatisfied with Agrawal's response and threatened to cut the school's budget.[17]

In September 2019, Knowles called climate activist Greta Thunberg a "mentally ill Swedish child" on Fox News program The Story. The network apologized for Knowles's statement, saying his comment was "disgraceful — we apologize to Greta Thunberg and to our viewers." Knowles did not apologize and Fox stated they had "no plans" to have him on again in the future.[18][19] However, the channel welcomed him back shortly thereafter for a segment with host Tucker Carlson.[20] Knowles later said, "Obviously, there is nothing shameful about living with autism or any other psychiatric condition. What is shameful is exploiting children for political purposes."[21]

In January 2020, while the first impeachment proceedings of President Donald Trump were underway, Knowles and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz launched the podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz.[22][23] On January 27, Cruz announced on Twitter that Verdict had secured the top spot on the podcast charts for that week.[24][25] After the impeachment trial ended with Trump's acquittal, Cruz and Knowles began to interview Washington politicians such as U.S. Senators John Barrasso, Mike Lee, and Tim Scott, Trump administration officials including then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. They also interviewed actors Jon Voight and Isaiah Washington.[citation needed]

On November 13, 2020, Knowles was scheduled as the guest host of The Rush Limbaugh Show.[26] After this opportunity, The Daily Wire, in collaboration with Westwood One, announced that Knowles would be hosting his own daily radio show on WHLD.[27]

In February 2023, Knowles stated that those who identify as transgender are "laboring a delusion, and we need to correct that delusion". At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in March, he further stated that "there can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism", and "if [transgenderism] is false, then for the good of society, and especially for the good of the poor people who have fallen prey to this confusion, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely – the whole preposterous ideology."[28] His comments were criticized by people including civil rights attorney Alejandra Caraballo, who interpreted them as "genocidal".[29] Knowles made legal threats to media outlets which reported that he was calling for the eradication of transgender people or the transgender community, stating that the outlets were being were libelous, and that he was referring to "transgenderism" as an ideology; critics considered the distinction meaningless.[30][31][32]

Knowles has defended and praised Christopher Columbus, Hernán Cortés, the Pilgrims, and others he calls "our political ancestors." He has also made statements defending settler colonialism as justified and noble.[33]

Publications

In 2017, Knowles released an empty book called Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide.[34] The book, which contained 266 empty pages and an extensive bibliography, became the top-selling book on Amazon.[35] Shortly after Knowles lauded President Trump on Fox & Friends, Trump called Knowles's book "a great book for your reading enjoyment".[34] That year, Knowles began his role as host of The Daily Wire's third podcast, The Michael Knowles Show.

Knowles's second book, Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds,[36] became a number one bestseller for hardcover nonfiction according to Publishers Weekly,[37][38] and a number two bestseller for nonfiction on Audible.[39]

Knowles wrote the introduction to the 70th anniversary edition of God and Man at Yale[40] by William F. Buckley Jr.

Personal life

Knowles is a practicing Catholic, and he attends the Traditional Latin Mass.[41] He married Alissa Mahler in June 2018 and has three sons.[41]

Bibliography

  • Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide (2017), Threshold Editions ISBN 978-1-5430-2497-5 OCLC 984757249
  • Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds (2021), Regnery Publishing ISBN 978-1-68451-082-5 OCLC 1243742524

References

  1. ^ Knowles, Michael [@michaeljknowles] (June 18, 2024). "Thank you to everyone for all the prayers as we have awaited and now welcomed Baby Boy Knowles #3" (Tweet). Retrieved June 19, 2024 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b "About Michael Knowles". YouTube.
  3. ^ Knowles, Michael [@michaeljknowles] (March 12, 2018). ".@andrewklavan constantly complains that I don't pay for books. If not in library or on Project Gutenberg, I'll buy used on Amazon, sometimes Kindle or Audible. Among the many values my Italian family instilled in me is never to pay retail. https://t.co/GzD3yK4Imo" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2021 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ YES or NO | Real Answers and Real Drinks with FREEDOMTOONS (Seamus Coughlin), July 24, 2021, archived from the original on November 26, 2022, retrieved November 26, 2022
  5. ^ "Michael J. Knowles". Michael J. Knowles. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  6. ^ "An Interview with the Catholic of the Daily Wire". Those Catholic Men. September 26, 2017. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  7. ^ "The Modern Renaissance Man: Michael Knowles on Art, Politics and Jimmy McMillan". Yale Daily News. March 7, 2014. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "Activist calling for eradication of 'transgenderism' played queer character in film". The Independent. March 21, 2023. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  9. ^ Mann, Keith (September 25, 2019). "Michael Knowles: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "Michael Knowles | Yale College Arts". collegearts.yale.edu. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  11. ^ "Spencer Klavan | Yale College Arts". collegearts.yale.edu. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  12. ^ Ep. 99 - Should We Accept Gay Marriage? ft. Fr. Michael Schmitz, February 5, 2018, archived from the original on April 13, 2021, retrieved February 8, 2021
  13. ^ "Conservative Speaker Michael Knowles Speech Disrupted", The Washington Post, Associated Press, April 12, 2019, archived from the original on April 25, 2019
  14. ^ "Student charged over protest at anti-transgender speech". The Seattle Times. April 12, 2019. Archived from the original on October 29, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  15. ^ "Conservative speaker who was assaulted by protester: 'This was a warning shot to conservatives'". Fox News. New York City: News Corp. April 13, 2019. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  16. ^ Garry, Patrick M. (2019). "When Legislatures Become the Ally of Academic Freedom: The First State Intellectual Diversity Statute and Its Effect on Academic Freedom". South Carolina Law Review. 71 (1): 181. SSRN 3715843. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  17. ^ Thomas, Crystal (April 17, 2019). "UMKC chancellor response to conservative speaker attack faces backlash in Missouri Legislature". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  18. ^ Koerner, Claudia (September 23, 2019). "Fox News Apologized To Greta Thunberg After A Pundit Called Her "Mentally Ill"". BuzzFeed News. Los Angeles, California: BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  19. ^ Bauder, David (September 24, 2019). "Fox apologizes for 'disgraceful' comment about Thunberg". WAVY.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  20. ^ Bremner, Jade (July 8, 2021). "Fox News welcomes back guest it vowed to ban over nasty attack on Greta Thunberg". news.yahoo.com. The Economist. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  21. ^ Goldsmith, Liorah (September 27, 2019). "Michael Knowles event met with student walkout". Annenberg Media. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  22. ^ "Kastrenakes, Jacob (2020-01-22). "Ted Cruz Now Has an Impeachment Podcast, Too". Ted Cruz now has an impeachment podcast, too". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-02-26". January 22, 2020. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  23. ^ "Kearns, Madeleine (2020-02-06). "The Final Verdict?". National Review. Retrieved 2020-02-26". National Review. February 6, 2020. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  24. ^ "Cobler, Paul (2020-01-28). "Ted Cruz's podcast on impeachment trial sits atop iTunes charts". Dallas News. Retrieved 2020-02-26". January 28, 2020. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  25. ^ Duehren, Andrew (January 30, 2020). "Duehren, Andrew (2020-01-30). "Impeachment Trial Pushes Ted Cruz to Top of Podcast Charts". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2020-02-26". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  26. ^ "Rush Limbaugh Show". Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  27. ^ Pergament, Alan (May 25, 2021). "WHLD switches format to conservative talk hosts, led by Dan Bongino". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  28. ^ Kilander, Gustaf (March 4, 2023). "CPAC speaker sparks alarm with call for trans people to be 'eradicated'". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2023. The full quote is from the video. The text of the article omits "and especially for the good of the poor people who have fallen prey to this confusion."
  29. ^ Hawkinson, Katie (March 4, 2023). "Michael Knowles Says Transgenderism Must Be 'Eradicated' at CPAC". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  30. ^ McClure, Kelly (March 4, 2023). "CPAC speaker says, "Transgenderism must be eradicated," while claiming it doesn't exist". Salon. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  31. ^ "CPAC Speaker Calls for Eradication of 'Transgenderism,' Crowd Goes Wild". Vice. March 6, 2023. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  32. ^ "CPAC Speaker Michael Knowles Says "Transgenderism Must Be Eradicated"". Them. March 6, 2023. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  33. ^ Suleiman, Alysa (December 6, 2023). "Vanderbilt Young Americans for Freedom host Michael Knowles speaker event, elicits mixed community response". The Vanderbilt Hustler. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  34. ^ a b Holley, Peter (March 15, 2017). "An author praised Trump on 'Fox & Friends.' Hours later, his book had a presidential endorsement". The Washington Post. Washington DC: Nash Holdings LLC. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  35. ^ Concha, Joe (March 9, 2017). "Amazon bestseller 'Reasons to Vote for Democrats' is a book of empty pages". The Hill. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  36. ^ "Publishers Weekly Bestseller Lists". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  37. ^ Milliot, Jim (July 1, 2021). "Fiction Sales Continue to Rise". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  38. ^ "Publishers Weekly Best-Seller". Associated Press. July 1, 2021. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  39. ^ "The top 10 audiobooks on Audible.com". Associated Press. June 29, 2021. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  40. ^ Buckley, William F. (September 7, 2021). God and Man at Yale 70th Anniversary edition Simon & Schuster. Regnery Gateway. ISBN 9781684512362. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  41. ^ a b Roberts, Judy (June 1, 2021). "Michael Knowles...what he's talking about". Legatus. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021.
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