Michael John Knowles (born March 18, 1990) is an American conservative political commentator, author, and media host. He has been affiliated with The Daily Wire since 2016, where he has hosted The Michael Knowles Show, a daily political podcast, since 2017.
A graduate of Yale University, Knowles previously trained as an actor and appeared in several independent film and web productions before turning to political media. His early prominence came in 2017 with the publication of Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide, a satirical book consisting of blank pages that became a bestseller. He published a second book, Speechless, in 2021.
Knowles is a frequent speaker and commentator within conservative circles and has been involved in projects including Verdict with Ted Cruz, a podcast he co-hosted with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz for two years. He is known as one of the most prominent Catholic political commentators in the American conservative movement.[2]
In 2008, Knowles enrolled at Yale University and graduated with honors in 2012, double majoring in history and Italian literature.[9][10][11] In college, he was a contributor to the Yale Daily News, an inaugural student fellow of the William F. Buckley Jr. Program, and produced the first English rendering of Niccolò Machiavelli's play Andria.[12][9][13]
As a Yale student, Knowles became involved in politics, co-founding the Students for Daniels organization, which sought to draft Indiana governor Mitch Daniels for the 2012 United States presidential election;[14] the group later endorsed Jon Huntsman, with Knowles becoming his national youth co-chair.[15][16] He also worked for Congresswoman Nan Hayworth in supporting her campaign for reelection, founded a political consulting group in senior year, and created sketches with Jimmy McMillan.[17][18][19]
Career
Acting
Knowles began training as an actor when he was 7 years old and studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.[19] Knowles pursued acting in college. His appearance in the 2012 student film House of Shades as a queer man who seduces another man attracted attention from several media outlets in 2023 after comments Knowles made about transgender people.[20][21] Upon graduation from Yale, Knowles trained with Wynn Handman at his acting studio in New York City.[19][20] Knowles starred in various television movies, music videos, and web series, frequently flying between New York and Los Angeles for his career.[19][22]
Political commentary
Knowles joined the The Daily Wire in 2016 as a guest and cultural correspondent for The Andrew Klavan Show. Starting in 2017, he began the Michael Knowles Show, a daily political podcast, also under The Daily Wire.[23]
In April 2019, Knowles gave a speech at an event sponsored by the Young America's Foundation at the University of Missouri–Kansas City titled "Men Are Not Women."[24][25] When students protested the event, one assaulted him and sprayed him with an unknown mixture (later determined to be lavender oil). The student was subdued by police and later charged for several violations.[25][26] Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal initially condemned Knowles and praised the protests, before clarifying the university is committed to free speech after backlash.[26][27] Knowles criticized the response while several Missouri lawmakers threatened to cut the school's budget.[28]
In January 2021, radio network Westwood One syndicated the Michael Knowles Show to help target a young conservative demographic.[32] The network decided to not renew the show in 2024.[33]
Knowles published his second book, Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds, in 2021.[36] According to Publishers Weekly, it was the number one weekly bestseller for hardcover nonfiction with 17,500 copies sold.[37][38] It was the number two bestseller for nonfiction on Audible.[39]
Knowles stated his opposition to same-sex marriage, saying "marriage is between a man and a woman."[41]
Knowles is known for his anti-trans rhetoric.[41][42] During a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in March 2023, Knowles argued that "If [transgenderism] is false, then for the good of society, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely – the whole preposterous ideology."[43][42] His comments were criticized by multiple people and organizations, such as Humans Right Campaign,[44] the Anti-Defamation League,[45] and the American Constitution Society.[46] Multiple outlets and organizations highlighted the comments as being 'genocidal' in nature.[47][48][49][43] Knowles defended the rhetoric, stating that the outlets were being libelous, and that he was referring to "transgenderism" as an ideology.[48]
Greta Thunberg
In September 2019, while on the Fox News program The Story, Knowles called climate activist Greta Thunberg a "mentally ill Swedish child."[50] The network apologized for Knowles's statement, saying his comment was "disgraceful," and announced that they would not book him as a guest in the future.[50][51] Knowles refused to apologize and roughly two years later, reappeared as a guest on Fox News during a segment with host Tucker Carlson.[52]
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