When YU Republicans board member, Sarah Casteel, SCW ‘19, responded to Michael Knowles’ tweet about recording a few podcasts in New York by asking him to meet the conservative community at YU on January 25th, he enthusiastically agreed to come speak, even with a discounted speaking fee. The event, which will be hosted by YU College Republicans and the YU chapter of the Young Americas Foundation (YAF), will occur in Belfer hall on Monday, March 26th.
Michael Knowles made a name for himself after writing a number one bestselling book named Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide, which self claims to be the “most exhaustively researched and coherently argued apologia to date.” The $6 paperback makes that claim dryly, as after the table of contents, the book is just 256 blank pages. Reasons to Vote for Democrats and Knowles rose to fame after President Donald Trump took to twitter to endorse the satire as “a great book for your reading enjoyment.” Posters promoting the event have accordingly referred to Knowles as “presidentially endorsed!”
However, the satirical book is not Knowles’ only accomplishment. Knowles graduated Yale University in 2012 with a B.A. in history and began pursuing an acting career which received relative success. In 2016, Knowles joined The Daily Wire, the political News website started by Ben Shapiro. He is now managing editor of The Daily Wire and has his own podcast called “The Michael Knowles Show,” which discusses cultural and political issues through a conservative lens.
Alyssa Wruble, SCW ‘19, president of the YU College Republicans, explained her excitement for the upcoming event to The Observer. “He’s a young, up and coming figure in conservative politics,” she said, “So we thought he would be an interesting and entertaining guy to bring to campus.”