Guy Benson | |
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_(cropped).jpg) Benson in 2019 | |
| Born | Guy Pelham Benson (1985-03-07)March 7, 1985 (age 40) Saudi Arabia[1] |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University (B.J.) |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, pundit |
| Employers | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | www |
Guy Pelham Benson[2] (born March 7, 1985) is political editor ofTownhall.com, an American columnist, commentator, and politicalpundit. He is a contributor toFox News and a conservative talk radio host onFox News Radio and formerly forNPR.
Benson served as a fellow at theGeorgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service during the spring 2021 academic semester.[3] He is heard weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m.ET on theWestwood One radio network.[4]
Born in Saudi Arabia,[5] Benson lived much of his early life overseas, then grew up inRidgewood, New Jersey,[6] where he attended middle school andRidgewood High School.[7] During high school, he was known for broadcasting sports on local television. While working toward hisbachelor's degree atNorthwestern University, Benson worked for the campus radio station,WNUR, broadcasting sporting events and hosting a political talk show. He also interned for two summers at Fox News, working primarily withHannity & Colmes, before assisting the channel with its coverage of the2004 Republican National Convention.[8]
Benson also reported for an NPR station inSouth Florida, and from 2003 to 2006 broadcast summer baseball games for theChatham A's of theCape Cod Baseball League.[9]
After graduating with honors from theMedill School of Journalism atNorthwestern University in 2007, Benson served as the producer ofThe Sandy Rios Show, then a local afternoon radio show withChristian Right commentator Sandy Rios onWYLL-AM inChicago. Rios moved to Washington, D.C., in July 2010.[10]
In 2010, Benson became political editor atTownhall.com,[11] where his columns had been published since February 2008.[12]
Benson also contributes to Townhall's sister site,Hot Air. He previously wrote atAndrew Breitbart's "Big" sites andNational Review Online's Media Blog.[13] He serves as a regular guest and substitute host onThe Hugh Hewitt Show.
In 2013, Benson joinedFox News as a contributor. He currently hostsThe Guy Benson Show onFox News Radio. In addition, he serves as a primary guest and substitute host on various Fox News/Fox Business programs such asFox & Friends,America's Newsroom,Outnumbered,The Story with Martha MacCallum,Special Report,Gutfeld!,The Big Weekend Show,Media Buzz,Fox News Sunday,The Evening Edit, andThe Bottom Line.
In April 2008 Benson discovered video from a 2007 reunion of theWeathermen, a radical left-wing group from the 1960s and 70s. The footage included quotes from two members,Bill Ayers andBernardine Dohrn, defending their actions.[14] SinceBarack Obama was criticized during the 2008 presidential campaign for associating with Ayers and Dohrn, the clips made national news, from theBoston Globe[15] to Fox News. Benson garnered national attention during the2008 presidential race on two other occasions. In August, after the Obama campaign attackedWGN radio in Chicago for allowingStanley Kurtz to appear on their station, Benson—who was in the studio during the interview—detailed his experience.[16] Then, two weeks beforeElection Day, Benson joined withMary Katharine Ham andEd Morrissey to pen "The Comprehensive Argument Against Barack Obama," released onHot Air.[17]
With a mix of libertarian and conservative principles, Benson espouses limited government intervention, free-market economics, and individual liberties as foundational to American prosperity and freedom. He expresses his views as a "free-market, shrink-the-government conservative," prioritizing economic liberty and reduced state overreach in personal and commercial affairs.[19] On social issues, Benson's libertarian inclinations manifest in support for same-sex marriage, which he defends from a conservative lens by arguing it promotes stable family structures and contractual freedom without necessitating government coercion on religious institutions.[20]
Benson has been included in theForbes "30 Under 30" list in law and policy (2015),[21] theHuffington Post "25 top millennial broadcasters" (2017),[22] and theCollege Republican National Committee's Lee Atwater Award for conservative leadership.[23]
Benson's little brother is actor, writer, and director James Benson.[24][25] Guy Bensoncame out as gay in May 2015 by announcing in advance of publication that his new book,End of Discussion, would include a footnote: "Guy here. So, I'm gay." Benson told an interviewer that "gay rights is not something that dominates my attentions — or my passions."[26] He describes himself as a Christian, patriotic American, free-market conservative who happens to be gay, noting how low his sexual orientation ranks in his personal priorities.[27]
In September 2019, Benson married Adam Wise.[28] On November 25, 2023, Benson and Wise welcomed a son via a surrogate.[29]
In October 2025, Benson announced on his radio program that he had been diagnosed with invasivemelanoma. The cancer was detected at an early stage, surgically excised, and required no additional treatment beyond the procedure.[30]
Benson is an avidNew Jersey Devils fan.[31]
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