Michael Smerconish | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 15, 1962 (1962-03-15) (age 63) Doylestown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Lehigh University (BA) University of Pennsylvania (JD) |
| Occupations | SiriusXM host,CNN and CNN International host, columnist, author, political analyst, lawyer |
| Political party | Republican (before 2010) Independent (2010–present) |
| Spouse | Lavinia Nardini |
| Website | smerconish |
Michael Andrew Smerconish[1] (/smɜːrˈkɒnɪʃ/smur-KAHN-ish;[2] born March 15, 1962) is an American radio host, television presenter, political commentator, author, and lawyer. He hostsThe Michael Smerconish Program onSiriusXM's POTUS Channel and a weekly program onCNN andCNN International. A former Sunday columnist forThe Philadelphia Inquirer, he has authored seven books and serves as counsel at the Philadelphia law firm Kline & Specter.
Smerconish was born on March 15, 1962, inDoylestown, Pennsylvania, to Florence (née Grovich) and Walter Smerconish.[3][4] His mother isMontenegrin, coming fromCetinje in the formerYugoslavia. His father's family isCarpatho-Rusyn, tracing their roots to the village ofSwierzowa Ruska which was located in modern SoutheastPoland, not far from theSlovakian border.[5] He graduated fromCentral Bucks High School West[6] and earned his B.A. fromLehigh University inBethlehem, Pennsylvania, followed by aJuris Doctor degree from theUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School.
Raised in aRepublican household, Smerconish began corresponding withDemocraticMayorFrank L. Rizzo as a teenager. In 1980, his father unsuccessfully ran for thePennsylvania state legislature, with Smerconish helping on the campaign. That same year, he founded Youth for Reagan/Bush at Lehigh University. While attending law school, he ran for the Pennsylvania state legislature but lost the Republican primary by 419 votes.[7][8]
Afterward, Smerconish resumed his legal studies and continued working on political campaigns. In 1986, he managed the Philadelphia campaign for U.S. SenatorArlen Specter's re-election, and in 1987, he served as political director forFrank Rizzo's unsuccessful mayoral bid.
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After graduating from law school, Smerconish co-founded a title insurance agency with his brother Wally. At 29, he was appointed regional administrator for Philadelphia Region III of theU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development underSecretaryJack Kemp, during theGeorge H. W. Bush administration.
Following George H. W. Bush's 1992 election loss, Smerconish spent a decade practicing law with renowned trial attorneyJames E. Beasley, Sr. specializing in complex tort litigation. His clients ranged from the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police to professional boxerOrlin Norris. He also successfully sued abortion providerKermit Gosnell in amedical malpractice case. Today, Smerconish is of counsel at the law firm Kline & Specter.[citation needed]
On October 19, 2008, after previously supporting only Republican presidential candidates, Smerconish endorsedBarack Obama forpresident.[9][10] In aSalon essay, he criticized the Republican Party's failure to captureOsama bin Laden and expressed his frustrations, which led to his endorsement.[11] He called for the GOP to adopt moderation on social issues to align with suburban voters.[12]
In 2010, Smerconish announced he had left the Republican Party, later voting forGary Johnson in the 2016 election.[13] Commentators noted his shift to the political center, withThe Washington Post writing that he bet his career on there being "a great untapped center" in politics.[14]
In the spring of 1990, Smerconish made his first radio appearance as a guest on Philadelphia's96.5 FM WWDB, eventually transitioning from guest to guest-host. By 1993, he hosted his own Sunday night program, balancing this with his legal career. After broadcaster Dominic Quinn's death in 1996, Smerconish moved to weekend mornings, but left WWDB in 1997 when the station began airing infomercials disguised as programs. He then joined CBS affiliateWPHT, initially on afternoons, later taking over the morning slot in 2003 afterDon Imus was fired.[15][16]
In February 2009, Smerconish's radio show went into national syndication, and on August 20, 2009, he became the first talk radio host to interview President Barack Obama live from theWhite House.[17] He also interviewed PresidentsJimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush,Bill Clinton, andGeorge W. Bush, as well as Vice PresidentsAl Gore,Dick Cheney, andJoe Biden.
Smerconish's television career began with local appearances in Philadelphia, eventually leading to national exposure on CNN andMSNBC. He appeared regularly on CNN'sTalkBack Live and guest-hostedScarborough Country on MSNBC. In 2007, he hosted Don Imus's time slot on MSNBC following Imus's firing, and later became a regular substitute for Chris Matthews onHardball.
In 2013, Smerconish moved his radio show to Sirius XM's POTUS Channel, citing his desire for nonpartisan discussions after leaving the Republican Party in 2010.[18] In 2014, he left MSNBC to host his own program on CNN titled "Smerconish", which airs on Saturdays.[19] He also runs daily political and current events polls which he discusses on his daily Newsletter, YouTube channel, daily SiriusXM show and CNN show. The questions usually touch on the main topic of discussion of the day.
To mark 30 years in talk radio, Smerconish released an autobiographical, one-man film,Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking, which initially aired onCNN in July 2020, and then became a special onHulu.[20]
Following theSeptember 11 attacks, Smerconish became interested in the9/11 Commission's investigation, specifically a question posed by CommissionerJohn Lehman to Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice, regarding political correctness in airport security. Lehman suggested that there was a limit on how many Arab males could be screened at airports, which Smerconish wrote about in thePhiladelphia Daily News. His investigation led to his testimony before a Senate subcommittee, and he later authoredFlying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11 (2004), donating all proceeds to a 9/11 memorial.
Smerconish's second book,Muzzled: From T-Ball to Terrorism (2007), became aNew York Timesbestseller, linking political correctness to challenges in fighting terrorism.[21] His third book,Murdered by Mumia (2007), co-written with Maureen Faulkner, recounted the murder of Philadelphia police officerDaniel Faulkner. Smerconish donated the book's proceeds to a charitable fund for Faulkner.
InMorning Drive: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking (2009), Smerconish reflected on his career and political transformation. His fifth book,Instinct: The Man Who Stopped the 20th Hijacker (2009), told the story ofJose Melendez-Perez, acustoms officer who helped prevent the 20th hijacker's entry into the U.S. before 9/11. Smerconish donated proceeds from this book to theFlight 93 National Memorial.
Smerconish's first fictional book,Talk: A Novel (2014), explores the rise of a conservative talk show host, Stan Powers, who must decide whether to continue parroting talking points or stay true to his beliefs.Warner Horizon Television optioned the rights to the novel.[22] His next book,Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right (2018), compiled 100 of his columns fromThe Philadelphia Inquirer andPhiladelphia Daily News. He donated proceeds to the Children's Crisis Treatment Center and later developed a one-man show, "American Life in Columns," which he toured across the U.S.
In 2024, Michael Smerconish releasedSmercomics 2024 — a striking coffee‑table collection of political cartoons chronicling the chaotic and unconventional2024 U.S. presidential election, illustrated byPulitzer‑Prize winning cartoonistsJack Ohman,Steve Breen,Rob Rogers, andScott Stantis. With only 10,000 copies printed, the edition sold out quickly,raising $200,000 (USD) in book sales and a personal contribution from Smerconish for theChildren’s Crisis Treatment Center.
Smerconish has been recognized with three honorary degrees: a Doctor of Humane Letters fromWidener University in 2016,[23] another Doctor of Humane Letters fromDelaware Valley College in 2018,[24] and a Doctor of Science from theUniversity of the Sciences in 2020.[25]
He has earned numerous accolades for his work in media, including being named one of America's most important talk show hosts byTalkers Magazine.[26] In 2003, he was listed among Pennsylvania's most influential political figures byThe Pennsylvania Report,[27] and in 2006,Radio & Records honored him as the nation's Local Personality of the Year.[21] TheNational Association of Broadcasters selected him as aMarconi Award finalist in 2011 for Best Network/Syndicated Host.[28] Additionally,Philadelphiamagazine named him the city's best talk show host in 2004 and counted him among its most powerful citizens.
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As part of the2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, students atDickinson College protested to revoke Michael Smerconish's invitation as commencement speaker for the Class of 2024 due to remarks in his 2004 bookFlying Blind advocating forracial profiling. In response, Smerconish addressed the students' demands on his podcast and website,[29] stating that although he had not reviewed the book recently, he would likely "stand behind every single word."[30]
“Times change, people change, circumstances change. Statements in books written decades ago, if penned by the well-intentioned with a history of tolerance and advocacy of unity, cannot in a just and rational society be the basis for judging someone’s soul or determining their fitness to be part of the national conversation.”[29]
Subsequently, Dickinson College decided to revoke his invitation and honorary degree, citing "overwhelming opposition from our faculty and students" and concerns that his presence could distract from the commencement event, according to PresidentJohn E. Jones.[31]
In December 2024, Smerconish lamented the fact that there are no makeshift memorials commemorating the death ofUnitedHealthcare CEOBrian Thompson who wasassassinated in New York City earlier that month. Smerconish compared Thompson to cultural icons such asJohn Lennon as well as victims of police brutality likeGeorge Floyd and people who'd been victims of political violence such asHeather Heyer who was murdered by a far-right extremist while counter-protesting at theUnite the Right rally.[32]
On July 15, 2025, Michael Smerconish, Jeffery Doty, Rachel Shanok, and David Thornburgh filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the right of independently registered voters to participate in the state’s primary elections. The four plaintiffs assert that their exclusion from primary elections is a violation of their voting rights under the Free and Equal Election Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
In hisessay detailing his reasoning for filing the lawsuit, Smerconish stated that “there are more than one million [independently] registered voters here in Pennsylvania and yet, we don’t have a say in primary elections even though our tax dollars are being used to stage such contests... which are often destiny, effectively determining the outcome in a majority of Pennsylvania state House and state Senate races.”
In an increasingly polarized, bipartisan climate, Smerconish champions centrist influence in politics. “Our missing voice is often one of moderation which is in short supply in our polarized times. I firmly believe that when independent voters are excluded from the nomination process, we foster the rise of the extremes at both ends of the political spectrum. Better would be a system that forces candidates to have to appeal to a broader cross-section of society including those for whom compromise is not a dirty word.”
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Smerconish then went on to compare Thompson's death to some of the most tragic cultural touchstones in the nation's recent history, including the murders of John Lennon, George Floyd, Heather Heyer, and Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. "But there was no sign of any makeshift memorial on 51st Street," Smerconish added in a segment with the on-screen banner "a sad, new normalcy."
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