 | Thisbiography of a living personrelies too much onreferences toprimary sources. Please help by addingsecondary or tertiary sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately, especially if potentiallylibelous or harmful. Find sources: "Mark Levin" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Mark Levin | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Levin speaking atTurning Point USA, 2019 | |
| Born | Mark Reed Levin (1957-09-21)September 21, 1957 (age 68) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Temple University Ambler (BA) Temple University (JD) |
| Occupation(s) | Broadcast news analyst, columnist, political commentator, radio personality, writer |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Awards | National Radio Hall of Fame |
| Website | marklevinshow |
Mark Reed Levin (/ləˈvɪn/; born September 21, 1957) is an American broadcast news analyst, columnist, lawyer, political commentator,radio personality, and writer. He is the host ofsyndicated radio showThe Mark Levin Show, as well asLife, Liberty & Levin onFox News. Levin worked in theadministration of PresidentRonald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney GeneralEdwin Meese. He is the former president of theLandmark Legal Foundation, an author of seven books, and contributor to media outlets such asNational Review Online. Since 2015, Levin has been editor-in-chief of theConservative Review.[1] He is known for his staunch support ofIsrael, constitutional principles,free speech andU.S. national security.[2]
Levin has been described as "right-wing" byThe New York Times,CNN,NPR, andPolitico.[3][4][5][6] He is known for his strident criticisms ofDemocrats and encouragement of primary challenges to congressionalRepublicans that he considers to be "Republican In Name Only" (RINO). He endorsedTed Cruz in the2016 Republican Party presidential primaries and declared himself "Never Trump", but reluctantly endorsedDonald Trump after he won the Republican nomination.[7] Beginning with the start of thefirst Trump presidency, Levin's commentary has become pro-Trump.[8] In April 2025, President Trump appointed Levin to become a member of theHomeland Security Advisory Council.[9]
Mark Reed Levin, one of three boys, was born inPhiladelphia to a Jewish family,[10] and grew up inErdenheim as well asElkins Park. His father, Jack E. Levin (1925–2018), authored several books.[11] He graduated fromCheltenham High School after three years, in 1974.[12][13] Skipping his senior year of high school, Levin enrolled atTemple University Ambler and graduatedmagna cum laude andPhi Beta Kappa with aB.A. in Political Science in 1977 at age 19.[13][14] Later in 1977, Levin won election to the Cheltenham school board on a platform of reducingproperty taxes.[13] In 1980, Levin earned aJ.D. fromTemple University School of Law.[15]
Levin worked for theTexas Instruments legal department after law school.[13][16] Beginning in 1981, Levin worked in the administration of PresidentRonald Reagan. Levin began atACTION, the federal agency that oversawVISTA and other volunteer agencies, before serving as deputy assistant secretary forelementary and secondary education at theU.S. Department of Education and deputy solicitor of theU.S. Department of the Interior. He ultimately became chief of staff toAttorney GeneralEdwin Meese.[17]
After leaving theReagan administration, Levin practiced law in the private sector. In 1991, Levin joined public interest law firmLandmark Legal Foundation.[18][19][20][21] At Landmark, Levin served as director of legal policy and the foundation's Washington-based Center for Civil Rights before becoming president in 1997.[22][23][24] Under Levin's presidency, Landmark Legal filed a complaint with theFederal Election Commission in 2000 alleging that theNational Education Association, the largest teachers' union in the U.S., did not disclose spending on political activity inInternal Revenue Service documentation.[25] Landmark Legal also filed similar complaints with theUnited States Department of Labor in 2002 regarding NEA and political activity; by 2006, the NEA and smallerAmerican Federation of Teachers had filed new documents with the Labor Department revealing over $100 million combined in political action spending.[26]
FollowingFreedom of Information Act requests in August 2012 of documents that would show ifEnvironmental Protection Agency officials sought to delay regulations until after the2012 presidential election, federal judgeRoyce Lamberth ruled in 2015 that although Landmark Legal did not establish that the EPA acted in bad faith, the EPA either carelessly or intentionally neglected Landmark's FOIA request.[27] Lamberth previously ruled in 2013 that the EPA might have attempted to evade Landmark's FOIA request.[28]
In 2001, theAmerican Conservative Union awarded Levin its Ronald Reagan Award for his work with Landmark Legal.[29][30]Politico reported in 2014 that Levin received a salary of more than $300,000 per year as president of the non-profitLandmark Legal Foundation, whose donors include the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation andExxonMobil.[31] In 2018, Levin stepped down as president of Landmark Legal but remained on its board of directors.[32]
In April 2025, President Trump appointed Levin to become a member of theHomeland Security Advisory Council.[9]
Levin began his broadcasting career as a guest on conservative talk radio programs. For many years, he was a contributor of legal opinions toThe Rush Limbaugh Show,[33] appearing more regularly as theMonica Lewinsky scandal developed. About this time,Sean Hannity became aware of him, and he began to feature in Hannity's radio show.[17] Eventually, Levin gained a radio slot of his own onWABC, initially on Sundays beginning in 2002, then in the timeslot following Hannity's program in 2003.Cumulus Media Networks began syndicatingThe Mark Levin Show nationally in 2006.[17][34][35]
Levin has participated inFreedom Concerts, an annual benefit concert to aid families of fallen soldiers, and uses his radio program to promote aid to military families.[36] Levin is also involved withMove America Forward, a charity that sends care packages to soldiers serving overseas.[37]
On February 11, 2016, Levin signed a ten-year contract extension with Westwood One, which will take his show through 2025, its 19th year.[38]
On November 16, 2018, he was inducted into theNational Radio Hall of Fame.[39]
Since 2014, Levin has been the founding editor-in-chief ofConservative Review, a multi-platform online television network that later merged withGlenn Beck's terrestrial network TheBlaze in 2018 to formBlaze Media. Programs airing on the network includeLevin,Roaming Millennial,Truth Be Told,Allie,In the Woods with Phil,Kibbe on Liberty,Louder with Crowder,America Bolling, and more.
In November 2017,Fox News announced that it had signed Levin for a weekend show titledLife, Liberty & Levin to air on Sunday nights beginning in February 2018.[40] According to a pre-debut network news release, the program's intention was to explore "the fundamental values and principles undergirding American society, culture, politics, and current events, and their relevance to the nation's future and everyday lives of citizens."[41] Episodes feature one or two guests for the hour-long program discussing political events, news, and history. In September 2023, Fox News announced that Levin's show would air new episodes on Saturdays as well as its usual Sunday timeslot, starting on September 16.[42]
Levin wrote the 2005 bookMen In Black: How The Supreme Court Is Destroying America, in which he advanced his thesis thatactivist judges on theSupreme Court (from all parts of the political spectrum) have "legislated from the bench".Commentary magazine'sDan Seligman wrote that Levin asks readers "to identify with 'originalists' who look to the text of the Constitution and the intent of its framers, and to reject the 'activists' who construe the Constitution broadly and are more concerned with getting to their own 'desired outcomes'".[43]Slate magazine'sDahlia Lithwick wrote that "no serious scholar of the court or the Constitution, on the ideological left or right, is going to waste their time engaging Levin's arguments once they've read this book".[44]
Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish is a non-fiction work written by Levin in 2007 about his experience of rescuing a dog named Sprite from a local animal shelter.[45]
Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto was released in 2009, and became a#1New York Times best seller for eleven of twelve weeks,[46] as well as No. 1 on Nielsen BookScan and No. 2 onAmazon.com's list of bestselling books of 2009.[47] The book includes discussion of issues Levin believes need to be addressed in the United States. InLiberty and Tyranny Levin repudiates the use of the term "progressive" to describe "modern Liberals", and argues that "statist" would instead be a proper term.Liberty and Tyranny has sold over one million copies according toThreshold Editions, the book's publisher.[48]Andrew C. McCarthy, inThe New Criterion, wrote, "Levin offers not so much a defense as a plan of attack" against "America's Leftist ascendancy".[49] Other reviewers critiqued the book as "analysis utterly useless in understanding more than half of the American political landscape" while opining that "Levin resorts to the same old misinformation to sell his brand of conservatism".[50][51]
Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America was issued in 2012. InAmeritopia, Levin discusses the origins and development of both the modern day conservative and liberal political philosophies, the latter of which he refers to as "statist", through the works of some of the leading figures in American history.[52] Included are commentaries on works byPlato,Sir Thomas More,Thomas Hobbes,Karl Marx,John Locke,Charles de Montesquieu andAlexis de Tocqueville.[53]Conor Friedersdorf's review, published inThe Atlantic, criticized the text's argument thatstatism is based onutopianism,[53] andCarlin Romano, inThe Chronicle of Higher Education, wrote that "Ameritopia is reallyAmeritastrophe. It's disastrously bad from beginning to end."[54]
In Levin's 2013 book,The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic, he suggests eleven newConstitutional amendments. The book debuted at #1 onThe New York Times Best Seller list.[55]Hans A. von Spakovsky ofNational Review Online called the book "required reading for conservative bloggers".[56]Ana Marie Cox, writing inThe Guardian, said the book "contains some radical notions about a complete overhaul of the US constitution, but to debate the specifics of their merits is to ignore the larger insanity of the project" while noting "the ludicrousness of his specific 'fixes' and the near-impossibility of achieving them".[57] Also inThe Washington Times,Richard W. Rahn wrote, "IfThe Liberty Amendments can help foster a national debate about which corrective actions, including constitutional amendments, are needed to increase liberty and prosperity, Mr. Levin will have performed a great national service".[58]Hoover Institution fellowDavid Davenport wrote inForbes that Levin's book used "weak arguments".[59][60]
Levin'sPlunder and Deceit: Big Government's Exploitation of Young People and the Future was published in 2015,[61] andRediscovering Americanism and the Tyranny of Progressivism in 2017.
.jpg)
Levin'sUnfreedom of the Press, which was released on May 21, 2019, became the number one best-selling book onAmazon.com three days before its official release, as a result of pre-order sales.Unfreedom of the Press also became aNew York Times #1 best-seller on June 6, 2019, in the combined print & e-book nonfiction and hardcover nonfiction categories.[62][63][64] Lloyd Green was critical of the book inThe Guardian writing that the book "is not exactly fan fiction but it can get ahead of itself when discussing the special counsel's conclusions, ending up sounding like the 'fake news' the author and Trump both purport to abhor."[65] Annalisa Quinn, writing forNPR, stated: "the book is largely filler. Quotations and paraphrasing make up the majority of the book's central chapters. Lengthy and irrelevant block quotes from historians about, say, colonial printing practices... give the book the air of a padded student essay."[66] Quinn also wrote, "[Levin] conducts no interviews, presents no original research, and visits no newsrooms", and "When Levin does offer his own analysis, it can approach parody."[66] On June 8, 2019, Levin appeared on C-SPAN2'sBook TV to discussUnfreedom of the Press, "in which he argued that the press has lowered its standards in providing objective and trustworthy journalism."[67]
In 2021, Levin publishedAmerican Marxism. As of November 14, 2021, the book had spent 16 weeks on theNew York Times Bestseller List for nonfiction.[68]
A 2016 study which sought to measure incendiary discourse on talk radio and TV found that Levin scored highest on its measure of "outrage". The study looked at 10 prominent radio and television programs, known for incendiary discourse on political matters, and scored content on the basis of whether it used "emotional display", "misrepresentative exaggeration", "mockery", "conflagration", "slippery slope", "insulting" or "obscene language", and other factors, finding that Levin was the radio host who engaged in the most outrage. The study found that he utilized "outrage speech or behavior at a rate of more than one instance per minute."[2] InHow Democracies Die, Harvard University political scientists Daniel Ziblatt andSteven Levitsky write that Mark Levin was among the popular right-wing talk radio hosts who "helped to legitimate the use of uncivil discourse" in American politics, and contribute to the erosion of democratic norms.[69] According toPolitico, Levin has a "penchant for hysteria."[70]
According toThe Guardian, "constant attacks on Democrats and the left are important components" of Levin'smodus operandi.[71] According toPolitico in May 2009, Levin pronounced "almost daily" that Obama "was a failure, a liar, and a 'statist' who is trying to destroy individual freedom."[72] According toRutgers University political scientistStephen Eric Bronner, Levin tends to use "socialism" as a "catch-all term to condemn any policy that strengthens the social welfare function of the state."[73] In July 2014, he calledJon Stewart "a knee-jerk idiot", and suggested that Stewart was aself-hating Jew.[74] He has stated that "Nancy Pelosi's politics comes as close to a form of modern-day fascism as I've ever seen".[2] In January 2019, he said Pelosi was "America's first fascist. And that's a fact". Levin said the new Congressional Speaker had "hijacked" the federal government by deciding to block the financing of President Trump's border wall.[75] Levin has also mocked how Pelosi looks, referred toBeto O'Rourke as a "weak man", and calledDick Blumenthal a "pathetic, loathsome liar".[66]
He has criticized Republicans – includingPaul Ryan,Lindsey Graham,[4]John McCain, andMitch McConnell[76] – with whom he disagrees. He sometimes refers to such individuals asRINOs.[71] Levin endorsedOrrin Hatch when he faced a primary challenge in 2012, but later apologized for his endorsement when Hatch said that he would be willing to support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.[31] Since then, he endorsed a number of Republican primary challengers to incumbent Republican senators.[31] Levin supported theTea Party Patriots' campaign to "fire" House SpeakerJohn Boehner.[31] Earlier in 2010, Levin criticizedGlenn Beck for his criticism of congressional Republicans.[77] He has referred toMitt Romney as an "ass"[66] and calledCNN hostBrian Stelter a "creep".[66]
Levin supported U.S. RepresentativeMo Brooks in his campaign in the2017 Alabama special election against incumbentLuther Strange, who had received a temporary appointment earlier that year.[78]
Levin strongly defended former EPA headScott Pruitt while he was under a dozen separate ethics investigations. Levin said Pruitt's "policies on the whole have been outstanding," and "I don't throw good people under the bus because the left targets them."[79]
During the 2012 election cycle, Levin's show was paid at least $757,000 in sponsorship by theKoch brothers-backedAmericans for Prosperity to run ads for the group, a deal which began in the summer of 2010.[31][80] After the sponsorship ended, Levin began making ads for theTea Party Patriots.[31] TheSenate Conservatives Fund paidSimon & Schuster at least $427,000 for copies of Levin'sLiberty or Tyranny in September and October 2013.[31][81] During the same period, on his radio show and Facebook page, Levin frequently promoted the group, which has funded primary challengers of Senate Republicans.[82] Levin did not disclose that the group had made $427,000 of purchases of his book.[82]
Levin endorsedOrrin Hatch when Levin was being sponsored byAmericans for Prosperity (AFP) which also endorsed Hatch. Levin withdrew his endorsement of Hatch when Levin was being sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots.[31][80][82] Levin dismissed the allegations that he engages in "pay-to-play".[82]
In 2009, Levin described as "absolutely right" the statement bySarah Palin thatthe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) includesdeath panels to decide whether elderly people or sick children were worthy of medical care.[83][84] In 2011, a caller to Levin's show, claiming to be a neurosurgeon, said that theDepartment of Health and Human Services had issued a document saying that people over age 70 would not be allowed to receive medical treatments. Levin said to the caller, "so Sarah Palin was right." The call was later revealed to be a hoax and the death panel claims were revealed to be false.[85][86][87] In late 2013, Levin said there were similarities between a gathering of "hand-picked" supporters of the Affordable Care Act chosen by theObama administration to NaziSturmabteilung or "Brownshirts" drawing comparisons of the propaganda techniques of the two groups.[88]
Levin stated in 2013 that "theMuslim Brotherhood has infiltrated our government" and described President Obama as aMuslim Brotherhood "sympathizer". He speculated in November 2014 that, after the 2014 mid-term elections, Obama might go "fullMussolini".[88][89]
In February 2015, Levin stated that President Obama was "seeking to destroy Israel" because "Obama has an affinity for Islam far more than Christianity or Judaism." He blamed Obama for theEbola crisis: "the political policies of this administration which opens the door wide to people from the poorest parts of the world. We don't know who they are, we don't know if they have diseases."[88]
In 2014, Levin claimed that theBush administration's originalWMDrationale for the Iraq War had been vindicated by citing reports of U.S. soldiers in Iraq that were wounded by the decayed remnants ofSaddam Hussein'schemical weapons arsenal. The remnants in question were degraded and unusable chemical weapons shells from the 1980s. Levin faulted the Bush administration for not doing more to publicize these remnants of Iraq's former WMD program.[90]
In March 2016, Levin endorsedTed Cruz for the2016 Republican presidential nomination.[91] Over a month afterDonald Trump was nominated, in September 2016, Levin stated on this radio program that he would vote for Trump in thepresidential election, following his declaration earlier that year that he was in the "Never Trump" camp and would never vote for Trump.[92][93][94] He qualified his support by stating: "I take no responsibility for the dumb things he says or the dumb things his surrogates say."[95]
In March 2017, Levin alleged that the Obama administration had used "police state" surveillance tactics against the Donald Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election. TheAssociated Press said that Levin "voiced without evidence the idea that Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower".[96] Levin protested the AP report vigorously, demanding a retraction and an apology on the grounds that his sources for the statement includedThe New York Times and other newspapers.[97] His statement was reprinted byBreitbart News and reportedly became the basis of President Trump's unfoundedTrump Tower wiretapping allegations.[71][98] In September 2017, reports emerged of a court-orderedFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wiretap on Trump campaign chairmanPaul Manafort; while certain Trump supporters alleged that this surveillance vindicated Levin and Trump's unsupported assertions,The Atlantic commented: "This is not true – Trump claimed he had been the subject of Obama-ordered, politically motivated surveillance, for which there remains no evidence."[99]
Levin has said that there was a "coup" occurring against thefirst presidency of Donald Trump waged by Obama loyalists.[100][101] Levin's coup claim was referring to investigations of theRussian interference in the 2016 United States elections and of allegedobstruction of justice by Trump. He has suggested that former FBI DirectorJames Comey used theTrump-Russia dossier "to blackmail the president."[102][103] He has claimed that Special CounselRobert Mueller engaged in a "Deep State" coup against Trump.[101]
After President Trump pressed the President of Ukraine to start an investigation into Democratic presidential candidateJoe Biden and his son, Levin strongly defended Trump's actions. Asked onFox & Friends whether Levin was "okay" with Trump asking a foreign leader for "dirt" on Biden, Levin lashed out at theFox & Friends host and repeatedly shouted there was "no problem" with what Trump did. Shortly thereafter, Trump praised Levin and retweeted more than 20 tweets by viewers praising Levin.[104][105][106] Levin also accused Joe Biden of being the one who "did something illegal", though he did not provide evidence or any elaboration.[107]
In October 2019, while Trump was the subject of theimpeachment inquiry, Levin said that on his Blaze TV show: "While he's been president there hasn't even been a hint of scandal. Not a hint!" He was highly critical of Mitt Romney who increased his criticisms of President Trump during this period.[108]
Following the2020 presidential election, as all significant media organizations reported Joe Biden had won,[70] Levin told his radio audience that the Democrats were "stealing the election". He insisted on Twitter to his 2.4 million followers: "there's lots of evidence of voter fraud and election screw-ups."[109] On the same platform, on November 5, Levin called on Republican-controlled state legislatures to disregard the results of the 2020 election and send electors to theElectoral College who would vote for Trump.[70] The suggestion was retweeted byDonald Trump Jr.[110]
He praisedSidney Powell, a member of Trump's legal team, for what he considered to be her patriotism after she promotedconspiracy theories about the 2020 election and sought to overturn election results.[111] He frequently had guests on his show who led the audience to think Joe Biden's win in the presidential election could be overturned.[112]
On January 5, 2021, Levin insisted Congress's imminent counting of the Electoral College votes was an act of "tyranny" because of the supposed fraud.[113] He told his listeners, "If we don't fight on Jan. 6 on the floor of the Senate and the House... then we are done."[114] Following the next day'sstorming of the Capitol in Washington, he continued in the same vein. "It appears nothing has changed in 24 hours... Not a damn thing. The never-Trumpers, the RINOs, the media — same damn thing,"[113] although he was critical of the rioters.[115] Meanwhile, on the same day as the riot, Cumulus Media circulated a memo instructing its presenters, a roster which includes Levin, to cease implying the 2020 presidential election was stolen or face the end of the right to broadcast via Cumulus.[115]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Levin downplayed the threat of the virus, arguing that the media was overreacting and that the death toll from the flu was higher than the coronavirus.[116]
Following the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Levin has supported Ukraine, saying that if Russia defeated Ukraine,Vladimir Putin would take further aggressive action.[117] He also criticized the Joe Biden administration for its response, which he considered to be lacking, and the isolationists and the "Putin wings" of the media, Democratic Party and the Republican Party. He also called for the US to arm Taiwan to defend themselves from China and call off the negotiations with Iran.[118]At the 2022 CPAC, Levin criticized populism and nationalism and called for the US to support Ukraine, saying that the CPAC means Conservative Political Action Committee, not "McGovern, populist or nationalist action committee" and "We love America because it's America, not because we're nationalists. I mean, the Russians are nationalists. The Chinese are nationalists. America First is about Americanism, first", and "You want a world war? Then become an ostrich, put your head in the sand and let the Russians roll through one country after another".[119][120]
In July 2025, Levin downplayed the consequences of thefamine in the Gaza Strip during Israel'swar in Gaza, complaining that Israel should not be told to feed its enemies. Levin said he was "sick and tired of these Western Europeans lecturing the state of Israel on how to fight a war."[121]
Levin suffered a heart attack in 2000 and had open heart surgery.[122] He is currently married to Julie Strauss Levin.[123]
Levin, who is Jewish, suggested on multiple occasions that Stewart is a self-hating Jew
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).He is perhaps more well-known for his nickname, "The Great One", coined by his friend Hannity.
All along, Trump-friendly media personalities like Mark Levin, who hosts one of the most popular talk radio shows in the country, have led their audiences to believe that it was possible to pressure state lawmakers to reject Mr. Biden's victory. They have often based their confidence on the wild accusations of people with political motives and diminished credibility.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
