David Smith (born April 20, 1983) is an American comedian, podcaster, and political commentator who hosts the libertarian podcast ''Part of the Problem.'' Smith is a close friend of

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', which is o ...

and a regular guest on ''

The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and produce ...

''. He has also frequently appeared on

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

' ''

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

'', ''

The Greg Gutfeld Show ''Gutfeld!'', known as ''The Greg Gutfeld Show'' from 2015 to 2021, is an American conservative news and political satire talk show on Fox News Channel, created and presented by Greg Gutfeld. It airs at 10:00 P.M. ET on weeknights. In the even ...

,'' and

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

's '' S.E. Cupp: Unfiltered'', and has also appeared on the

Lex Fridman Alexei "Lex" Fridman (; born 15 August 1983) is an American computer scientist and podcaster. Since 2018, he has hosted the ''Lex Fridman Podcast'', where he interviews notable figures from various fields such as science, technology, sports, and ...

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

, among others. Smith is a member of the

Mises Caucus The Libertarian Party Mises Caucus (LPMC) is a caucus within the Libertarian Party (United States), Libertarian Party in the United States that promotes paleolibertarianism, fusionism, as well as a more conservative version of American libertar ...

of the Libertarian Party.

Early life

According to Smith, he was raised in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

by his single mother. He is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and is the grandchild of a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

Career

He hosts the ''Part of the Problem'' podcast and cohosts the comedy podcast '' Legion of Skanks''. According to PorcFest, ''Part of the Problem'' is one of the top two libertarian podcasts in the world. On ''Part of the Problem'', Smith has interviewed political figures such as

Vivek Ramaswamy Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy (born August 9, 1985) is an American entrepreneur and politician. He founded Roivant Sciences, a Biotechnology, biotech Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical company in 2014 and was its Chief executive officer, CEO ...

and

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954), also known by his initials RFK Jr., is an American politician, environmental lawyer, author, conspiracy theorist, and anti-vaccine activist serving as the 26th United States secretary of heal ...

Smith has also made repeated appearances on ''

'' and '' Timcast'' and is considered to be a close friend of Rogan's''.''' He was the MC for FreedomFest, a libertarian festival, in 2021, and a featured speaker there in 2022. According to the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

(SPLC), Smith was running the Libertarian Party's social media, but he has denied this saying that he only "helped with the Twitter". Smith considered running in the 2024 Libertarian Party presidential primaries but ultimately decided against it. He also declined to run as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vice presidential candidate, citing Kennedy's staunch support for

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in its

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. Smith spoke at the

2024 Libertarian National Convention The 2024 Libertarian National Convention was a political event to select the Libertarian Party nominees for president and vice president in the 2024 election. It was held from May 24 to the early morning of May 27, 2024, at the Washington Hi ...

Political views

Smith is a member of the

of the Libertarian Party. Smith said in a 2017 ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

'' interview that he "became a libertarian through the

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

movement". He has opposed what he sees as

big tech Big Tech, also referred to as the Tech Giants or Tech Titans, is a collective term for the largest and most influential technology companies in the world. The label draws a parallel to similar classifications in other industries, such as "Big Oi ...

hegemony, describing it as "the biggest threat to liberty" aside from the "tyranny of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

". He believes vaccine mandates are an infringement of personal liberty and told ''Reason'' in 2021 that he did not plan to vaccinate himself or his child against COVID-19. Smith defended the

Libertarian Party of Kentucky The Libertarian Party of Kentucky is the Kentucky affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The current state chair is Randall Daniel. Background The Libertarian Party of Kentucky, referred to as "LPKY", is the official state affiliate of the Libert ...

when it criticized proposed vaccine passports by comparing them to yellow stars that Jews were forced to wear. ''Reason'' described him as "a vocal opponent of wokeness and political correctness". An admirer of the

anarcho-capitalist Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of Sovereign state, centralized states in favor of Stateless society, stateless societies, where systems of p ...

economist

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School,Ronald Hamowy, ed., 2008, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism', Cato Institute, Sage, , p. 62: "a leading economist of the Austri ...

, he told ''Reason'' that like Rothbard he would abolish government if he could. Smith has been noted for interviews and debates with people on the

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

, such as

Gavin McInnes Gavin Miles McInnes (; born 17 July 1970) is a Canadian writer, podcaster, far-right commentator and founder of the Proud Boys. He is the host of '' Get Off My Lawn with Gavin McInnes'' on his website, Compound Censored. He co-founded ''Vic ...

Nick Fuentes Nicholas Joseph Fuentes (born August 18, 1998) is an American Far-right politics, far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * Pundit, political pundit, activist, and Online streamer, live streamer who promotes White supremacy, white supremacist, Hom ...

, Richard Spencer, and

Christopher Cantwell Christopher Charles Cantwell (born November 12, 1980), also known as the Crying Nazi, is an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and federal informant. A member of the broader alt-right movement, Cantwell e ...

. Smith has called Fuentes a "

fellow traveler A fellow traveller (also fellow traveler) is a person who is intellectually sympathetic to the ideology of a political organization, and who co-operates in the organization's politics, without being a formal member. In the early history of the Sov ...

", according to the SPLC. In 2021, ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'' called Smith "a Nazi sympathizer". The SPLC noted that Smith is Jewish and has disagreed with far-right figures on the creation of a

white ethnostate A white ethnostate is a proposed type of state in which residence and citizenship would be limited to whites. In the United States, proposals for the establishment of such a state are advanced by white supremacist and white separatist factions s ...

and the

alt-right The alt-right (abbreviated from alternative right) is a Far-right politics, far-right, White nationalism, white nationalist movement. A largely Internet activism, online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late ...

's tactics. Debating with Fuentes, the SPLC said, Smith argued for "hard-right libertarian viewpoints". In an interview with

Nick Gillespie Nicholas John Gillespie ( ; born August 7, 1963) is an American libertarian journalist who was editor-in-chief of ''Reason'' magazine from 2000 to 2008 and editor-in-chief of Reason.com and Reason TV from 2008 to 2017. Gillespie originally joine ...

, Smith defended his friendliness towards alt-right figures, saying "People who listen to my podcasts have no doubt about where I stand on all of these issues" and said that his libertarian beliefs are "the antithesis of

National Socialism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequ ...

." Smith has said he did not support the 2024 Libertarian Party nominee,

Chase Oliver Chase Russell Oliver (born August 16, 1985) is an American political activist and politician who was the nominee of the Libertarian Party for the 2024 United States presidential election. Oliver finished fifth in the popular vote with 0.4% and 6 ...

, claiming that Oliver did not do enough to fight COVID-19 policies, such as lockdowns and vaccine mandates. In 2024 Smith endorsed

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and said that he would vote for Trump. Smith cited Trump's promise made at the

to "...commute the sentence of

Ross Ulbricht Ross William Ulbricht (; born March 27, 1984) is an American who created and operated the illegal darknet market Silk Road from 2011 until his arrest in 2013. Silk Road was an online marketplace that facilitated the trade in narcotics and othe ...

on the first day f being elected president..", as a major part of his reasoning for voting for Trump. Smith also said on an episode of ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' after Trump had been declared the winner of the presidential election that Trump "...better follow through on that promise and free Ross, because a lot of libertarians got behind Trump because of that promise..." Ulbricht received a full pardon from President Trump on January 21, 2025. In an interview with Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti on '' Breaking Points'' on June 16, 2025, Smith expressed regret for voting for Trump and called for Trump to be impeached and removed from office due to the possibility of him getting the US into a war with Iran. Smith has strong anti-

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

views and frequently debates the issue, including against British

neoconservative Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...

Douglas Murray.

Personal life

Smith has two children with his wife, Lauren.

References

External links