Matthew Joseph Continetti (born June 24, 1981) is an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and Director of Domestic Policy Studies at the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...

Early life and education

Continetti was born in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, on June 24, 1981, the son of Cathy (née Finn) and Joseph F. Continetti. Continetti graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 2003.Matthew Continetti , National Review
/ref> While in college, he wrote for the '' Columbia Spectator,'' the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's magazine, ''CAMPUS'', and '' Columbia Political Review''. In summer 2002, he did a Collegiate Network internship at ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', where he was a research assistant to its editor,

Rich Lowry Richard A. Lowry (; born August 22, 1968) is an American writer, and the former editor and now editor-in-chief of ''National Review'', an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative news and opinion magazine. Lowry became editor of ...

Career

Following college, he joined ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...

'' as an editorial assistant, and later became associate editor. He is now a contributing editor to ''National Review''.Matthew Continetti on Twitter
April 13, 2016. "Fact-check: I converted to Judaism in 2011." He has written for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''National Review'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', and ''

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

''.Weekly Standard biography
/ref> He has also been an on-camera contributor to Bloggingheads.tv. He has criticized

Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...

as "nonsense." He has argued the American media turned on

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...

during the 2008 campaign because they had blind allegiance to

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. He has criticized American

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

as uniformly

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

. From October 2015 to May 2016, the '' Washington Free Beacon'', under Continetti's stewardship, hired Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research on "multiple candidates" during the 2016 presidential election, including

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 ...

. The ''Free Beacon'' stopped funding his research when Trump was selected as the Republican Party nominee.

Personal life

Continetti lives in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. He is married to Anne Elizabeth Kristol, the daughter of

William Kristol William Kristol (; born December 23, 1952) is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine '' The Weekly Standard''. Kristol is e ...

, Vice President

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

. Continetti converted to Judaism in 2011, prior to his marriage to Kristol. In May 2023, the Russian Foreign Ministry sanctioned Continetti and barred him from entry, along with 500 other Americans.

Bibliography

* ''The K Street Gang: The Rise and Fall of the Republican Machine'', Doubleday (2006) * ''The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star'', Sentinel (2009) * ''The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism'', Basic Books (2022)

References

External links

* *
The Weekly Standard , Matthew Continetti
(articles from ''

'', now kept by ''

Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative news magazine based in Washington, D.C., consisting of a website and a weekly printed magazine. It is owned by Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiar ...

'')
Matthew Continetti , National Review
(bio & articles from ''

'') *
Matthew Continetti (@continetti) · Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Continetti, Matthew 21st-century converts to Judaism Columbia University alumni Living people American political journalists American political writers American male journalists Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers The Weekly Standard people 1981 births 21st-century American Jews