Michael Tracey (born August 8, 1988) is an American journalist and political commentator.

Career

In June 2017, Congresswoman

Maxine Waters Maxine Moore Waters (née Carr; born August 15, 1938) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1991. The district, numbered as the California's 29th congressional district, ...

walked away from an interview with Tracey and pushed aside his hand and microphone. The incident was captured on video. Tracey said that Waters had "initiated unwarranted physical contact" and "shoved" him, but that it was "not a violent shove".Phillips, Kristine (June 4, 2017)
"Did Rep. Maxine Waters 'shove' a reporter? You decide."
''The Washington Post''. Tracey was a recurring guest on the

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 ...

program '' Tucker Carlson Tonight''. In 2024, Tracey has occasionally substituted as host for journalist and commentator

Glenn Greenwald Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author, and former lawyer. In 1996, Greenwald founded a law firm concentrating on First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment litigation. He began blo ...

's web news show ''System Update''.

Political views

Tracey supported

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

in the 2016 Democratic primaries and advocated for " conscious abstention" in the 2016 presidential election. He has been highly critical of Bill and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

. In 2020, he supported

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician and military officer serving as the director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence (DNI) since 2025. She has held the rank of Lieutenant colonel (United Stat ...

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

. Tracey has been critical of the Democratic Party and of allegations of collusion between Donald Trump and Russia. In 2019, Tracey criticized an article by Kevin Poulsen in ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

'', which revealed the identity and criminal history of a man who had allegedly created a modified video of House Speaker

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

that made her appear drunk. In 2021, ''The Daily Dot'' reported that Tracey "has been referred to by some as a 'Left Heretic,' a term used for self-described liberals who oppose, among other things, what they deem to be '

identity politics Identity politics is politics based on a particular identity, such as ethnicity, Race (human categorization), race, nationality, religion, Religious denomination, denomination, gender, sexual orientation, Socioeconomic status, social background ...

'". In April 2022, Tracey described photos of the

Bucha massacre The Bucha massacre (; ) was the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war by the Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the city of Bucha as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photographic and video ...

as "war propaganda" and questioned their authenticity. Prior to the 2024 presidential election (November 4th), Tracey published an article in his newsletter in which he wrote that he had not voted for a

major party A major party is a political party that holds substantial influence in a country's politics, standing in contrast to a minor party. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Major parties hold a significant percentage of the vote in electio ...

candidate since

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, which was to remain unchanged for 2024. He also wrote that he does not find third parties credible.

Personal life

Raised in West Caldwell,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

he graduated from James Caldwell High School in 2006. He has resided in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

. In February 2009, Tracey was arrested while a student at

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, ...

after he attempted to approach

Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic ...

, who had spoken at the college's campus in Ewing. He was charged with disorderly conduct and pleaded guilty to "violating a nuisance ordinance".

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tracey, Michael 1988 births American male journalists James Caldwell High School alumni Journalists from New Jersey Living people People from West Caldwell, New Jersey The College of New Jersey alumni The Young Turks people