Michael Tracey | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 8, 1988[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | M. Tracey |
| Education | none |
| Alma mater | The College of New Jersey[2] |
| Occupations |
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| Employers |
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| Political party | Independent |
Michael Tracey (born August 8, 1988)[3] is an American journalist and political commentator.
Tracey's articles have been published in The Daily Beast,[4] Al Jazeera,[5] Reason,[6] The Independent,[7] The Intercept,[8] The New Republic,[9] The Federalist, The New York Daily News,[10] The Wall Street Journal, Vice,[11] the New York Post,[12] The Nation,[13] Fox News,[14] The Guardian U.S., and other publications. Tracey has been a recurring guest on the Fox News show Tucker Carlson Tonight.[15]
An article published in Tablet in 2020 described him and other journalists, such as Lee Fang, Matt Taibbi and Zaid Jilani, as "left heretics", who "dissent ... on core issues of the progressive media consensus like Russian collusion, the value of identity politics, and the legitimacy of rioting and political violence".[16]
Tracey joined The Young Turks in early 2017[17] but left the organization by mid-2018.[18]
In 2017, congresswoman Maxine Waters walked away from an interview with Tracey and pushed aside his hand and microphone.[19] 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".[19]
Tracey supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primaries and advocated "conscious abstention" in the 2016 presidential election. He has been highly critical of Bill and Hillary Clinton. In 2020, he supported Tulsi Gabbard's presidential campaign.[20]
Tracey has been critical of the Democratic Party and of allegations of collusion between Donald Trump and Russia.[19] In a March 2019 opinion piece for The New York Times, Ross Douthat described Tracey as one of the "strongest skeptics of the Russiagate narrative".[21] Tracey said that, with Russiagate, "It's seldom clear what, at bottom, is even being alleged. The 'scandal' has become more of a repository of generalized anti-Trump anger than a clearly-defined set of charges that can be investigated and corroborated". He was also critical of Trump, whose "self-defeating actions" on the Russia investigation gave the impression that he had something to hide. Tracey wrote that "the possibility [Trump] committed obstruction of justice by firing FBI director James Comey is real."[19]
In 2019, Tracey criticized an article by Kevin Poulsen in The Daily Beast, which revealed the identity and criminal history of a man who had allegedly created a modified video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that made her appear drunk.[22]
Raised in West Caldwell, New Jersey, he graduated from James Caldwell High School in 2006.[23] He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.[24]
In February 2009, Tracey was arrested while a student at The College of New Jersey after he attempted to approach Ann Coulter, who had spoken at the college's campus in Ewing. He was charged with disorderly conduct and pleaded guilty to "violating a nuisance ordinance".[25][26]