Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Root
Personal details
Born (1961-07-20) July 20, 1961
Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Political party Republican (before 2007,
2012–present)
Libertarian (2007–2012)
Spouse(s) Debra Root
Children 4
Alma mater Columbia University

Wayne Allyn Root (born July 20, 1961) is an American businessman, political figure, television and radio personality, author, television producer, and political commentator. He is now a conservative talk radio host, syndicated nationally by USA Radio Network from 6 PM to 9 PM ET every weekday. His show "WAR Now: The Wayne Allyn Root Show" is also now broadcast on national TV by Newsmax TV at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT every weekday. Root was chosen in 2016 to present the Tea Party Response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address.

Root was a longtime Republican Party member and supporter who self-identified as a Libertarian Republican. In 2007, Root joined the Libertarian Party, and ran for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination in the 2008 election. He finished third at the 2008 Libertarian National Convention, endorsing Bob Barr, who went on to the party's presidential nomination. Root then became the Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee. He was elected to the Libertarian National Committee as an At-Large Member in 2010 and re-elected in 2012. In September of that year, he left the Libertarian Party, re-joined the Republican Party and endorsed Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

Root supported Republican nominee Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election and had stated his intention to run for the U.S. Senate from Nevada in 2016 but he did not do so. Root made over one thousand appearances for Trump in media across the USA, as well as appearances on TV defending Trump in over 30 foreign countries. Root was opening speaker for Trump's events in Las Vegas during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Early life and education

Root was born in Mount Vernon, New York, in 1961, the son of the late David and Stella Root. His father was a butcher from Bronxville, New York, who dabbled in third party politics as one of the original founders of the New York State Conservative Party.[1] Root attended the Thornton-Donovan School in New Rochelle, N.Y.,[2] and was a member of the class of '83 at Columbia University, studying pre-law and political science.

In June 2016, Root described himself as a "Jew turned Evangelical Christian."[3] As of November 2016, Root described himself as Jewish, and says he considers Donald Trump to be the first Jewish president, in the same sense that Bill Clinton was often called the first black president. [4]

Career

Sports handicapper

Root's TV handicapping career began in New York City on WNBC radio (now WFAN) in the early 1980s. He moved onto NBC "Source Radio Network" syndicated around the country in over 100 markets as a sports talk host. He later became one of the youngest anchormen and national TV hosts in America from 1989 through the early 1990s on Financial News Network In 2006 Root was awarded a 180 pound granite star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars. Root's star is on the sidewalk in front of Las Vegas Blvd in front of Paris Resort & Casino.

TV producer and personality

Root is Founder and Chairman of Winning Edge International Inc.[5] In the 2000s, he hosted Wayne Allyn Root's Winning Edge, a television show which promoted Root's sports handicapping operation.

Root was the creator, executive producer and co-host (along with HBO's Max Kellerman) of King of Vegas on Spike TV. He is a producer of Ghost Adventures on Travel Channel.[6] Root is the Creator and Executive Producer of the TV series "Sin City Justice" on ID channel (Investigation Discovery). The show is co-produced by Root's company Cool Hand Root Television.

Author

Root is the author of several books, including The Ultimate Obama Survival Guide and The Murder of the Middle Class. Other books include The Zen of Gambling,The Joy of Failure!, The King of Vegas' Guide to Gambling, Millionaire Republican, The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gold & Tax Cuts, The Power of Relentless: 7 Secrets to Achieving Mega-Success, Financial Freedom and the Life of Your Dreams and Root's latest book, "Angry White Male: How the Donald Trump Phenomenon is Changing America—and What We Can All Do to Save the Middle Class."

Politics

Root had been a longtime Republican Party member and supporter who self-identified as a Libertarian Republican. In 2007, Root ended his association with the Republican Party and joined the Libertarian Party.[7] He wrote a book on his libertarian views, The Conscience of a Libertarian, which was published in 2009.[7]

2008 presidential campaign

On May 4, 2007, Root declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential nomination on Las Vegas' Fox 5 television station. On February 5, 2008, he placed second in the Missouri Libertarian presidential primary with 18% of the vote (47% voted for "Uncommitted"). He came in second in Arizona and third in California, without campaigning in any of these states.[1]

On May 25, 2008, Root advanced to the fifth ballot of the Libertarian Party presidential nomination vote at the 2008 Libertarian National Convention before being eliminated and endorsing Bob Barr, who went on to the party's presidential nomination. Root then became the Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee, securing the nod in the third round of voting for that nomination.[8]

Though in the same graduating class as Barack Obama at Columbia University, Root has stated on a number of occasions, that he has no recollection of having met or seen Obama at Columbia.[9][2] He has "stopped short" of actually claiming that Obama did not attend Columbia.[10] In January 2009, The New York Times ran an interview with Obama's former roommate, Phil Boerner.[11]

Libertarian National Committee

In 2010, Root ran for the position of Chair of the Libertarian National Committee of the Libertarian Party. He was defeated by Mark Hinkle by a vote of 228–281 in the third round. He subsequently succeeded in being elected to the Libertarian National Committee as an At-Large Member.[12]

In July 2011, Root was elected chair of the "Libertarian National Congressional Committee", a Federal Elections Commission registered entity.[13][14] He renamed it the "Libertarian National Campaign Committee."[15]

At the 2012 Libertarian National Convention, Root again was elected to the Libertarian National Committee as an At-Large Member, despite being seen by some LP members as being part of the "top-down faction."[16] The party's 2012 presidential candidate Gary Johnson endorsed Root.[17]

Return to the Republican Party

In September 2012, Root resigned all Libertarian Party positions, re-joined the Republican Party and endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[18][19] He predicted Romney would win the election against incumbent President Barack Obama, citing, among other factors, that the "Enthusiasm Factor" for Romney was "huge".[20]

Following Romney's defeat in the election,[21] Root commented in a Fox News editorial: "Well, I was wrong. The 2012 electorate looked almost identical to 2008. Obama's supporters didn’t just come for a second helping of misery—they came out enthusiastically and even appeared to cheer for more."[22]

Root had announced that he intended to run as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Nevada in 2016, for the seat held by retiring Democratic Senator Harry Reid.[19][19][23] However, he did not run. He supported Republican nominee Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.[24]

Root was opening speaker for Donald Trump's kick-off rally in Las Vegas during the 2016 presidential campaign. Phil McCausland of NBC News noted that Root, "who openly shares wild conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama", "also seemed to wish ill upon Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin," hoping they met the same ending as "Thelma and Louise".[25]

Political positions

Root supports smaller government, reduced spending, reduced entitlements, reduced bureaucracy, dramatically lower taxes, and greater personal freedom for all individuals. In the area of education, he supports more parental control, more emphasis on school choice (moving education to the state and local level), and increased competition through vouchers. Root and his wife choose to home-school their children. He is also a strong supporter of gun rights for the individual. Root is a small businessman who believes the 2-party system is built on corruption, greed and bribery. He is a fiscal conservative. He believes most social issues should be determined at the state and local level.[1] In several of Root's recent books, Root calls for a low 15% flat tax emulating what he believes to be the most "successful" economy in the world—Hong Kong.

In another published commentary, Root speculated that President Obama attended Columbia University as a foreign exchange student, citing only his "gut instinct" as evidence, and claimed that President Obama was indoctrinated into Marxism while attending Columbia. Root was specifically referring to the fact that Obama's childhood years spent with his mother in Indonesia. Apparently in response to Senator Harry Reid's speculation about Mitt Romney's tax returns, Root offered speculation on Obama's college records.[26][27][28]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Home". Rootforamerica.com. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  2. 1 2 Vinciguerra, Thomas (October 3, 2008). Vinciguerra, Thomas (October 5, 2008). "The Life of the 3rd Party". New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  3. ↑ http://townhall.com/columnists/wayneallynroot/2016/06/24/a-message-for-christians-about-donald-trump-n2182796
  4. ↑ "Trump is headed to the White House. Did we just elect our first Jewish president?".
  5. ↑ Wayne Allyn Root, The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts, John Wiley and Sons, 2009, p. 352, ISBN 0-470-45265-X, 9780470452653
  6. ↑ Elfman, Doug (November 10, 2013). "Root's next show on Mormon wives". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "My Libertarian Awakening". Archived from the original on December 24, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Presidential and VP Vote Totals". Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2008.
  9. ↑ McCullagh, Declan (November 6, 2009). "Did Barack Obama Actually Attend Columbia?". CBSNews.com. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  10. ↑ Jackson, Brooks, "Obama at Columbia University", Factcheck.org, February 16, 2010
  11. ↑ Cowan, Alison Leigh. "Recollections of Obama’s Ex-Roommate", City Room, The New York Times, January 9, 2009
  12. ↑ (2010-05-31) "Root falters in bid to grab top Libertarian post", Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  13. ↑ Libertarian National Congressional Committee Federal Elections Commission filings page.
  14. ↑ Wayne Allyn Root, Root Elected Chairman of Libertarian National Congressional Committee (LNCC), Libertarian Party website blog, July 13, 2010.
  15. ↑ "About Us". Lncc.org. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  16. ↑ Garret Quinn, Starchild Is Here, Reason magazine, May 6, 2012.
  17. ↑ Garrett Quinn,Gary Johnson: The LNC Chair Race is Exciting! Interesting!, Reason magazine, May 6, 2012.
  18. ↑ Root, Wayne Allyn (September 17, 2014) "Why This Ex-Libertarian is Voting Mitt Romney", Townhall.com. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  19. 1 2 3 Quinn, Garrett (September 14, 2012). "An Exit Interview With Wayne Allyn Root". Reason Online. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  20. ↑ Allyn Root, Wayne (October 12, 2012). "Las Vegas Oddsmaker Explains Why He Predicts Romney Landslide". Townhall.com.
  21. ↑ Abad-Santos, Alexander (January 4, 2013). "It's Official: Romney Got 47% of the Vote". The Atlantic.
  22. ↑ Allyn Root, Wayne (November 13, 2012). "What went wrong with my prediction about Mitt Romney and the 2012 election". Fox News.
  23. ↑ Starr, Aaron. "Wayne Root leaves Libertarian Party leadership, will seek US Senate seat". Independent Political Report. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  24. ↑ Robin Leach (May 26, 2016). "It's Bernie Sanders vs. L.V.'s Wayne Allyn Root on ‘Real Time With Bill Maher’". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  25. ↑ McCausland, Phil. "Wayne Allyn Root Opens Trump Rally in Vegas with Warning of 'Trump Revolution'", NBC News, October 30, 2016
  26. ↑ "Obama's College Classmate: 'The Obama Scandal is at Columbia'". Archived from the original on May 4, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Wayne Allyn Root's Confusing Obama/Columbia/Communist Conspiracy". Right Wing Watch. 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  28. ↑ "Barack Obama: The Ghost of Columbia University". TheBlaze.com. 2013-06-04. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Richard Campagna		 Libertarian nominee for Vice President of the United States
2008 		Succeeded by
Jim Gray
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