Wayne Allyn Root

{{Infobox person

| name = Wayne Allyn Root

| image = Wayne Allyn Root in 2013.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Root in 2013

| birth_name = Wayne Allyn Root

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|7|20}}

| birth_place = Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = Television and radio talk show host, author, political and social commentator

| credits = Fox Business (2009)
Fox News (2009, 2012, 2014 and 2016–2017)
Ghost Adventures (2008–2013, 2015–2016 and 2018–2019)
King of Vegas (2006)
Las Vegas Law (2016)
Ora TV and RT America (2014–2017)

| employer = Newsmax (2010–2020)
Breitbart News (2011–present)
Townhall (2012–present)
Citizens Journal (2013–present)
KBET (2016–present)
Las Vegas Review-Journal (2016–2020)
USA Radio Network (2017–present)
The Gateway Pundit (2017–present)
Creators Syndicate (2019–present)
Las Vegas Tribune (2020)

| television = Financial News Network (1989–1991)
Newsmax TV (2017–2020)

| movement = Conservative and libertarian

| party = Republican (before 2007, 2012–present)
Libertarian (2007–2012)

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{Marriage|Victoria Creg–Payne|September 9, 1986|1990|end=divorced}}
{{Marriage|Debra Parks|August 3, 1991|2017|end=divorced}}
{{Marriage|Cindy Parker|2021}}

}}

| children = 4 (with Parks)

| alma_mater = Columbia University

| website = {{URL|https://rootforamerica.com/}}

}}

Wayne Allyn Root (born July 20, 1961){{cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=102483|title=Wayne Allyn Root|access-date=March 22, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://dailyvoice.com/new-york/mountvernon/neighbors/happy-birthday-to-mount-vernons-wayne-allyn-root/474011/|title=Happy Birthday to Mount Vernon's Wayne Allyn Root|date=July 20, 2014|publisher=Mount Vernon Daily Voice|access-date=March 22, 2020}} is an American conservative television and radio host, author, activist, conservative political commentator and conspiracy theorist. He is the host of three television shows: "The ROOT Reaction" nightly at 10 PM ET on Real America's Voice TV...and at 7 AM ET on Lindell TV network...and Saturdays at Noon ET "America's Top Ten Countdown with Wayne Allyn Root" on Real America's Voice TV. President Trump has been a guest on Wayne Allyn Root's TV and radio shows 16 times- including a face-face TV interview in October 2024. Root is also the radio host of "Wayne Allyn Root: Raw & Unfiltered" on AM 670 in Las Vegas and nationally-syndicated on the Talk Media Network, and formerly on Newsmax TV.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/new-york-ag-calls-newsmaxs-wayne-allyn-root-cease-and-desist-making-misleading|title = New York AG calls on Trump ally to "cease and desist from making misleading claims" regarding coronavirus and silver product|website = Media Matters for America| date=March 21, 2020 }} Root was an opinion columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.{{cite news|last=Root|first=Wayne Allyn|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/opinion-columns/wayne-allyn-root/|title=Wayne Allyn Root|website=Las Vegas Review-Journal|language=en-US|access-date=March 8, 2019}} His newspaper columns are currently nationally syndicated on Sundays by Creators Syndicate.

Root was the vice presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party in the 2008 presidential election. In 2012, he left the Libertarian Party, rejoined the Republican Party, and endorsed and voted for Mitt Romney and Donald Trump. He has remained a staunch supporter of Trump.

Root is the CEO of the publicly traded penny stock company VegasWinners.com, (WNRS symbol) who recently partnered with the MGM Hotel's BetMGM.{{Cite web|url=https://ih.advfn.com/stock-market/USOTC/winners-pk-WNRS/stock-news/85375664/wnrs-signs-deal-with-betmgm-for-sportsbook-betting?|title = WNRS Signs Deal with BetMGM for Sportsbook Betting in MGM Resorts Nationwide and Online}}

Early life and education

Root attended the Thornton-Donovan School in New Rochelle, New York and was a member of the class of 1983 at Columbia University, studying pre-law and political science.

In June 2016, Root described himself as a "Jew turned Evangelical Christian".{{cite news|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/wayneallynroot/2016/06/24/a-message-for-christians-about-donald-trump-n2182796|title=A Message For Christians About Donald Trump|last=Root|first=Wayne Allyn|date=June 24, 2016|website=TownHall.com|access-date=October 4, 2017}} 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".{{cite news|last=Root|first=Wayne Allyn|url=http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/11/20/trump-is-headed-to-white-house-did-just-elect-our-first-jewish-president.html|title=Trump is headed to the White House. Did we just elect our first Jewish president?|website=Fox News|date=November 20, 2016}}

Career

Root worked for WNBC radio (now WFAN) in the early 1980s. From 1989 to 1991, he worked with the Financial News Network before its subsumption into CNBC.

Root was founder and chairman of Winning Edge International Inc.{{cite book|first=Wayne Allyn|last=Root|title=The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|date=2009|url=https://archive.org/details/conscienceoflibe00root|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/conscienceoflibe00root/page/352 352]|isbn=978-0-470-45265-3}} In the 2000s, he hosted Wayne Allyn Root's Winning Edge, a television show which promoted Root's sports handicapping operation.

Root co-hosted King of Vegas on Spike TV. He produced Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel.{{cite web |first=Doug|last=Elfman|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns-blogs/doug-elfman/roots-next-show-mormon-wives-0 | title=Root's next show on Mormon wives | work=Las Vegas Review-Journal | date=November 10, 2013 | access-date=April 2, 2014}}

Politics

Root had been a longtime Republican Party member and supporter who self-identified as a Libertarian Republican. He ran for a seat on the Westchester County Board of Legislators in 1983. In 2007, Root ended his association with the Republican Party and joined the Libertarian Party.{{cite web |url=http://root4america.com/webroot/oldblog/index.php?entry=entry070515-124639 |access-date=April 24, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224113231/http://root4america.com/webroot/oldblog/index.php?entry=entry070515-124639 |title=My Libertarian Awakening |archive-date=December 24, 2011 |df=mdy-all }} Root's book outlining his libertarian views, The Conscience of a Libertarian, was published in 2009.

=2008 presidential campaign=

On May 4, 2007, Root declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential nomination. 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 became the party's presidential nominee. Root then became the Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee, securing the nod in the third round of voting for that nomination.{{cite web |url=http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml |access-date=May 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528033121/http://www.lp.org/media/printer_588.shtml |title=Presidential and VP Vote Totals |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}

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.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/fashion/05nite.html| title= The Life of the 3rd Party |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 18, 2009|date= October 5, 2008| first=Thomas |last=Vinciguerra}}{{cite web | first=Declan|last=McCullagh|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504383_162-5556507-504383.html | title=Did Barack Obama Actually Attend Columbia? | publisher=CBSNews.com | date=November 6, 2009 | access-date=July 13, 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523232152/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504383_162-5556507-504383.html | archive-date=May 23, 2012 | df=mdy-all }} He has claimed that this alleged lack of eyewitnesses to Obama's presence at Columbia is highly "suspicious" and should be "a cause for great concern."{{cite web|url=http://www.factcheck.org/2010/02/obama-at-columbia-university/|title=Obama at Columbia University |date=February 16, 2010|website=factcheck.org|access-date=October 5, 2017}}

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.{{cite news|url=http://www.lvrj.com/news/root-falters-in-bid-to-grab-top-libertarian-party-national-post-95246904.html?ref=904|title=Root falters in bid to grab top Libertarian post|newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=May 31, 2010|access-date=June 1, 2010}} 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."{{cite magazine |first=Garrett |last=Quinn |url= https://reason.com/2012/05/06/oh-hey-starchild/ |title= Starchild Is Here |date= 2012-05-06 |website= reason.com |publisher= Reason |language= en |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190422135319/https://reason.com/2012/05/06/oh-hey-starchild |archive-date= 2019-04-22 |url-status= live |access-date= 2019-10-11 |quote= With the defeat of what he calls the "top-down faction" (Alicia Mattson, Aaron Starr, Wayne Allyn Root, Bill Redpath, Mark Rutherford, and others) though, he found hope for the future of the party. |ref= Quinn2012 |df= dmy-all}} The party's 2012 presidential candidate and former Republican New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson endorsed Root.{{cite magazine|first=Garrett|last=Quinn|url=http://reason.com/blog/2012/05/06/gary-johnson-the-lnc-chair-race-is-excit|title=Gary Johnson: The LNC Chair Race is Exciting! Interesting!|magazine=Reason|date=May 6, 2012}}

=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.{{cite web|first=Wayne Allyn|last=Root|date=September 17, 2014|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/wayneallynroot/2012/09/17/why_this_exlibertarian_is_voting_mitt_romney|title=Why This Ex-Libertarian is Voting Mitt Romney|website=Townhall.com|access-date=April 3, 2014}}{{cite web |first=Garrett|last=Quinn| url=http://reason.com/blog/2012/09/14/an-exit-interview-with-wayne-allyn-root | title=An Exit Interview With Wayne Allyn Root | work=Reason Online | date=September 14, 2012 | access-date=July 13, 2013 }} He predicted Romney would win the election against incumbent president Barack Obama, citing, among other factors, that the "Enthusiasm Factor" for Romney was "huge".{{cite web|work=Townhall.com|title=Las Vegas Oddsmaker Explains Why He Predicts Romney Landslide|first=Wayne|last=Allyn Root|date=October 12, 2012|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/wayneallynroot/2012/10/12/las_vegas_oddsmaker_explains_why_he_predicts_romney_landslide/page/full|access-date=September 21, 2013|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082552/http://townhall.com/columnists/wayneallynroot/2012/10/12/las_vegas_oddsmaker_explains_why_he_predicts_romney_landslide/page/full|url-status=dead}}

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.{{cite web|last=Starr |first=Aaron |url=http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2012/09/wayne-root-leaves-libertarian-party-leadership-will-seek-us-senate-seat/ |title=Wayne Root leaves Libertarian Party leadership, will seek US Senate seat |date=September 6, 2012 |publisher=Independent Political Report |access-date=2015-12-21}} However, he did not run. He supported and voted for Republican nominee Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election{{Cite web|url=http://lasvegassun.com/vegasdeluxe/2016/may/26/bernie-sanders-vs-lv-wayne-allyn-root-bill-maher-r/|title=It's Bernie Sanders vs. L.V.'s Wayne Allyn Root on 'Real Time With Bill Maher'|newspaper=Las Vegas Sun|first=Robin|last=Leach|date=May 26, 2016|access-date=May 28, 2016}} and 2020 presidential election.

Root was the opening speaker for Trump's rally in Las Vegas in late October 2016 during the presidential campaign. At the rally, Root, suggested that he wished ill upon Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin, hoping they met the same ending as Thelma & Louise.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/card/wayne-allyn-root-opens-trump-rally-vegas-warning-trump-revolution675406|title=Wayne Allyn Root Opens Trump Rally in Vegas with Warning of 'Trump Revolution'|first=Phil|last=McCausland|date=October 30, 2016|website=NBC News|access-date=October 4, 2017}} The lead characters in the film take their own lives by driving off a cliff. In his speech, Root said "Trump warriors" armed with "pitchforks, jack hammers and blow torches" would violently take over Washington D.C.: "We're coming to tear it down. We're coming to rip it up. We're coming to kick your ass. And we're coming to put you in prison", he said referring to a fantasy he had about Clinton and Abedin. Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager, later told CNN that Root's "conduct is completely unacceptable and does not reflect our campaign or our candidate".{{cite news|last=O'Malley|first=Nick|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/attack-attack-wayne-root-fantasies-about-hillary-clinton-dying-calls-for-pitch-forks-and-blow-torches-20161031-gseh3x.html|title='Attack, attack': Wayne Root fantasises about Hillary Clinton dying, calls for pitchforks and blow torches|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=October 31, 2016|access-date=August 21, 2019}}

In August 2019, Root praised President Trump. Following Trump's assertion that Jews voting for the Democrats show "either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty", a comment which was rejected by his critics who said he was following an antisemitic canard, Root countered the claim.{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/like-the-king-of-israel-trump-unleashes-bizarre-twitter-storm-1.7728867|title='Like the King of Israel': Trump Unleashes Bizarre Twitter Storm Day After 'Disloyal' Jews Comment|work=Haaretz|date=August 21, 2019|access-date=August 21, 2019}} Root said that "Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America, he is the best President for Israel in the history of the world...and the Jewish people in Israel love him like he's the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God." Later, President Donald Trump thanked Root on Twitter for "the very nice words" and shared what was said about him.{{cite news|last=Wagner|first=John|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-quotes-conspiracy-theorist-claiming-israelis-love-him-like-he-is-the-second-coming-of-god/2019/08/21/603cea14-c405-11e9-9986-1fb3e4397be4_story.html|title=Trump quotes conspiracy theorist claiming Israelis 'love him like he is the second coming of God'|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 21, 2019|access-date=August 21, 2019}}{{Cite tweet |author= Donald J. Trump |user=realDonaldTrump |number=1164138795475881986|title="Thank you to Wayne Allyn Root for the very nice words. "President Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America, he is the best President for Israel in the history of the world...and the Jewish people in Israel love him....|language=en|date=2019-08-21|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216112040/https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1164138795475881986|archive-date=2020-12-16}}

In October 2019, while speaking at a pro-Trump conference in Miami, Florida at the Trump National Doral Miami, Root reportedly boasted about a time in his childhood when, as one of the few white students at a predominantly black high school, he knocked one classmate unconscious and shattered another kid's teeth. "My buddies and I were high-fiving and laughing," Root reportedly said during his speech. "Man, it was funny." He reportedly went on to say that "you've got to be a natural-born killer" to win in politics.{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/pastor-pro-trump-conference-weve-225350154.html|title=Pastor at Pro-Trump conference: 'We've come to declare war'|work=Yahoo! News|first=Tim|last=O'Donnell|date=October 16, 2019|accessdate=February 9, 2021}}

=Criticism and controversies=

==Promotion of conspiracy theories and falsehoods==

Root is known for spreading conspiracy theories{{Cite news|first=Grace|last=Segers|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/trump-las-vegas-rally-today-watch-live-stream-2018-09-20-live-updates/|title=Trump holds campaign rally in Las Vegas amid concerns over SCOTUS pick|publisher=CBS News|date=September 20, 2018|access-date=November 12, 2018|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/wayne-allyn-root-trumps-rally-opener-is-a-conspiracy-theorist-who-thinks-the-vegas-shooter-was-isis|title=Trump's Vegas Rally Opener Is a Conspiracy Theorist Who Thinks the Vegas Shooter Was ISIS|last=Kirell|first=Andrew|date=September 20, 2018|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=November 12, 2018|language=en}} and false information.{{Cite news|first=Maegan|last=Vazquez|title=Trump thanks conspiracy theorist for defending his comments about Jewish Democrats|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/21/politics/donald-trump-wayne-allyn-root-jewish-democrats-israel/index.html|work=CNN|date=August 21, 2019}}

Root was a leading proponent of the conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.{{Cite news|url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/oct/02/hoaxes-fake-news-about-las-vegas-massacre/|title=Debunking hoaxes, fake news about the Las Vegas massacre|work=PolitiFact|access-date=2018-11-12|language=en}} Root falsely claimed that Obama was not a student at Columbia University. He later stated in a 2012 interview with Sean Hannity that he believed Obama was a "foreign exchange student" there. He has repeatedly described Obama as a "Marxist, anti-American, anti-Israel, globalist, middle class-hating, Muslim sympathizer". In 2017, he claimed that Obama was gay, called him "Bathhouse Barry" and said that he had info from Obama's "friends in Chicago" about his "sordid past". In 2014, he described Obama as a "Manchurian candidate", possibly hired by the Bilderberg Group to destroy the United States and "kill all of us".

Root promoted conspiracy theories around the murder of Seth Rich, and at various times suggested that Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Hillary Clinton, Donna Brazile, Bill Clinton, Eric Schneiderman and John Podesta were involved in the murder.

During the white supremacist Unite the Right rally, Root falsely claimed that blaming white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. for killing Heather Heyer was "such B.S. Probably paid actors & infiltrators hired by Soros. No conservative I've ever met commits violence. EVER."

On the night of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, in which 58 people were shot and killed by Stephen Paddock (including himself) and 2 of them shot by Paddock later died of their injuries in 2019 and 2020 respectively, Root tweeted: "Clearly coordinated Muslim terror attack." Police later determined only one shooter—a non-religious American—was involved.{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/here-are-all-the-hoaxes-being-spread-about-the-las-vegas|title=Here Are All The Hoaxes Being Spread About The Las Vegas Shooting|website=Buzzfeed.com|first=Ryan|last=Broderick|date=October 3, 2017 |access-date=October 4, 2017}}{{cite web|first=Sophie|last=Lewis|title=Trump tweets quote calling him the "second coming of God" to Jews in Israel|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tweets-quote-calling-him-the-second-coming-of-god-to-jews-in-israel/|work=CBS News|date=August 21, 2019}}

In 2018, Root argued that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election is motivated by "penis envy", because "Mueller's is smaller than Trump's."

On February 6, 2021, Twitter permanently suspended Root's account for "violating Twitter rules".{{cite news|last=Fordham|first=Evie|url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/twitter-suspends-gateway-pundit-wayne-allyn-root|title=Twitter permanently suspends Gateway Pundit founder, radio host Wayne Allyn Root|work=Fox News|date=February 7, 2021|accessdate=February 10, 2021}}

In July 2022, Root debated journalist Isaac Saul at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas, arguing that the 2020 United States Presidential Election was stolen and that Donald Trump should run for president again in 2024. During the debate, Root promoted, among other ideas, that COVID-19 vaccine injuries were being concealed by the government; that millions of illegal immigrants were voting in US elections and tipping them in favor of Democrats; that multiple states coordinated to stop counting on election night 2020 until more illegitimate ballots could be found to favor the election of Democrat Joe Biden; and that Las Vegas Culinary Union tactics are the only reason Democrats win elections in Nevada, which he believes to be otherwise almost entirely Republican.{{cite news|last=Saul|first=Isaac|url=https://anchor.fm/tanglenews/episodes/Isaac-debates-Wayne-Alynn-Root-e1lju0q|title=Isaac Debates Wayne Allyn Root|work=Tangle|date=July 25, 2022|accessdate=October 16, 2022}}

==Legal problems==

On {{Start and end date|2020|03|19|2020|03|21}}, Chief Health Care Bureau Lisa Landau and New York Attorney General Letitia James ordered Root to stop advertising My Doctor Suggests, LLC on KBET and USA Radio Network citing violations of state laws on deceptive acts and practices.{{cite press release|url=https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-orders-tv-host-stop-marketing-bogus-coronavirus-treatments|title=Attorney General James Orders TV Host to Stop Marketing Bogus Coronavirus Treatments|date=March 21, 2020|publisher=Attorney General of New York|access-date=March 21, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letter_from_the_ny_attorney_general_to_wayne_allyn_root.pdf|title=Re: CEASE and DESIST NOTIFICATION|date=March 19, 2020|publisher=Attorney General of New York|access-date=March 21, 2020}}

On April 29, 2020, Gordon Pedersen of My Doctor Suggests LLC and GP Silver LLC was ordered by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Trump administration to permanently stop advertising and selling all of these products out there.{{cite press release|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/court-orders-halt-sale-silver-product-fraudulently-touted-covid-19-cure|title=Court Orders Halt to Sale of Silver Product Fraudulently Touted as COVID-19 Cure|date=April 29, 2020|publisher=United States Department of Justice|access-date=May 6, 2020}} A hearing on the government's request for a preliminary injunction was set for May 12, 2020. The products were discontinued and the website was permanently shut down as a result.