Background and career
Michael Andrew Smerconish ( smur-KAHN-ish; born March 15, 1962) is an American radio host, television presenter, political commentator, author, and lawyer. He hosts The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM's POTUS Channel and a weekly program on CNN and CNN International. A former Sunday columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, he has authored seven books and serves as counsel at the Philadelphia law firm Kline & Specter.
Smerconish was born on March 15, 1962, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, to Florence (née Grovich) and Walter Smerconish. His mother is Montenegrin, coming from Cetinje in the former Yugoslavia. His father's family is Carpatho-Rusyn, tracing their roots to the village of Swierzowa Ruska, located in modern Southeast Poland, not far from the Slovak border. He graduated from Central Bucks High School West and earned his B.A. from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, followed by a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Raised in a Republican household, Smerconish began corresponding with Democratic Mayor Frank L. Rizzo as a teenager. In 1980, his father unsuccessfully ran for the Pennsylvania state legislature, with Smerconish helping on the campaign. That same year, he founded Youth for Reagan/Bush at Lehigh University. While attending law school, he ran for the Pennsylvania state legislature but lost the Republican primary by 419 votes. Afterward, Smerconish resumed his legal studies and continued working on political campaigns. In 1986, he managed the Philadelphia campaign for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter's re-election, and in 1987, he served as political director for Frank Rizzo's unsuccessful mayoral bid.
After graduating from law school, Smerconish co-founded a title insurance agency with his brother Wally. At 29, he was appointed regional administrator for Philadelphia Region III of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under Secretary Jack Kemp, during the George H. W. Bush administration. Following George H. W. Bush's 1992 election loss, Smerconish spent a decade practicing law with renowned trial attorney James E. Beasley, Sr. specializing in complex tort litigation. His clients ranged from the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police to professional boxer Orlin Norris. He also successfully sued abortion provider Kermit Gosnell in a medical malpractice case. Today, Smerconish is of counsel at the law firm Kline & Specter. On October 19, 2008, after previously supporting only Republican presidential candidates, Smerconish endorsed Barack Obama for president. In a Salon essay, he criticized the Republican Party's failure to capture Osama bin Laden and expressed his frustrations, which led to his endorsement. He called for the GOP to adopt moderation on social issues to align with suburban voters. In 2010, Smerconish announced he had left the Republican Party, later voting for Gary Johnson in the 2016 election. Commentators noted his shift to the political center, with The Washington Post writing that he bet his career on there being "a great untapped center" in politics.
In the spring of 1990, Smerconish made his first radio appearance as a guest on Philadelphia's 96.5 FM WWDB, eventually transitioning from guest to guest-host. By 1993, he hosted his own Sunday night program, balancing this with his legal career. After broadcaster Dominic Quinn's death in 1996, Smerconish moved to weekend mornings, but left WWDB in 1997 when the station began airing infomercials disguised as programs. He then joined CBS affiliate WPHT, initially on afternoons, later taking over the morning slot in 2003 after Don Imus was fired.
In February 2009, Smerconish's radio show went into national syndication, and on August 20, 2009, he became the first talk radio host to interview President Barack Obama live from the White House. He also interviewed Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, as well as Vice Presidents Al Gore, Dick Cheney, and Joe Biden. Smerconish's television career began with local appearances in Philadelphia, eventually leading to national exposure on CNN and MSNBC. He appeared regularly on CNN's TalkBack Live and guest-hosted Scarborough Country on MSNBC. In 2007, he hosted Don Imus's time slot on MSNBC following Imus's firing, and later became a regular substitute for Chris Matthews on Hardball.
In 2013, Smerconish moved his radio show to Sirius XM's POTUS Channel, citing his desire for nonpartisan discussions after leaving the Republican Party in 2010. In 2014, he left MSNBC to host his own program on CNN titled "Smerconish", which airs on Saturdays. He also runs daily political and current events polls which he discusses on his daily Newsletter, YouTube channel, daily SiriusXM show and CNN show. The questions usually touch on the main topic of discussion of the day. To mark 30 years in talk radio, Smerconish released an autobiographical, one-man film, Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking, which initially aired on CNN in July 2020, and then became a special on Hulu.
