Age, Biography and Wiki

Michael Gerson (Michael John Gerson) was born on 15 May, 1964 in Belmar, New Jersey, U.S., is an American political speechwriter and columnist (1964–2022). Discover Michael Gerson's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 58 years old?

Popular As Michael John Gerson
Occupation N/A
Age 58 years old
Zodiac Sign Taurus
Born 15 May 1964
Birthday 15 May
Birthplace Belmar, New Jersey, U.S.
Date of death 17 November, 2022
Died Place Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 15 May. He is a member of famous Writer with the age 58 years old group.

Michael Gerson Height, Weight & Measurements

At 58 years old, Michael Gerson height not available right now. We will update Michael Gerson's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Who Is Michael Gerson's Wife?

His wife is Dawn Gerson

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Dawn Gerson
Sibling Not Available
Children 2

Michael Gerson Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Michael Gerson worth at the age of 58 years old? Michael Gerson’s income source is mostly from being a successful Writer. He is from United States. We have estimated Michael Gerson's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Writer

Michael Gerson Social Network

Instagram
Linkedin
Twitter Michael Gerson Twitter
Facebook
Wikipedia Michael Gerson Wikipedia
Imdb

Timeline

1880

One of Gerson's first columns was entitled "Letting Fear Rule", in which he compared skeptics of President Bush's immigration reform bill to nativist bigots of the 1880s.

1964

Michael John Gerson (May 15, 1964 – November 17, 2022) was an American journalist and speechwriter.

He was a neoconservative op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, a Policy Fellow with One Campaign, a visiting fellow with the Center for Public Justice, and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Gerson was born on May 15, 1964, in Belmar, New Jersey, and raised in an Evangelical Christian family in St. Louis, Missouri.

He attended Westminster Christian Academy for high school.

His paternal grandfather was Jewish.

1986

He attended Georgetown University for a year and then transferred to Wheaton College in Illinois, graduating in 1986.

Before joining the Bush administration, he was a senior policy advisor with The Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy research institution.

He also worked at various times as an aide to Indiana Senator Dan Coats and a speechwriter for the presidential campaign of Bob Dole before briefly leaving the political world to cover it as a journalist for U.S. News & World Report.

Gerson also worked at one point as a ghostwriter for Charles Colson.

1999

In early 1999, Karl Rove recruited Gerson for the Bush campaign.

Gerson was named by Time as one of "The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals In America."

2000

Gerson joined the Bush campaign before 2000 as a speechwriter and went on to head the White House speechwriting team.

2001

He served as President George W. Bush's chief speechwriter from 2001 until June 2006, as a senior policy advisor from 2000 through June 2006, and was a member of the White House Iraq Group.

Gerson helped write the inaugural address for the second inauguration of George W. Bush, which called for neo-conservative intervention and nation-building around the world to effect the spread of democracy to third world countries.

Gerson said one of his favorite speeches was given at the National Cathedral on September 14, 2001, a few days after the September 11 attacks, which included the following passage: "Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance, and love have no end. And the Lord of life holds all who die, and all who mourn."

Gerson was credited with coining such phrases as "the soft bigotry of low expectations" and "the armies of compassion".

His noteworthy phrases for Bush are said to include "Axis of Evil," a phrase adapted from "axis of hatred," itself suggested by fellow speechwriter David Frum but deemed too mild.

2002

Gerson proposed the use of a "smoking gun/mushroom cloud" mixed-metaphor during a September 5, 2002, meeting of the White House Iraq Group, in an effort to sell the American public on the nuclear dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.

According to Newsweek columnist Michael Isikoff,

"The original plan had been to place it in an upcoming presidential speech, but WHIG members fancied it so much that when the Times reporters contacted the White House to talk about their upcoming piece [about aluminum tubes], one of them leaked Gerson's phrase – and the administration would soon make maximum use of it."

2005

The February 7, 2005, issue listed Gerson as the ninth-most influential evangelical that year.

2006

On June 14, 2006, it was announced that Gerson was leaving the White House to pursue other writing and policy work.

He was replaced as Bush's chief speechwriter by The Wall Street Journal chief editor William McGurn.

2007

"No one doubts that he did his job exceptionally well," wrote Ramesh Ponnuru in a 2007 article otherwise very critical of Gerson in National Review.

According to Ponnuru, Bush's speechwriters had more prominence in the administration than their predecessors did under previous presidents because Bush's speeches did most of the work of defending the president's policies, since administration spokesmen and press conferences did not.

On the other hand, he wrote, the speeches would announce new policies that were never implemented, making the speechwriting in some ways less influential than ever.

In an article by Matthew Scully, one of Bush's speechwriters, published in The Atlantic in September 2007, Gerson was criticized for seeking the limelight, taking credit for other people's work and creating a false image of himself.

"No good deed went unreported, and many things that never happened were reported as fact. For all of our chief speechwriter's finer qualities, the firm adherence to factual narrative is not a strong point."

Of particular note is the invention of the phrase "axis of evil."

Scully claims that the phrase "axis of hatred" was coined by David Frum and forwarded to colleagues by email.

The word "hatred" was changed to "evil" by someone other than Gerson and was changed because "hatred" seemed the more melodramatic word at the time.

Scully also had this to say about Gerson:

"My most vivid memory of Mike at Starbucks is one I have labored in vain to shake. We were working on a State of the Union address in John [McConnell]'s office when suddenly Mike was called away for an unspecified appointment, leaving us to 'keep going'. We learned only later, from a chance conversation with his secretary, where he had gone, and it was a piece of Washington self-promotion for the ages: At the precise moment when the State of the Union address was being drafted at the White House by John and me, Mike was off [at a Washington D.C. Starbucks store] pretending to craft the State of the Union in longhand for the benefit of a reporter."

After leaving the White House, Gerson wrote for Newsweek magazine for a time.

On May 16, 2007, Gerson began his tenure as a twice-weekly columnist for The Washington Post.

His columns appeared on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Gerson, a neo-conservative, repeatedly criticized other conservatives in his column and conservatives returned the favor.

2017

In October 2017, Gerson referred to President Donald Trump's "fundamental unfitness for high office" and asked whether he is "psychologically and morally equipped to be president? And could his unfitness cause permanent damage to the country?"

2018

In 2018, Gerson and commentator Amy Holmes co-hosted In Principle, a politically conservative-oriented television talk show that ran for eight episodes on PBS.