L. Brent Bozell III
Leo Brent Bozell III (/boʊˈzɛl/; born July 14, 1955) is an American conservative activist and writer. Bozell is the founder of the Media Research Center, an organization whose stated purpose is to identify liberal media bias.
Brent Bozell
- Writer
- activist
Norma Petruccione
5
- L. Brent Bozell Jr. (father)
- Patricia Buckley Bozell (mother)
- William F. Buckley Jr. (uncle)
- James L. Buckley (uncle)
- Priscilla Buckley (aunt)
- Reid Buckley (uncle)
- Christopher Buckley (cousin)
- Leo B. Bozell (grandfather)
- William F. Buckley Sr. (grandfather)
Early life and education[edit]
Bozell is one of ten children of L. Brent Bozell Jr. and Patricia Buckley Bozell.[1] He is a nephew of the late conservative writer and National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr. and the late United States Senator James L. Buckley through Buckley's sister, Patricia, and is a grandson of William Frank Buckley Sr. He is of Irish, German, and English descent. Bozell's father was William Buckley Jr.'s debating partner at Yale University and a conservative activist; his grandfather Leo B. Bozell was a co-founder of Bozell Worldwide.[2]
Bozell received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Dallas in 1977.[3]
Presidential politics[edit]
On December 22, 2011, Bozell appeared on a Fox News Channel segment. After being showed a clip in which an MSNBC journalist said that a Republican candidate looked like a "car bomber", Bozell asked how media would react if someone said that President Barack Obama looked like a "skinny ghetto crackhead".[20][21]
Bozell was an outspoken critic of Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, describing him as "the greatest charlatan of them all," a "huckster," and a "shameless self-promoter".[22] He said, "God help this country if this man were president."[22]
After Trump clinched the Republican nomination, however, Bozell attacked the media for their alleged "hatred" of Trump.[22] Politico noted, "The paradox here is that Bozell was once more antagonistic toward the president than any journalist."[22] Bozell singled out Jake Tapper of CNN for being "one of the worst offenders" in coverage of Trump.[22]
In August 2020, Bozell told a meeting of conservatives and donors that "leftists planned to steal this election." On January 6, after a mob of Trump supporters – including Bozell's son, L. Brent Bozell IV – attacked the United States Capitol, Bozell appeared on Fox Business Network and denounced the riot, stating that "you can never countenance police being attacked. You cannot countenance our national Capitol being breached like this. I think it is absolutely wrong.” Bozell also said that "Look, they are furious that they believe this election was stolen. I agree with them."[23]
Personal life[edit]
Bozell is married to Norma Petruccione. They have five children and several grandchildren. Bozell has stated that contrary to speculation by some in the media, he is not officially a Republican.[24][25]
Bozell was named the 1998 Alumnus of the Year at the University of Dallas. That same year, Grove City College named Bozell a Pew Memorial Lecturer.[6]
Bozell's son, David Bozell, is director of an organization called ForAmerica, a conservative group active on social media, founded by Bozell III in 2010.[26]
Bozell's other son, Leo Brent Bozell IV, participated in the 2021 United States Capitol attack; he entered the United States Senate chamber. Leo Brent Bozell IV was federally charged with obstructing an official proceeding, entering a restricted building, and disorderly conduct.[27][28] He was convicted in September 2023 of ten charges, including five felonies, and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 9, 2024.[29]