Matt Drudge

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Matt Drudge : biography

October 27, 1966 –

During the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, Drudge was described by some, including former presidential candidate Fred Thompson, as having a pro-Mitt Romney slant.

Personal life

Drudge previously lived in Hollywood. As of 2007, he owns two properties in Miami – a $1.4 million Mediterranean-style stucco house on Rivo Alto Island, and a $1-million-plus condominium in Miami’s Four Seasons hotel. By early 2009, Drudge earned millions of dollars a year, travelled extensively (Israel, Las Vegas, Geneva), moved to another property in Miami and had become reclusive. In 2003 he named his one indulgence, apart from travel, as his Corvette.

Political views

Drudge, described as a conservative populist by The Daily Telegraph, describes himself as free from corporate influences.

In 2001, Drudge told the Miami New Times that "I am a conservative. I’m very much pro-life. If you go down the list of what makes up a conservative, I’m there almost all the way."

In 1998, Drudge said that his politics are "libertarian except for drugs and abortion". In a 2005 interview with The Sunday Times Drudge described his politics "’I’m not a right-wing Republican,’ he replies. ‘I’m a conservative and want to pay less taxes. And I did vote Republican at the last election. But I’m more of a populist.’"

Comments by journalists

Drudge has been called "the Walter Cronkite of his era" by Mark Halperin and John F. Harris, "the country’s reigning mischief-maker" by Todd Purdum of The New York Times, and Michael Isikoff of Newsweek said "Drudge is a menace to honest, responsible journalism. And to the extent that he’s read and people believe what they read, he’s dangerous." According to Camille Paglia, he is "the kind of bold, entrepreneurial, free-wheeling, information-oriented outsider we need far more of in this country." David McClintick described him as, "a modern Tom Paine, a possible precursor to millions of town criers using the Internet to invade the turf of bigfoot journalists."