A leading voice in conservative radio who helped promote the Republican political agenda in Wisconsin but was outspoken in opposing Donald Trump, retired from his popular radio show Monday.
Milwaukee talk radio host Charlie Sykes said his decision to end a 23-year run at WTMJ-AM was made before his opposition to Trump garnered national attention. Sykes, a Republican commentator, author and radio host, embarrassed Trump during an on-air interview before Wisconsin’s primary when Trump admitted not knowing Sykes was a leader in the “#NeverTrump” movement.
Sykes recently told National Public Radio’s Michel Martin that his resistance to Trump drew a level of public vitriol he had never experienced.
“There would be nights when I would appear on a cable show and open up my Twitter feed, and there would be 500, 600, 700 reactions. And to say that, you know, many of them were intense is putting it mildly. The level of blowback, I think, that people got, the level of anger was something not totally unprecedented, but it’s just I think in tone and volume was something that I had never seen before,” Sykes said on All Things Considered.
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan was among those bidding adieu to Sykes Monday on the air. Ryan, from Janesville, Wisconsin, credited Sykes with challenging what Ryan called a liberal-leaning media.
“The left had arguably a monopoly on information through the media. There was really no one challenging the premise of what was being fed in Wisconsin,” Ryan said.
“You smashed that model. You crushed it and helped bring a disinfectant into our political system in Wisconsin that gave rise to what I would call truth. That gave rise to classic conservatism. That gave voice and audience and space and oxygen to the likes of myself, Ron Johnson, Scott Walker,” Ryan said.
Johnson last month won a second term as Wisconsin’s Republican U.S. senator. Walker has been the state’s governor since 2011.
Sykes said he regrets not drawing the line more strongly against conspiracy theorists and “crackpots” on the right.
“It’s the crazy uncle at Thanksgiving, and we’ll just, you know, give him another gin and tonic and ignore him?” Sykes said.
If left to do it over, Sykes said he would encourage more dialogue and debate to discourage the polarization of “binary politics.”
Some Democrats are glad his show is ending.
Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal issue advocacy organization, One Wisconsin Now, said Sykes has used his show to degrade political discourse in Wisconsin.
“(He has used) his time on the public airwaves to attack those less powerful, undermine reasonable public discourse and promote his favored Republican politicians and their agendas,” Ross said in a statement.
Sykes said he made his decision to leave his mid-morning show more than a year ago in order to spend more time writing, traveling and being with his family. His father died at age 63, so he had anticipated retiring in 2016 when he turned 62, Sykes said.
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who served at U.S. Health and Human Services secretary under President George W. Bush, also thanked Sykes for advocating Republican causes.
Sykes, a political contributor to MSNBC, has written eight books with a ninth in the works titled “How the Right Lost Its Mind.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Nobody challenges the left at all let them run the show with all there lies they think as long as they are in power every thing is good it not they brought this country down an people have finally gotten tired of there stuff an put the foot down now get more democrats an the Republican that are working with them out of congress now get two term limits in an them a lot states had pass the law but congress won’t let it get ratified
Hard to discern what you are trying to convey with your lack of grammar, punctuation, and run on paragraph. What a shame as it might have had some bearing on the situation.
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You hit the nail on the head Patt. Just unreadable.
His book should be titled: ‘How Conservatives Rejected RINOS’.
Indeed!
Well, at least he is contributing to the economy by churning out the single-ply cheap paper. The cry baby needs to keep a few cases for blowing his nose, but I’m sure he’s got plenty left over for that.
Good riddance! By – By
Sykes is a leftist-enabler … a pro-establishment RINO. He doesn’t know what Constitutional Conservatives are about. He’s just like his buddy Paul Ryan, and though they may be an improvement over their left-hanging state compadres, they are a detriment to the movement in this country to return to it’s founding roots.
The design of this country was inspired by the Christian concept of a God who puts individual freedom of choice as a top priority, leaving it up to man to choose for him & her self between good and evil. That is why He lets evil exist, even as He must then mourn for many of His children. Ours is the first system of self-governance that mankind has ever had, and it is superior, as originally designed, to all others. No small pieces of our Constitution were incorporated without brilliance in their conception and purpose.
Buffoons like Sykes and Ryan don’t get it … McConnell, Graham, McCain, Boehner II. and all their ilk … they’re worse than the leftists, since they ARE leftists and leftist-enablers, and they’re taking up the seats that should be reserved for good, true conservatives. They are the proverbial wolves in sheeps clothing. I despise them and will be happy to see them all go.
You have hit the nail on the head
AMEN bin!!!!
How did he embarrass Trump??? Just because he did not know who he was? I did not know anything about him either and I AM not embarrassed… I guess he isn’t as important as he thinks he is…
I don’t believe anyone who would prefer the corrupt to the core Clinton machine deserves to call himself a republican. I too preferred a different nominee for the party, but when he didn’t win the nomination, I joined the #neverHillary movement. I hope that all the republicans in congress realize that the majority of Americans do not want the status quo to continue, and millions will be watching their moves going forward.
Many republicans and democrats are agents of Rothschild, but Americans are now aware of this charade and they taking names and numbers. If I were a betting man I’d wager that trump is going play hell with the rinos. The democrats did a great job screwing themselves so trump won’t have to deal with the dems. Good day.