Jonathan Krohn

Jonathan Lee Krohn (born March 1, 1995) is an American journalist and writer. He has written for The Guardian, The Atlantic, Salon, and Mother Jones, among others. In March 2013, Krohn was made the International Affairs and Politics fellow for Kurdish media company Rudaw's English language news site.

Prior to his work in journalism, Krohn wrote and self-published the book Defining Conservatism, in which he sought to outline core conservative principles. He gained national attention when he addressed the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), at age 13. Krohn convinced skeptical organizers to allow him to speak for three minutes at the CPAC event on February 27, 2009. His speech was well-received by the audience and later gained popularity on the internet, garnering Krohn's attention on national news programs on CNN and the Fox News Channel. In 2009, he was a finalist for Time magazine's Time 100 for the year. His second book, Defining Conservatism: The Principles That Will Bring Our Country Back, was released on February 9, 2010.

In 2011, Krohn openly declared he no longer held conservative views, a change he attributed to his study of philosophers and maturing with age.

Early life Krohn, an only child, was born on March 1, 1995, to Doug Krohn, a computer system integrator, and Marla Krohn, a sales representative and middle-school drama and speech teacher. Krohn's family lived in Duluth, Georgia, and has been active in a Baptist church. In 2006, he was voted "Atlanta's Most Talented Child" by Inside Edition. Krohn became interested in politics at age eight, after hearing about a Democratic filibuster on judicial nominations in the United States Senate. The event prompted him to research American history and governmental rules and policies, and he developed an affinity for conservatism and began to listen regularly to conservative talk radio, particularly Morning in America with William Bennett, to whom he became a regular caller. The book was in part a response to criticism that John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, received regarding his conservative credentials. The book was dedicated to Ronald Reagan, William F. Buckley, Jr. and Barry Goldwater, whom Krohn describes as his political heroes, along with South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint. Krohn paid to have the book published from his own savings. He described it as a "first effort" and immediately planned to write a second one, which he said would focus in part on Alexander Hamilton and James Monroe. Sam Stein of The Huffington Post said of the speech, "It was filled with the type of rhetorical flow and emotional pitch one would expect from a seasoned hand. Except, [he] is more than four years away from being able to vote." Gingrich offered to write the foreword for the book, but Krohn wanted it to be written by William Bennett. In 2012, he confirmed to Politico that he no longer considers himself a conservative, and in fact takes a liberal point of view on many issues, including same-sex marriage and the Affordable Care Act. He also said that if he were old enough to vote in the 2012 presidential election, he would vote for Barack Obama. However, he refused to describe himself as liberal, instead rejecting ideological labels entirely.

Personal life

In 2018, Krohn came out as bisexual on Twitter.