Michael Knowles Speaks About The LGBTQ+ Agenda And Religious Freedom During CPAC 2025

Michael Knowles, a conservative political commentator and YouTuber, gave a speech on the LGBTQ+ agenda, religious freedoms and illegal immigration during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Feb. 20. 

After being welcomed to the stage, Knowles acknowledged the different feel of the conference in comparison to previous years, claiming that the Republican Party’s recent win — accomplished by both electoral and popular vote for President Donald Trump — contributed to the overall atmosphere of CPAC. Knowles said he believed the reason behind Trump winning the popular vote could be attributed to the same information found in Gallup’s recent polling, which showed that 55% of Americans wanted immigration to be reduced.  

“For decades we have been told that we have two choices when it comes to immigration: more illegal immigration or more legal immigration …,” Knowles said. “But it turns out that most Americans do not want more immigration of any kind. Most Americans want drastically less immigration, legal and illegal.” 

Knowles then transitioned from his discussion of immigration to discuss how LGBTQ+ ideals have spread in education, as well as how religious freedoms are essential in the U.S. 

He began by noting how quickly the progressive movement has recently worked to integrate LGBTQ+ ideologies in educational facilities. According to Knowles, in public education the presentation of this ideology can start as early as kindergarten and elementary school. Knowles then referenced how traditional marriage was considered the only kind of marriage up until the last decade.  

“To put in perspective just how rapidly this gender-bending LGBT ideology has been forced upon us, consider that Barack Obama, in the final year of his first term as president, held that marriage is the lifelong union of a man and a woman ordered toward the procreation and education of children,” Knowles said.  

Knowles also spoke on the reality of the existence of God and how, even at an all-time low, 81% of Americans still claim to believe in God. He explained that the existence of God could be known with certainty just from reason alone, but this has not stopped the government from attempting to stifle outward expressions of biblical beliefs.  

As Knowles put it, the government has asked citizens to “keep it private or don’t keep your religion at all.” 

“Federal agents spy on our churches,” Knowles said. “They sue members of religious orders. They imprison parents for praying peaceably outside of abortion mills. Maybe, just maybe, we’re permitted to entertain religious thoughts silently in our own minds, but the moment that we start talking about or acting on those ideas in public, we’re in trouble.” 

Knowles then said, “religion is not just some private privilege. Religion is a public right.”  

Next, Knowles discussed how God can be found everywhere in America’s founding, from the Declaration of Independence to the inscriptions on its currency. By attempting to remove God from government and society, Knowles said, the Democratic Party has only replaced God with its own novel and false religions.  

Knowles finished his speech by returning to the subject of immigration and the “America First” commitment that several of the leaders in the Republican Party have made. He explained that “America First” is not a call to end the charitable nature of the U.S., but rather a call for America to focus on repairing itself before trying to fix other nations.  

“Charity, after all, begins at home,” Knowles said.   

McKinnon is the off-campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.