Conservatives Tribute Andrew Breitbart on 12th Anniversary of His Passing: ‘A Force of Nature’

Andrew Breitbart
Nick Gilbertson

Conservatives celebrated and paid homage to Andrew Breitbart, the founder of Breitbart News, on the twelfth anniversary of his untimely passing at just 43 years old.

Ric Grenell, who served as Acting Director of National Intelligence during the Trump administration, gave tribute to Breitbart in a post on X Friday morning. Grenell recounted how Breitbart once called him to declare that, if the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) would not allow Logcabin Republicans – an advocacy group for gay conservatives – “to participate then he and [Breitbart News] were boycotting CPAC.”

“It was a game changer for gay conservatives,” wrote Grenell, a gay man who has advocated for conservative gays throughout his career. “He never wavered.”

Grenell pointed out that he is now a CPAC board member, adding, “Andrew would be so proud.”

Grenell was part of Breitbart News’s ten-year anniversary tribute to our company’s founder in 2022. In his remarks, Grenell said that Breitbart would be a “pivotal figure” in the future history books on gay rights in America and in the Republican Party.

“He was somebody who when the history books are written on the history of gay rights in America, in the Republican Party, Andrew Breitbart, a straight guy, is going to be a pivotal figure,” Grenell said. “He stood firm against conservatives who tried to push out gay conservatives. He stood against the cancel culture before we even knew it was the cancel culture. He was a true visionary, and he was my friend, and he will forever be missed by the conservative movement and by America.”

The pair knew one another for nearly two decades, first meeting in 1995, “If you can believe that,” Grenell quipped.

“He was a young staffer working for a conservative named Arianna Huffington at the time, and I was working on Capitol Hill,” Grenell said. “We had a lot of mutual friends, people that you’ve heard of before: Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, David Brock. And all at that time, all these people, including Ariana, were conservatives, and Andrew was the thinker.”

“He was the one who was giving great advice and doing research, and he was really at the cutting edge,” he added. “And I remember being so impressed with Andrew, even though he was just a young staffer. Fast forward over the years, Andrew Breitbart became a phenomenon. Within the conservative community, people recognize that he had amazing vision.”

His tribute retweeted a post from Larry O’Conner, host of O’Connor Tonight and a Breitbart News alumnus, who honored Breitbart in a touching tweet, recalling his final experiences with him on February 29, 2012.

“Little did we know, it was the last day Andrew would be there,” O’Connor wrote. “I literally think about him every day, but today in particular. Leap day. The last day he was physically with us.”

O’Connor participated at a CPAC panel last week run by Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle, where O’Connor took a moment to deliver a heartfelt tribute to Breitbart. Boyle emphasized that “Andrew Breitbart was a titan.”

Robert Davi, director of the film My Son Hunter, wrote in a post on X Friday that Breitbart “was a force of nature.”

Davi, too, contributed to Breitbart News’s 10-year anniversary tribute to the conservative titan. He called Breitbart “the Patrick Henry of today.”

Conservative pundit Steven Crowder, who hosts the Louder with Crowder podcast, paid homage to Breitbart on Friday as well.

“‘I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it.'” – Andrew Breitbart,” Crowder wrote. “RIP Andrew.”

“To know him was to love him,” Crowder said in his 2022 tribute on Breitbart News.

Radio Host Dana Loesch, another Breitbart News alumnus and host of the Dana Show, published an article tributing Breitbart from last year to her substack, in which she dubbed him “the most loyal friend in politics.”

Loesch, on her radio show Friday, called Breitbart a “visionary,” and said, “I think a lot of the reason why we have the digital landscape that we have today is because of his vision.”

John Dennis, the Chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party who has run against Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) numerous times, wrote in a tweet Thursday that he met Breitbart in 2010, and he was “the same in person as he was on screen.”

“Met Andrew at the fall 2009 CAGOP convention at Indian Wells. It was the first time I ran against Pelosi. We spoke for about 20 minutes,” he wrote. “He was an idea-a-minute guy. The same in person as he was on screen. Glad I had the chance to tell him that I loved the way he fought.”

Former Congressional candidate and reporter Matthew Foldi of the Spectator on Thursday called O’Connor’s post “a lovely tribute” and recounted the devastation he felt as a high school student upon learning of Breitbart’s passing.

“I remember finding out going to a high school debate, my debate partner ran over to me on the bus and told me Breitbart died and I thought it was a prank,” Foldi wrote. “An influential man to so many.”

These tributes from prominent conservatives are accompanied by an avalanche of posts from Americans and grassroots conservatives around the country dedicated to Breitbart’s memory.

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