Conservative political commentator Michael Knowles sparked immense backlash online following his anti-trans rhetoric at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The Daily Wire host rallied for the eradication of “transgenderism” which left netizens weary.During his speech on Saturday, Michael Knowles told the crowd that the transgender “ideology” must be “eradicated.” He also claimed that “transgenderism” was taking away the rights of people. While he did not elaborate on how the ideology was stealing rights from others in his speech, Michael Knowles said:"There can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism. It is all or nothing. If transgenderism is true, if men can really become women then it is true for everybody of all ages. If transgenderism is false, as it is, if men really can become women, as they cannot, then it is false for everybody too. And if it’s false, then we should not indulge it."Knowles went on to add:"Especially since that indulgence requires taking away the rights and customs of so many people. If it is false, then for the good of society and especially for the good of poor people who have fallen prey to this confusion, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely. The whole preposterous ideology at every level."Senator Scott Wiener@Scott_Wiener“Transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely.”These words were in a speech by a major right wing figure at a national conservative conference.It’s a straight up call for genocide. That’s what this fight is about. They want us gone.68651477“Transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely.”These words were in a speech by a major right wing figure at a national conservative conference.It’s a straight up call for genocide. That’s what this fight is about. They want us gone. https://t.co/HHFyjbCejgAccording to the Cambridge Dictionary, transgenderism is often used by those against transgender people. It refers to those whose gender does not match the body they are born with.Who is Michael Knowles?Following his controversial speech, several netizens have developed a keen interest in the political commentator. He also graduated from Yale University with a degree in history and Italian.Prior to becoming a known figure in the political arena, Knowles aspired to become an actor, and curated his craft at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Michael Knowles has appeared in a few short films and series including Survive, Triangle, and House of Shades. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostFollowing Donald Trump’s presidential win, he became a devout follower of the Republican Party. He has acquired immense backlash for his right-leaning politics and statements that included calling Greta Thunberg a mentally ill child and making derogatory remarks towards former president Barack Obama.He was also sprayed with lavender liquid after offending the LGBTQ community.Michael Knowles also wrote the famous 2017 book Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide. The book, which was 266 pages long, was entirely empty and mocked the left-leaning party. Several conservatives praised Knowles for the book and he also gained positive reviews from Donald Trump.His appearance at the CPAC event was not the only time he raised eyebrows over his political beliefs. Recently, a clip of him speaking about transgender people on his show came to light. Knowles stated that transgender people are not a “legitimate category of being.” Addressing the backlash he received for seemingly calling for the genocide of the trans community, Knowles said on his show:“One, I don’t know how you can have a genocide of transgender people because genocide refers to genes, it refers to genetics, it refers to biology and the whole point of transgenderism is that it has nothing to do with biology… transgender people is not a real ontological category. It is not a legitimate category of being.”Erin Reed@ErinInTheMornSince Michael Knowles genocidal statements of "eradicating transgenderism entirely" are trending and people are just now paying attention.3 days ago, he said you "can't genocide transgender people because they are not a legitimate category of being."109732652Since Michael Knowles genocidal statements of "eradicating transgenderism entirely" are trending and people are just now paying attention.3 days ago, he said you "can't genocide transgender people because they are not a legitimate category of being."https://t.co/OjrlCQpEmbNetizens react to Michael Knowles’ CPAC transgenderism speechInternet users were horrified to hear the political commentator’s beliefs on transgender people and the theory of transgenderism. A few reactions read:Pandora Browning@Pbrown421@David_Leavitt Better idea to eradicate the type of political parties that advocate for such horrible things. I spent a lot of time comforting people today over this hate. We need better people to serve us.1@David_Leavitt Better idea to eradicate the type of political parties that advocate for such horrible things. I spent a lot of time comforting people today over this hate. We need better people to serve us.Susan Marie ☮@SusanMarie_NY@David_Leavitt This is a very sick person.1@David_Leavitt This is a very sick person.Lady Hecate ⚫️@hecate40@David_Leavitt@David_Leavitt https://t.co/FtKDVIAKU3Trash prophet of the frendtimes@therealgusgblaw@David_Leavitt even half the people in the audience are looking like 'eeeeh, im not sure we should just SAY it like that...'its pretty awkward151@David_Leavitt even half the people in the audience are looking like 'eeeeh, im not sure we should just SAY it like that...'its pretty awkward💜SoCalGal💜@RCatSoCal@David_Leavitt Make this guy irrelevant!1@David_Leavitt Make this guy irrelevant!Joel Tillman@JTillman_@David_Leavitt His dehumanization of trans folk and reducing them to an ideology is such a move of rhetoric and excludes everyone and their mother from being reasonable.8@David_Leavitt His dehumanization of trans folk and reducing them to an ideology is such a move of rhetoric and excludes everyone and their mother from being reasonable.Pat@bimhuis17@David_Leavitt Straight up. I will STOP him.@David_Leavitt Straight up. I will STOP him.CMD@sandygap46@David_Leavitt purify the raceI think I will vomit1@David_Leavitt purify the raceI think I will vomitVivi Cantabria🇬🇧🇪🇸 QUE TE VOTE TXAPOTE@cantacantabria@David_Leavitt HORRIFIC just leave them alone.@David_Leavitt HORRIFIC just leave them alone.After amassing intense backlash online, Knowles clarified with various publications, including the Rolling Stone, that a call for the eradication of “transgenderism” is not the same as wanting to eradicate transgender people.