Charles M. Blow

Charles M. Blow
Charles Blow at the 2014 Texas Book Festival.
Born	Charles McRay Blow (1970-08-11) August 11, 1970 (age 46) United States
Occupation	Journalist, columnist, writer

Charles McRay Blow (born August 11, 1970) is an American journalist, commentator, and the current visual op-ed columnist for The New York Times.

Blow was born in Gibsland, Louisiana on August 11, 1970, and grew up there. He graduated magna cum laude from Grambling State University, with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He has worked as a graphics director and art director for The New York Times and National Geographic.

In April 2008, he began writing a column in The New York Times, featuring charts as a form of opinion journalism. His column originally appeared biweekly on Saturdays. In May 2009 it became a weekly feature, and twice weekly in December 2012. As of May 2014, it appears every Monday and Thursday.

Blow often appears on CNN and MSNBC.

On February 22, 2012, Blow referred to presidential candidate Mitt Romney's "magic underwear," an apparent reference to the Temple Garment, in response to a comment by Romney about two parent households. The comment was criticized as insensitive to Mormons. In response, Romney joked that "I guess we’re finding out for the first time that the media is somewhat biased." Blow later apologized.

In 2014, he published a memoir, Fire Shut Up in My Bones.

In August 2016, while appearing on CNN with Donald Trump presidential campaign delegate Bruce Levell, Blow called Trump a "bigot" and said that anyone who supported Trump is "a part of the bigotry itself."

Blow lives in Brooklyn with his three children. His eldest son attends Yale University and his twins attend Middlebury College and Columbia University. In 2014, Blow came out publicly as bisexual.