Allen West: podcast appearances and interviews

Allen Bernard West born on February 7, 1961, is an American politician and retired military officer. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Florida's 22nd congressional district from 2011 to 2013. West was also the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 2020 to 2021 and held the position of chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party from 2024 to 2026. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, West began his military career in 1983 after graduating from the University of Tennessee. His military service included deployments to Kuwait in 1991 and Iraq in 2003. In 2003, West was involved in an incident during an interrogation of an Iraqi policeman, which led to charges and eventual non-judicial punishment; he retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel. After his military career, West moved to Florida, where he taught at a high school for a year and worked for a defense contractor, including a period as a civilian adviser to the Afghan National Army in Afghanistan. West entered politics in 2008 as the Republican candidate for Florida's 22nd congressional district, losing to Ron Klein. He ran again in 2010 and won, becoming the first African-American Republican member of Congress from Florida since the Reconstruction era. During his tenure, West was known for his association with the Tea Party Caucus and movement, and he attracted controversy for his comments about Islam, President Barack Obama, and accusations toward Democratic colleagues. Redistricting led to his narrow loss in the 2012 election to Patrick Murphy. West later ran for and served as chair of the Republican Party of Texas, and made a campaign for Texas governor in 2021, but was defeated in the primary by incumbent Greg Abbott.