Dean Withers
American political commentator (born 2004)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dean Withers (born September 1, 2004[1]) is an American liberal political commentator and live streamer on TikTok and YouTube.[2] He gained prominence starting in 2023 for challenging conservative viewpoints on societal issues through debates shared via TikTok. He has been featured on Jubilee Media's YouTube series Surrounded, where he has engaged in political debates with conservatives.
Dean Withers | |
|---|---|
Withers in 2025 | |
| Born | September 1, 2004 Grand Junction, Colorado, U.S. |
| Known for | Online political debates |
Political party | Democratic |
| Movement | Liberalism |
| Instagram information | |
| Page | |
| Years active | 2024–present |
| Genre | Politics |
| Followers | 3.3 million |
| TikTok information | |
| Page | |
| Years active | 2022–present |
| Genre | Politics |
| Followers | 5.8 million |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2023–present |
| Genre | Politics |
| Subscribers | 695,000 |
| Views | 84.6 million |
| Last updated: June 16, 2026 | |
Life and career
Withers grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado,[3] with conservative family members, leading him to hold conservative views in his early life.[4][5][1] He later shared that this conservative upbringing pushed him to educate himself further on political and societal issues, which led to his shift toward a liberal political ideology.[1] He is agnostic, but stated he was raised Catholic.[6]
After graduating from Grand Junction High School, Withers began posting political content on social media in 2022 on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ rights.[1] Leading up to the 2024 United States presidential election, Jubilee Media featured Withers in two episodes of their Surrounded series on YouTube.[4] He debated Charlie Kirk and Ben Shapiro during these videos. In June 2026, Withers returned to the series for a third appearance, debating 20 MAGA women.[7] Withers also hosts a weekly political debate podcast, The Dean Withers Show, available on Spotify.[8] He has also spoken at the Aspen Ideas Festival, where he discussed the impact of social media on political engagement among young voters.[9]
Controversies
Shortly after one of his appearances in a Jubilee episode where he debated Trump supporters, he was criticized online when racist and homophobic messages from 2019 and 2022 were uncovered. Withers later confirmed the messages were real and issued an apology.[10]
In April 2026, Withers alleged that CBS News had filmed a debate with him in Washington, D.C. involving a MAGA influencer, but never aired the segment. He claimed Bari Weiss, who took over CBS News in October 2025, had shelved the production. CBS did not publicly respond to his claims.[11][12]
