American political commentator and former attorney (born 1969)
David Austin French (born January 24, 1969) is an American
political commentator and former
attorney who has argued high-profile
religious liberty cases. He is a columnist for
The New York Times . Formerly a fellow at the
National Review Institute and a staff writer for
National Review from 2015 to 2019, French is senior editor of
The Dispatch ,
[2] and occasionally a contributing writer for
The Atlantic . French is currently a distinguished visiting professor of public policy at
Lipscomb University , his alma mater.
[3]
Early life and education
French was born in
Opelika ,
Alabama . His parents were students at nearby
Auburn University .
[4]
French graduated
summa cum laude from
Lipscomb University in 1991 with a
Bachelor of Arts degree.
[5]
[6] He then went on to
Harvard Law School where he graduated
cum laude in 1994 with a
Juris Doctor degree.
[7]
[8]
[9]
Career
French has served as a senior counsel for the
American Center for Law and Justice and the
Alliance Defending Freedom ,
[10] has lectured at
Cornell Law School , and spent much of his career working on
religious rights issues.
[11] He served as president of the
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).
[8] French retired from FIRE in 2005, citing plans to serve in the
United States Army Reserve as a
judge-advocate general officer.
[12]
[13] He left the legal practice in 2015, and became a staff writer for
National Review from 2015 to 2019,
[14]
[15] and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.
[16]
French has authored several books,
[8] including the non-fiction Divided We Fall (2020).
[17]
[18]
French became a
New York Times columnist in January 2023.
[19]
LGBT issues
In August 2017, French was one of several co-authors of the
Nashville Statement , which affirmed "that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or
transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness."
[20] The statement was criticized by pro-LGBT Christians and LGBT rights activists,
[21]
[22] as well as by several conservative religious figures.
[23]
[24]
In November 2022, French announced that he had "changed his mind" on the legal recognition of
same-sex marriage , although stating he was still morally opposed to the matter. He wrote that his "reasoning tracked my lifelong civil libertarian beliefs" and that:
[25]
Millions of Americans have formed families and live their lives in deep reliance on
Obergefell being good law. It would be profoundly disruptive and unjust to rip out the legal superstructure around which they've ordered their lives.
[25]
Military service
French is a former major in the
United States Army Reserve
[26] and a veteran of
Operation Iraqi Freedom .
[8] French was deployed to Iraq in 2007 during the
Iraq War , serving in
Diyala Governorate as squadron judge-advocate.
[27] He was awarded a
Bronze Star .
[26]
Potential 2016 U.S. presidential campaign
French briefly considered entering the 2016 U.S. presidential race, citing his strong moral objections to U.S. Republican Party presumptive nominee
Donald Trump . He ultimately decided that he had neither the name recognition nor the financial support to mount a viable campaign.
[28]
Attacks by the alt-right
In 2016, French and his wife and family were the subject of online attacks when he criticized then-presidential candidate
Donald Trump and the
alt-right . French was bombarded with hateful
tweets , including an image of his daughter in a
gas chamber .
[29]
Dispute with Sohrab Ahmari
A dispute between French and conservative
New York Post editor
Sohrab Ahmari broke out in the summer of 2019 as a result of the publication of Ahmari's polemical
First Things article entitled "Against David French-ism."
[30] The dispute centered on their differing opinions on how conservatives should approach cultural and political debate and issues, with Ahmari arguing for a more ideologically firm approach against French's
libertarian views.
[31]
[32]
Personal life
French is an
evangelical Christian .
[11] He is married to author
Nancy French .
[33] French and his family live in
Franklin, Tennessee .
[34] They have three children, including a daughter adopted from
Ethiopia .
[35]
Bibliography
References
^ Corbett, Erin (May 31, 2016).
"Who Is David French? Bill Kristol Has Suggested a Third-Party Candidate to Run against Trump" . Bustle. Retrieved 31 May 2016 .
^ Rowland, Geoffrey (March 1, 2019).
"National Review's Goldberg, Weekly Standard's Hayes to launch conservative media company" . The Hill . Retrieved March 13, 2019 .
^ Lathan, Angele (August 31, 2023).
"Lipscomb University taps conservative columnist David French as visiting professor" . The Tennessean . Gannett. Retrieved 21 September 2023 .
^ French, David (22 July 2020).
"Episode 414: Religious Power vs. Religious Liberty with David French" . Holy Post Podcast (Podcast). Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^
"David French Mediation Attorney – Child Custody Mediation Attorney in Kentucky" . Mediation. Retrieved 1 June 2016 .
^
"Lipscomb Conversations program discusses threats to national community Oct. 4 |" . www.lipscomb.edu . 30 September 2005.
^
"ADF files lawsuit to stop ongoing attacks on religious groups at the University of Wisconsin" . Alliance Defending Freedom . November 9, 2006. Archived from
the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019 .
^
a
b
c
d Moore, Jack (June 1, 2016).
"Who Is David French, the Third-Party Conservative Who Might Be Running for President?" . GQ .
^ Olasky, Marvin.
"A patriot's perspective - WORLD" . world.wng.org .
^ Morrow, Brendan (May 31, 2016).
"David French: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know" . Heavy. Retrieved May 31, 2016 .
^
a
b Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (2019-09-12).
"David French, Sohrab Ahmari, and the Battle for the Future of Conservatism" . The New Yorker .
ISSN
0028-792X . Retrieved 2019-09-12 .
^
"A Personal Message from FIRE President David French" . November 11, 2005. Retrieved June 1, 2016 .
^
"A Q & A with evangelical writer David French on Christian nationalism" . Washington Post .
ISSN
0190-8286 . Retrieved 2022-08-16 .
^ French, David (October 18, 2019).
"Farewell" . National Review .
^
"David French Joins The Times as an Opinion Columnist" . The New York Times Company . 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-03-18 .
^ David French (March 22, 2017).
"The Left Distorts Originalism to Attack Judge Gorsuch" .
National Review . Retrieved March 24, 2017 . Having failed to undermine Gorsuch's nomination on substantive grounds, liberals are now using a straw-man argument instead
^ Kirchick, James (2020-09-22).
"The Divisions That Are Destroying the Country" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-03-18 .
^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Douglas Perry | The (2020-09-08).
"Conservative intellectual David French fears secession but makes a strong case for it: 'Divided We Fall' review" . oregonlive . Retrieved 2023-03-18 .
^ Mastrangelo, Dominick (January 3, 2023).
"Conservative writer David French joining New York Times" . The Hill . Retrieved January 4, 2023 .
^
"Hundreds of Christian leaders denounce the Nashville Statement in an open letter," Human Rights Campaign, August 31, 2017
^ Williams, Hattie (1 September 2017).
"Nashville statement on sexuality prompts response from LGBT-supporting Christians" . Church Times .
Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017 .
^
"Evangelicals and the Nashville Statement: What is the point?" . Christian Today . 31 August 2017.
Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017 .
^ Beaty, Katelyn (31 August 2017).
"Why even conservative evangelicals are unhappy with the anti-LGBT Nashville Statement" . The Washington Post .
Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017 .
^ Keating, Joshua (2020-09-25).
"David French's New Book Arguing That the U.S. Will Break Apart Is Too Optimistic" . Slate .
ISSN
1091-2339 . Retrieved 2023-03-18 .
^
a
b French, David (November 21, 2022).
"Why I Changed My Mind About Law and Marriage, Again" . The Dispatch . Retrieved 2022-11-21 .
^
a
b
" 'National Review' Writer And Former Service Member On Defining Patriotism" . NPR.org . May 26, 2018.
^ Stanley, Paul (September 16, 2011).
"Nancy French Talks About Career as Mom, Wife and Bestselling Author" . Christian Post . Retrieved July 9, 2015 .
^ Bennett, James (June 18, 2016).
"David French came 'really close' to running for president" . The Daily Herald . Retrieved 20 June 2016 .
^
"Harassed On Twitter: 'People Need To Know The Reality Of What It's Like Out There' " .
NPR . October 26, 2016.
^
"Against David French-ism | Sohrab Ahmari" . First Things . 29 May 2019. Retrieved 2022-08-16 .
^ Ahmari, Sohrab (May 29, 2019).
"Against David French-ism" . First Things . Retrieved June 30, 2019 .
^ Coaston, Jane (2019-06-05).
"David French vs. Sohrab Ahmari and the battle dividing conservatives, explained" . Vox . Retrieved 2022-08-16 .
^ Halperin, Mark; Heilemann, John (May 31, 2016).
"Kristol Eyes Conservative Lawyer David French for Independent Presidential Run" . Bloomberg Politics. Retrieved May 31, 2016 .
^ French, David (June 8, 2021).
"How Can We Escape the COVID-19 Vaccine Culture Wars?" . Time . Retrieved September 13, 2022 .
^ Easley, Jonathan (June 5, 2016).
"Who is David French?" . The Hill . Retrieved June 5, 2016 .
^
"Tuesday, Nov. 10: National Review's David French Lecture" . Iowa State University. November 10, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2016 . [
permanent dead link ]
^ McDevitt, Caitlin (July 12, 2011).
"Meet Bristol Palin's ghostwriter" . Politico. Retrieved May 31, 2016 .
^
"Rise of ISIS" . USA Today . June 21, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2016 .
External links
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