David French

Last updated

David French
David French by Gage Skidmore.jpg
French in 2012
Born
David Austin French

(1969-01-24) January 24, 1969 (age 55)
Opelika, Alabama, U.S.
Education Lipscomb University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
Political party Republican (before 2018)
Independent (2018–present)
Spouse Nancy Anderson
Military career
Service / branch United States Army
Years of service2007–2014
Rank Major
Unit Judge Advocate General's Corps
Battles / wars Iraq War
Awards Bronze Star Medal [1]

David Austin French (born January 24, 1969) is an American political commentator and former attorney. He was formerly a fellow at the National Review Institute and a staff writer for National Review from 2015 to 2019. French is a former senior editor of The Dispatch , a visiting professor of public policy at Lipscomb University, and a columnist for The New York Times .

Contents

Early life and education

French was born on January 24, 1969, in Opelika, Alabama. His parents were students at nearby Auburn University. [2] He grew up in Georgetown, Kentucky. [3]

French graduated from Lipscomb University in 1991 with a B.A., summa cum laude . [4] [5] He then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1994 with a Juris Doctor, cum laude. [6] [7] [8]

Career

French has served as a senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom, [9] has lectured at Cornell Law School, and spent much of his career working on religious rights issues. [10] He served as president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), now known as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). [7] French retired from FIRE in 2005, citing plans to serve in the United States Army Reserve as a judge-advocate general officer. [11] [12] He left the legal practice in 2015, and became a staff writer for National Review from 2015 to 2019, [13] [14] and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute. [15]

French has authored several books, [7] including the non-fiction Divided We Fall (2020). [16] [17]

French is a former senior editor of The Dispatch , [18] and occasionally a contributing writer for The Atlantic . French is a distinguished visiting professor of public policy at Lipscomb University, his alma mater. [19]

French became a New York Times columnist in January 2023. [18]

LGBTQ 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-LGBTQ Christians and LGBTQ 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. [7] 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, his wife, and his 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 views. [31] [32]

Personal life

French is married to author Nancy French. [33] He and his family live in Franklin, Tennessee. [34] They have three children, including a daughter adopted from Ethiopia. [35]

French was until 2024 a member of the Presbyterian Church in America. Due to conflicts with his church and its members over political issues, and after personal attacks against him and his family, they switched to another church in Nashville. [36]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Robertson</span> American media mogul and minister (1930–2023)

Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson was an American media mogul, televangelist, political commentator, presidential candidate, and charismatic minister. Robertson advocated a conservative Christian ideology and was known for his involvement in Republican Party politics. He was associated with the Charismatic movement within Protestant evangelicalism. He served as head of Regent University and of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).

<i>National Review</i> American editorial magazine

National Review is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich Lowry, and its editor is Ramesh Ponnuru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lipscomb University</span> Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, US

Lipscomb University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville; it also maintains one satellite location called "Spark" in Downtown Nashville to serve the business community. Total student enrollment for the fall 2022 semester was 4,704, which included 2,955 undergraduate students and 1,749 graduate students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hitchens</span> English journalist and author (born 1951)

Peter Jonathan Hitchens is a British conservative author, broadcaster, journalist, and commentator. He writes for The Mail on Sunday and was a foreign correspondent reporting from both Moscow and Washington, D.C. Peter Hitchens has contributed to The Spectator, The American Conservative, The Guardian, First Things, Prospect, and the New Statesman. His books include The Abolition of Britain, The Rage Against God, The War We Never Fought and The Phoney Victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erick Erickson</span> American radio host and blogger

Erick Woods Erickson is an American conservative talk radio host, blogger, and former politician. He hosts a three-hour weekday talk show on WSB 95.5 FM and 750 AM in Atlanta, which is syndicated to other radio stations around the U.S. He also writes a political blog called The Resurgent. Prior to this, he was editor-in-chief and CEO of another conservative political blog called RedState. He was a political contributor for CNN from 2010 to 2013, and afterwards was a contributor to the Fox News Channel before leaving the network in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Sekulow</span> American attorney (born 1956)

Jay Alan Sekulow is an American lawyer, radio, television talk show host and politically conservative media personality. He has been chief counsel of the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) since 1991. As a member of President Donald Trump's legal team, he served as lead outside counsel for Trump's first impeachment trial in the United States Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Henry College</span> Private Conservative Christian college in Purcellville, Virginia

Patrick Henry College (PHC) is a private liberal arts non-denominational conservative Protestant Christian college located in Purcellville, Virginia. Its departments teach classical liberal arts, government, strategic intelligence in national security, economics and business analytics, history, journalism, environmental science and stewardship, and literature. The university has full accreditation from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS-COC) as of 2022. Patrick Henry College continues to be accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), which is also recognized as an institutional accreditor by the United States Department of Education. Its graduation rate is 67%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Lipscomb</span> Leader, American Restoration Movement (1831–1917)

David Lipscomb was a minister, editor, and educator in the American Restoration Movement and one of the leaders of that movement, which, by 1906, had formalized a division into the Church of Christ and the Christian Church. James A. Harding and David Lipscomb founded the Nashville Bible School, now known as Lipscomb University in honor of the latter.

<i>First Things</i> American ecumenical and conservative religious and political journal

First Things (FT) is a journal aimed at "advanc[ing] a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society", focusing on theology, liturgy, history of religion, church history, culture, education, society, politics, literature, book reviews, and poetry. First Things is inter-religious, inter-denominational and ecumenical, especially Christian and Jewish. It articulates Christian ecumenism, Christian–Jewish dialogue, erudite social and political conservatism and a critique of contemporary society.

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to expand Christian religious liberties and practices within public schools and in government, outlaw abortion, and oppose LGBTQ rights. ADF is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, with branch offices in several locations including Washington, D.C., and New York. Its international subsidiary, Alliance Defending Freedom International, with headquarters in Vienna, Austria, operates in over 100 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood</span> Evangelical Christian organization

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) is an evangelical Christian organization promoting a complementarian view of gender issues. According to its website, the "mission of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is to set forth the teachings of the Bible about the complementary differences between men and women, created equally in the image of God, because these teachings are essential for obedience to Scripture and for the health of the family and the church." CBMW's current president is Dr. Denny Burk, a professor of biblical studies at Boyce College and director for The Center for Gospel and Culture at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Its 2017 "Nashville Statement" was criticized by egalitarian Christians and LGBT campaigners, as well as by several conservative religious figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert P. George</span> American legal scholar and political philosopher (born 1955)

Robert Peter George is an American legal scholar, political philosopher, and public intellectual who serves as the sixth McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He lectures on constitutional interpretation, civil liberties, philosophy of law, and political philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Murray (author)</span> British author and political commentator (born 1979)

Douglas Murray is a British neoconservative political commentator, cultural critic, and journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Dreher</span> American journalist

Ray Oliver Dreher Jr., known as Rod Dreher, is an American conservative writer and editor living in Hungary. He was a columnist with The American Conservative for 12 years, ending in March 2023, and remains an editor-at-large there. He is also author of several books, including How Dante Can Save Your Life, The Benedict Option, and Live Not by Lies. He has written about religion, politics, film, and culture in National Review and National Review Online, The Weekly Standard, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications.

<i>The Daily Telegraph</i> British daily broadsheet newspaper

The Daily Telegraph, known online and elsewhere as The Telegraph, is a British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as The Daily Telegraph and Courier. The Telegraph is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", was included in its emblem which was used for over a century starting in 1858.

Michael Scott Doran is an American analyst of the international politics of the Middle East. He is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. He was previously a senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. He has been a visiting professor at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. Prior to that, he was an assistant professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University and taught at the University of Central Florida. He was appointed to the National Security Council and was also deputy assistant secretary for public diplomacy at the U.S. Department of Defense under the George W. Bush administration. Doran supported the invasion of Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzannah Lipscomb</span> British historian and television presenter

Suzannah Rebecca Gabriella Lipscomb is a British historian and professor emerita at the University of Roehampton, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Higher Education Academy and the Society of Antiquaries, and has for many years contributed a regular column to History Today. She has written and edited a number of books, presented numerous historical documentaries on TV and is host of the Not Just the Tudors podcast from History Hit. She is also a royal historian for NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sohrab Ahmari</span> Iranian-American writer and journalist (born 1985)

Sohrab Ahmari is an Iranian-American columnist, editor, and author of nonfiction books. He is a founding editor of the online magazine Compact. He is a contributing editor of The Catholic Herald, and a columnist for First Things. Previously, he served as the op-ed editor of the New York Post, an editor with The Wall Street Journal opinion pages in New York and London, and as a senior writer at Commentary.

Nancy Jane Anderson French is an American writer. She is known for co-writing or ghostwriting books with public figures, including Ben Sasse, Sean Lowe, Bob Fu, Alice Marie Johnson, Shawn Johnson, Richard Lui, and Sarah Palin.

The Nashville Statement is an evangelical Christian statement of faith relating to human sexuality and gender roles authored by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) in Nashville, Tennessee in 2017. The Statement expresses support for marriage between one man and one woman, for faithfulness within marriage, for chastity outside marriage, and for a link between biological sex and "self-conception as male and female". The Statement sets forth the signatories' opposition to LGBT sexuality, same-sex marriage, polygamy, polyamory, adultery, and fornication. It was criticized by egalitarian Christians and LGBT activists, and several conservative religious figures.

References

  1. ↑ Corbett, Erin (May 31, 2016). "Who Is David French? Bill Kristol Has Suggested a Third-Party Candidate to Run against Trump". Bustle. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  2. ↑ French, David (July 22, 2020). "Episode 414: Religious Power vs. Religious Liberty with David French". Holy Post Podcast (Podcast). Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Life as an open book". Lipscomb University.
  4. ↑ "David French Mediation Attorney – Child Custody Mediation Attorney in Kentucky". Mediation. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Lipscomb Conversations program discusses threats to national community Oct. 4 |". www.lipscomb.edu. September 30, 2005.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Moore, Jack (June 1, 2016). "Who Is David French, the Third-Party Conservative Who Might Be Running for President?". GQ.
  8. ↑ Olasky, Marvin. "A patriot's perspective - WORLD". world.wng.org.
  9. ↑ Morrow, Brendan (May 31, 2016). "David French: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  10. ↑ Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (September 12, 2019). "David French, Sohrab Ahmari, and the Battle for the Future of Conservatism". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  11. ↑ "A Personal Message from FIRE President David French". November 11, 2005. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  12. ↑ "A Q & A with evangelical writer David French on Christian nationalism". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  13. ↑ French, David (October 18, 2019). "Farewell". National Review.
  14. ↑ "David French Joins The Times as an Opinion Columnist". The New York Times Company. January 3, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  15. ↑ 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
  16. ↑ Kirchick, James (September 22, 2020). "The Divisions That Are Destroying the Country". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  17. ↑ Oregonian/OregonLive, Douglas Perry | The (September 8, 2020). "Conservative intellectual David French fears secession but makes a strong case for it: 'Divided We Fall' review". oregonlive. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  18. 1 2 Mastrangelo, Dominick (January 3, 2023). "Conservative writer David French joining New York Times". The Hill. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  19. ↑ Lathan, Angele (August 31, 2023). "Lipscomb University taps conservative columnist David French as visiting professor". The Tennessean. Gannett. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Hundreds of Christian leaders denounce the Nashville Statement in an open letter," Human Rights Campaign, August 31, 2017
  21. ↑ Williams, Hattie (September 1, 2017). "Nashville statement on sexuality prompts response from LGBT-supporting Christians". Church Times. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Evangelicals and the Nashville Statement: What is the point?". Christian Today. August 31, 2017. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  23. ↑ Beaty, Katelyn (August 31, 2017). "Why even conservative evangelicals are unhappy with the anti-LGBT Nashville Statement". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  24. ↑ Keating, Joshua (September 25, 2020). "David French's New Book Arguing That the U.S. Will Break Apart Is Too Optimistic". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  25. 1 2 French, David (November 21, 2022). "Why I Changed My Mind About Law and Marriage, Again". The Dispatch. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  26. 1 2 "'National Review' Writer And Former Service Member On Defining Patriotism". NPR.org. May 26, 2018.
  27. ↑ Stanley, Paul (September 16, 2011). "Nancy French Talks About Career as Mom, Wife and Bestselling Author". Christian Post. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  28. ↑ Bennett, James (June 18, 2016). "David French came 'really close' to running for president". The Daily Herald. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Harassed On Twitter: 'People Need To Know The Reality Of What It's Like Out There'". NPR. October 26, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Against David French-ism | Sohrab Ahmari". First Things. May 29, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  31. ↑ Ahmari, Sohrab (May 29, 2019). "Against David French-ism". First Things. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  32. ↑ Coaston, Jane (June 5, 2019). "David French vs. Sohrab Ahmari and the battle dividing conservatives, explained". Vox. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  33. ↑ Halperin, Mark; Heilemann, John (May 31, 2016). "Kristol Eyes Conservative Lawyer David French for Independent Presidential Run". Bloomberg Politics. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  34. ↑ French, David (June 8, 2021). "How Can We Escape the COVID-19 Vaccine Culture Wars?". Time. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  35. ↑ Easley, Jonathan (June 5, 2016). "Who is David French?". The Hill. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  36. ↑ French, David (June 9, 2024). "The Day My Old Church Canceled Me Was a Very Sad Day". New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  37. ↑ "Tuesday, Nov. 10: National Review's David French Lecture". Iowa State University. November 10, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  38. ↑ McDevitt, Caitlin (July 12, 2011). "Meet Bristol Palin's ghostwriter". Politico. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Rise of ISIS". USA Today. June 21, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.