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Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

tcaeditors@tribune.com

Cal Thomas is one of the most widely syndicated political columnists in America. Based in Washington, he is a wide-ranging social commentator, not a "beltway insider," who supports traditional conservative values and the American "can-do spirit." He'll take on virtually any topic, from the decline of the family to growing terrorism worldwide.
A syndicated columnist since 1984, he is the author of “America’s Expiration Date: The Fall of Empires, Superpowers and the United States” (HarperCollins/Zondervan, January 2020). His latest book is “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen in 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books, May 2023). Readers may email Mr. Thomas at tcaeditors@tribune.com.

Columns by Cal Thomas

The Capitol is illuminated by the rising sun in Washington, Wednesday, March 29, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Congressmen’s trust of colleagues builds over time

Tony Hall served in Congress for 24 years, representing Ohio's 3rd District. The Democrat left in 2002 to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, appointed by President George W. Bush.

March 29, 2017
Henry Sanchez, 18, is one of the students charged with rape. (Associated Press)

High school rape in Maryland shows need for tougher immigration policy

A rough translation of Maryland's state motto is "Strong Deeds, Gentle Words." In the case of a 14-year-old girl who was recently raped and sodomized in a restroom at Rockville High School by two males students, both immigrants, one facing a deportation hearing, that motto in practice has been reversed.

March 22, 2017
Obamacare Stain on the GOP Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Repealing Obamacare must be done by Congress

Readers of a certain age may recall ads for Ivory Soap, which claimed to be 99 and forty-four one-hundredths percent pure. If the soap could have reached 100 percent purity, the company would likely have made the claim.

March 20, 2017
Trump Budget Ax Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Trump budget will test Republican ideology

President Trump presents his first budget to Congress on Thursday. It is, as The Washington Post points out, "historic" because if adopted, it would be the biggest contraction in the federal government since the end of World War II. Predictably, a Post story focuses on the number of federal workers it estimates could lose their jobs, rather than on whether those jobs and the programs associated with them are necessary.

March 15, 2017
The Great Pumpkin Rises Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

War on poverty has been a failure

Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to spend $1.4 billion of New York's resources to solve the persistent problem of poverty in central Brooklyn. If he wins legislative approval, Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, intends to spend the money on affordable housing, job training, anti-violence programs, recreational space, even obesity. Some cynics suggest the proposal is targeted at boosting Mr. Cuomo's presidential prospects in 2020, but let's give him the benefit of the doubt and take his proposals seriously.

March 13, 2017
Illustration on CIA spying by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

WikiLeaks will show CIA undermining America

Most Americans, I suspect, have the attitude that if the government is spying on someone there is probably a good reason. In the latest document dump by WikiLeaks, Julian Assange's outfit may cause some to rethink that premise.

March 8, 2017
Illustration on Trump's economic performance versus claims of Russian scandal by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Donald Trump effect benefits retirees

Here are two scenarios. One: you are a retiree who in recent years has been concerned about the value of your stock portfolio. Suddenly, the value of your stocks and stock-based mutual funds surges, the Dow rising 1,000 points to record highs within weeks.

March 6, 2017
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House and Senate leadership, Wednesday, March 1, 2017, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Donald Trump speech shows president reinventing himself

For Republicans who have been concerned that President Trump has not been specific about his policies and about where he wants to take the country, Tuesday night's address to Congress and the nation was a welcome relief. For liberals, however, it was a problem precisely because he offered specifics.

March 1, 2017
Illustration on the inner workings of reporters by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

Toward better relations with the press

Before becoming a newspaper columnist I was a broadcast news reporter for local TV stations and occasionally appeared on the NBC radio and television networks. I have some experience at being on the receiving end of hostilities directed at the media.

February 27, 2017
Milo Yiannopoulos listens during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. Yiannopoulos has resigned as editor of Breitbart Tech after coming under fire from other conservatives over comments on sexual relationships between boys and older men. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Milo Yiannopoulos is not Ronald Reagan

I had never heard of Milo Yiannopoulos until recently, perhaps because I don't visit some of the websites where his musings are published.

February 22, 2017
Trump Relationship with the Main Stream Media Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Trump war with media escalates

The traditional media have decided not to take President Trump's insults lying down. After what may be the strongest -- and to his supporters -- most thrilling takedown of journalists by any president, Editor and Publisher magazine featured this headline: "Newspapers Aim to Ride 'Trump Bump' to Reach Readers, Advertisers."

February 20, 2017
President Donald Trump looks at Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as he speaks during a meeting with parents and teachers, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Betsy DeVos may save U.S. education

American public school students fall well behind students around the world in math and science proficiency. This is not debatable. According to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, both cited in The New York Times in 2012, "Fourth- and eighth-grade students in the United States continue to lag behind students in several East Asian countries and some European nations in math and science, although American fourth-graders are closer to the top performers in reading."

February 15, 2017
President Donald Trump speaks in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017. The Associated Press has learned that another nonprofit organization is rejecting federal grant money to fight against violent extremism under President Donald Trump's administration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Mainstream media blames all except themselves

Since Donald Trump's election, the major media have been trying to figure out what they did wrong, given their fawning coverage of Hillary Clinton and their anti-Trump stories. Didn't they help twice elect Barack Obama? Why didn't the formula work this time?

February 8, 2017
President Donald Trump salutes a Marines honor guard as he disembarks from Marine One upon arrival at the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 6, 2017 from a trip to Florida. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Repealing Johnson Amendment may be unwise

At the National Prayer Breakfast last week, President Trump promised to "totally destroy" the so-called Johnson Amendment, a law that prohibits churches from endorsing or opposing political candidates at the risk of losing their tax-exempt status.

February 6, 2017
Illustration on the current wave of protests by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

The left’s narrative

Just days into the Trump administration, the left's narrative is clear. First, it was that Donald Trump is an "illegitimate" president because he didn't win the popular vote, claims about "voter fraud" notwithstanding.

February 1, 2017
Passing the Torch Illustration by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

Donald Trump’s rhetoric and reality

President Trump's inaugural address may not have risen to the rhetorical level of John F. Kennedy ("The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans" and "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"), or Ronald Reagan's critique of government ("Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem"), or even Barack Obama's in 2009 ("On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord"), but the speech set out large goals, many details of which are yet to be revealed.

January 23, 2017