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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

Education Quality Harmed by the Teachers Union Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Betsy DeVos wants school choice

Some years ago a friend of mine wrote a book titled "The Seven Last Words of the Church, or, We've Never Tried It That Way Before." It is about what he regarded as the entrenched bureaucracies in his denomination that are reluctant -- even hostile -- to change.

January 18, 2017
Dr. Ben Carson (Associated Press)

Ben Carson as role model

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Dr. Ben Carson, secretary of housing and urban development-designate, told a story. He said his mother was a domestic who cleaned beautiful homes. One day she asked him if he would rather live in those nice houses or the house in which he and his brother lived in Detroit.

January 16, 2017
Losing Credibility in "Flyover Country" Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Meryl Streep behaves as if elected to office

Meryl Streep has played many roles in her long career and holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations of any actor. Among her portrayals was British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. At the Golden Globe Awards Sunday night, Miss Streep behaved as if she actually had been elected to high office, entitling her to mount a high horse.

January 11, 2017
Illustration on the U. S. history of meddling in international affairs by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Russian hacking and glass houses

Many top U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a secret intelligence operation for the purpose of discrediting Hillary Clinton, thereby helping Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election.

January 9, 2017
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a weekly cabinet meeting, in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. (Gali Tibbon/Pool photo via AP)

John Kerry’s two-faced Israel solution

In his recent speech excoriating Israel for refusing to commit suicide by allowing a sworn enemy to have a state adjoining the Jewish state, Secretary of State John Kerry claimed the U.S. government "did not draft or originate" the U.N. resolution critical of Israeli "settlements."

January 2, 2017
Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016. Stepping into a raging diplomatic argument, Kerry staunchly defended the Obama administration's decision to allow the U.N. Security Council to declare Israeli settlements illegal and warned that Israel's very future as a democracy is at stake. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Obama abandons Israel

A headline that would become famous appeared in the New York Daily News in October 1975 after President Gerald Ford denied federal assistance to spare the city from bankruptcy. It read: "Ford to City: Drop Dead."

December 28, 2016
Illustration on radicalized refugees by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

More terror, more denial

Recent terrorist attacks in Ankara, Turkey, and Berlin, Germany, add to a growing list of incidents that are becoming increasingly difficult to remember. Does one begin the list with the plane hijackings in the '60s and '70s, or the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, or the USS Cole attack in 2000, or the second World Trade Center attack in 2001, or Ft. Hood, San Bernardino, Orlando, Paris or Nice? And that's not all of them, nor will it be the end of them, if we don't have a better response.

December 26, 2016
In this Oct. 18, 2011, file photo, traffic passes the New York Times building, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Faking the news

Mainstream media are suddenly concerned about "fake news." It used to be that phony stories were easy to spot. They usually focused on space aliens or mysterious creatures found wandering deep in the woods. My personal favorite in this genre was a 1992 "story" in the supermarket tabloid Weekly World News that claimed the bones of Adam and Eve had been discovered in Colorado.

December 14, 2016
Vice President-elect Mike Pence speaks at the Indiana Governor's Luncheon for Scouting in Indianapolis, Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Mike Pence’s take on the Trump mandate

When Mike Pence becomes the 48th vice president of the United States next month, he will take on the role of a political lobbyist for Donald Trump's activist agenda.

December 12, 2016
Illustration on Donald Trump, Israel and Middle East Peace by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

U.S.-Israel relations on the mend

The consensus in Israel is that the relationship between the Jewish state and the United States is going to improve in a Trump administration, says former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Zalman Shoval.

December 7, 2016
Illustration on the Pearl harbor attack by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Remembering Pearl Harbor at 75

Only five of the 335 men who survived the unprovoked attack that sunk the USS Arizona on Dec. 7, 1941 remain alive. Donald Stratton, 94, is one of them. He has added to the historical knowledge of that day and the beginning of America's entry into World War II in a new book, "All the Gallant Men: The First Memoir by a USS Arizona Survivor."

December 5, 2016
John Bolton, President Trump's incoming National Security adviser, also served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. (Associated Press/File)

John Bolton should be secretary of state

President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering seriously at least two men for the critical position of secretary of state. One, former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has divided the Trump team between those who think it is a good idea and those who think Mr. Romney's severe criticism of Mr. Trump during the campaign disqualifies him.

November 30, 2016
Illustration on the Castor era by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

The left’s love affair with Fidel Castro

In a statement following the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, President Obama spoke of "the countless ways in which [Castro] altered the course of individual lives, families, and of the Cuban nation."

November 28, 2016
KT McFarland Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

‘Hamilton,’ Donald Trump and diversity

President-elect Donald Trump says Brandon Victor Dixon, the actor who currently plays Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical "Hamilton," should apologize for his tacky lecturing of Vice-President-elect Mike Pence about diversity and the "fear" of people like himself, an African-American, about a Trump-Pence administration.

November 23, 2016
Hands and Heart Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

‘Black America Since MLK’

That race continues to be a major source of anxiety and division in America is an undeniable fact. While some politicians continue to use race to divide, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. is trying again to bridge the gap in his latest Public Broadcasting Service documentary series "Black America Since MLK."

November 21, 2016
Crybaby Diapered Democrats Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Democrats must deal with Donald Trump’s victory

Three years ago when Republicans were battling President Obama over the debt ceiling and a government shutdown, the president said, "You don't like a particular policy or a particular president? Then argue for your position. Go out there and win an election."

November 16, 2016
Illustration on the Left's attempts to adulterate a Trump presidency by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Advising Donald Trump

It didn't take long. Journalists, editorial writers and columnists who hate Donald Trump and consistently opposed his election are now advising him what not to do.

November 14, 2016