Cal Thomas

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

Preserving freedom for future generations illustration by The Washington Times

When the going gets tough, will our younger generation fight or flee?

The line at the post office was long, so the woman in front of me decided to turn around and start a conversation. Published March 16, 2022

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, of Calif., speaks to the media, Thursday, March 3, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Biden and Congress taking U.S. deeper and deeper into debt

In his State of the Union address, President Biden claimed he would be "the only president to ever cut the deficit by more than $1 trillion in a single year." Published March 14, 2022

Illustration on the fossil fuels basis for existing green energy by Alexander Hunter/The Washington times

Time to abandon the ‘Green New Deal’

While many environmentalists want to wean us from fossil fuels in favor of green energy, the problem for them -- and the rest of us -- is that fossil fuels are in virtually everything we buy and need. Published March 9, 2022

In this image provided by the White House, President Joe Biden listens during a secure video call with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the Situation Room at the White House Monday, March 7, 2022, in Washington. (Adam Schultz/The White House via AP)

What is Team Biden’s foreign policy?

Oh, for the good old days of the Soviet Union. America's foreign policy and goals were clear then: Containment and opposition to communist expansion. Published March 7, 2022

President Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Washington. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)

Biden’s unspectacular State of the Union address

When a president's poll numbers are tanking, he needed to do something spectacular, even radical, to keep him from sinking further. Published March 2, 2022

Bob Beckel (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Bob Beckel and me: An odd couple

As often happens among the political class in Washington, we met on television debating each other. I liked Bob Beckel immediately, despite our political and even religious differences. Published February 28, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near the Kremlin Wall during the national celebrations of the 'Defender of the Fatherland Day' in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. The Defenders of the Fatherland Day, celebrated in Russia on Feb. 23, honors the nation's military and is a nationwide holiday. (Alexei Nikolsky, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Dictators like Putin and Hitler only know power, resolve and resistance

Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine under several pretexts reminds me of Adolf Hitler's rationale for invading and annexing Sudetenland in 1938. Published February 23, 2022

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during the New York State Democratic Convention in New York, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Mayor Eric Adams is half right about race in media

It is usually Republicans who blast the media for what they consider biased or unfair coverage of their policies. Published February 21, 2022

John Durham Investigation Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Durham’s filings prove Trump was right

"Dirty tricks" was a term used to describe the behavior of operatives within the Nixon administration to smear the reputations of opponents and undermine the appeal of certain politicians. Published February 16, 2022

FILE - Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs an executive order establishing K through 12 lab schools while surrounded by children and educators at the Capitol, Jan. 27, 2022, in Richmond, Va. On Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, the Supreme Court of Virginia rejected a petition from parents that sought to invalidate Youngkin's executive order prohibiting school systems from enforcing mask mandates in the classroom. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Time for Republicans to focus on educational issues

The Virginia election of Republican Glenn Youngkin and Winsome Sears as governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, provides a great opportunity for the Republican Party if it will seize the moment and expand on it. Published February 14, 2022

Illustration on the power of the news (mainstream media) to ignore illegal immigration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Mainstream media chooses not to cover southern border crisis

The power to ignore is still the greatest power major media has, and few issues demonstrate that more than the trouble at our southern border. Published February 9, 2022

Illustration on bad anti-crime policy by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

The real cause behind the rise in crime

While President Biden and local officials keep talking about causes for the rise in crime, proposing "solutions" that have failed in the past, the real reason for its escalation is deeper than what we see on the surface. Published February 7, 2022

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in an undated file photo. (Associated Press photograph) **FILE**

Trump should stop attacking Pence

Former President Donald Trump has further - if that's possible - undistinguished himself by again attacking his vice president, Mike Pence. Published February 2, 2022

Police officers carry the casket of slain NYPD Officer Jason Rivera out of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Friday, January 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

Democrats allowing violence and anarchy to consume America

Trust in government has been declining since the administration of President Lyndon Johnson. Published January 31, 2022

The Capitol is seen in Washington, early Friday, Dec. 17, 2021, after President Joe Biden said last night he was unable to come to an agreement with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a centrist Democrat vital to the fate of the Democrat's expansive social and environment bill. Democrats suffered another blow to their agenda late Thursday when the Senate parliamentarian decided that hard-fought efforts to include immigration law changes should be stripped from the package because they don't comply with the chamber's rules. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Forget bipartisanship, let’s just win the argument

In certain circles -- but not on cable networks or in fundraising letters -- one continues to hear talk about bipartisanship and "reaching across the aisle." Published January 26, 2022

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to a reporter at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades) **FILE**

McConnell deconstructs Biden

The art of deconstructing an argument by refutation and holding a person accountable for previous statements that the person now contradicts was once an honored tradition. Published January 24, 2022

Illustration on the Texas synagogue terror attack by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

A rabbi, a terrorist and the FBI

Is a terrorist a terrorist only when a law enforcement officer or politician says he is? Published January 19, 2022

Joe Biden's Lie Detector Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Biden’s lying lips

How do you know when a politician is lying? Answer: when his lips are moving. It's an old joke, but it fits the Biden administration. Published January 17, 2022

FILE - New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a news conference in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. The new mayor is seeking approval from city ethics officers to hire his brother as the head of his security detail. Adams has brought on his brother Bernard Adams, a former New York police officer who was most recently as the assistant director for parking at Virginia Commonwealth University, to serve as the executive director of mayoral security. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Mayor Eric Adams’ New York: No longer ‘Fun City’

The optimism surrounding New York City's new mayor, Eric Adams, seems to be quickly eroding due to several self-inflicted political wounds. Published January 12, 2022

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union and supporters stage a car caravan protest outside City Hall in the Loop, Jan. 5, 2022. Talks between Chicago school leaders and the teachers union resumed Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022 amid a standoff over remote learning and other COVID-19 safety measures. The situation looms over the start of a second week of school after three days of canceled classes in the nation’s third-largest district. (Ashlee Rezin /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Breaking the power of the teachers unions and the public school monopoly

For the third straight day last week, the Chicago Teachers Union canceled classes, choosing to return to virtual learning and citing dangers from the Omicron variant as their excuse. Published January 10, 2022