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

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi gestures as she speaks at Goodwin University Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, in East Hartford, Conn. Pelosi was on hand to discuss the expanded Biden Child Tax Credit. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

For Democrats, ideology and party control trumps policy success

Some people prefer power to positive outcomes. It's all about control. Published September 22, 2021

California Vacancy Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Californians are voting with their feet and moving

Forget what you hear most pundits saying about last week's recall election that failed to unseat California Governor Gavin Newsom. Published September 20, 2021

Illustration on love for America by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Is hate winning in America?

Increasingly in public schools and many universities, students are taught about America's past faults, as if this is the prism through which all of us must see a country we were once taught to love. Published September 15, 2021

Cutting Pelosi's Budget Illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Accepting the challenge to cut Pelosi’s $3.5 trillion spending spree

Responding to Democrats in her party who are troubled by the massive $3.5 trillion spending bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked a question: "Where would you cut?" Published September 13, 2021

Illustration on terrorism and U.S. attacks after Afghanistan by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

The next terrorist attack: It’s not a matter of if, it’s when

For 20 years since Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. presidents have been saying their anti-terrorism policies have worked, as evidenced by no new attacks on America. Published September 8, 2021

Illustration on the Fourth Amendment and abortion by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Is abortion the cause of our decadent culture, or a reflection of it?

In the matter of a new Texas law banning abortions six weeks after gestation, when a fetal heartbeat can usually be detected by vaginal ultrasound, suppose the headlines had been different? Published September 7, 2021

This January 30, 1933 file photo shows the ministers of the new cabinet of Germany's new Chancellor Adolf Hitler in Berlin. Front row from left to right: Hermann Goering, Adolf Hitler, Franz von Papen. Second row standing from right to left are: Alfred Hugenberg, Werner von Blomberg, Wilhelm Frick, Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, Paul Freiherr Eltz von Ruebenach and Franz Beldte. A Geneva businessman says he has purchased Adolf Hitler's top hat and other Nazi memorabilia to keep them out of the hands of neo-Nazis and will donate them to a Jewish group. (AP Photo)

‘Modern Times’ reminds us that history is full of lessons we never fully learn

There once were summertimes when the living was easy, as the song from the Broadway musical "Porgy and Bess" melodically reminds us. Published September 1, 2021

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, appearing before a joint session of Congress termed as unprovoked and dastardly the attack by Japan upon Hawaii and the Philippines and asked for an immediate declaration of war, Dec. 8, 1941. (AP Photo)

Compared to FDR and JFK, Biden demonstrates faithlessness, unreliability and weakness

In his address following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke from a position of strength. Mr. Biden speaks about Afghanistan from a position of weakness. Published August 30, 2021

Importance of School Choice Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

U.S. must expand school choice

When I was in public school, a TV ad asked: "It's 10 o'clock Do you know where your children are?" Published August 25, 2021

Illustration on Afghanistan's ripple effect by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

Afghanistan’s ripple effect: America’s global standing diminished

What has happened in Afghanistan will not stay in Afghanistan but will have a ripple effect throughout the region and beyond. Published August 23, 2021

Illustration on Biden and responsibility for Afghanistan by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Biden’s shameful Afghanistan surrender

President Biden interrupted his Camp David retreat to return to the White House for a speech in which he blamed the Trump administration for its failed policies relating to Afghanistan. Published August 18, 2021

Illustration on President Biden's wrong-way foreign policy by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Biden has been wrong on every major foreign policy decision in last 4 decades

You have to give President Biden credit for consistency. Unfortunately, he has been consistently wrong. Published August 16, 2021

Crises and Lost Liberties from COVID-19 and Climate Change Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

COVID-19 and climate change are being used to steal our liberties

If a crisis is a terrible thing to waste, how terrible would it be to waste two simultaneous crises? Published August 11, 2021

Illustration on the new American 'political weenie' by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

DeSantis is standing up to Biden and his political weenies

They have been called many things: amoebas, spineless cowards, weaklings, and other names not suitable for print in a family newspaper. Published August 9, 2021

Ostrich Joe Biden and the immigration border crisis (Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times)

Biden should be impeached for his open borders policy

Semantics are important for how we communicate and define issues. One who controls words controls the narrative. Published August 4, 2021

Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), listens during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing , Tuesday, July 20, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Stefani Reynolds/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Questioning the CDC’s credibility with latest COVID-19 panic

Why get vaccinated if you must behave like those who have not been vaccinated? Published August 2, 2021

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry gestures as he poses during a photo opportunity with Italian Minister for Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani, at Palazzo Reale in Naples, Italy, Friday, July 23, 2021, where a G20 meeting on environment, climate and energy is under way. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

Wrong predictions don’t deter John Kerry and his climate scare fortune tellers

To some, climate change proponents are little more than modern-day soothsayers that media continues to legitimize, even when their dire predictions of global catastrophe turn out to be not so dire. Published July 29, 2021

FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2021 file photo, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Fla. Noem initially appeared eager to deliver what looked like an easy win for social conservatives. South Dakota's GOP-led legislature passed a bill banning transgender women and girls participating in women's sports leagues, and the Republican governor declared herself “excited to sign” the bill. But Noem’s enthusiasm faded surprisingly fast and she came up with a “partial veto&quot; to exclude collegiate athletics. (AP Photo/John Raoux, file)

Kristi Noem: A rising star in the conservative movement

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem likes to present herself as a "normal everyday" person "who enjoys life." Published July 26, 2021

Illustration on Cuba under communism by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Cuba Libre! and the left

People on the far left have become so predictable that their statements are no longer "breaking news." Published July 21, 2021

FILE - In this May 11, 2021 file photo, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing to examine an update from Federal officials on efforts to combat COVID-19, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Fauci said Sunday, July 11 it is entirely conceivable, maybe likely that Americans will need a third booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming months, but it was too soon for the government to recommend that now. Fauci, who is President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration did the right thing last week by pushing back against drugmaker Pfizers assertion about a booster within 12 months. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via AP, File)

How COVID-19 misinformation was spread by the ‘experts’

Two U.S. presidents, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Dr. Rochelle Walensky have all made statements which, they claimed were accurate and based on science, but turned out to be inaccurate. Published July 19, 2021