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

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

Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from Harvey, Louisiana is covered with confetti as she celebrates winning the finals of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee at Disney World Thursday, July 8, 2021, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Zaila Avant-garde and the Bee

By any standard, Zaila Avant-garde is a remarkable 14-year-old girl with a positive and compelling outlook on life. Published July 14, 2021

U.S. Army Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, center, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, left, and Abdullah Abdullah, head of Afghanistan's National Reconciliation Council, right, attend at a ceremony where Miller relinquished his command, at Resolute Support headquarters, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 12, 2021. The United States is a step closer to ending a 20-year military presence that became known as its &quot;forever war,&quot; as Taliban insurgents continue to gain territory across the country. (AP Photo/Ahmad Seir)

Was America’s Afghanistan investment worth it?

Retirement plans warn of a "penalty for early withdrawal." Might that also apply to the withdrawal of American and NATO forces from Afghanistan? Published July 12, 2021

Illustration on the Supreme Court and freedom of worship by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

Supreme Court confuses religious grounds while destroying traditional values

Is there anyone who can say what is always right and always wrong and present an unchanging standard by which all behavior can be judged? Published July 7, 2021

White House press secretary Jen Psaki listens to a question during a press briefing at the White House, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Psaki’s word games belie Dems’ defund the police mantra

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is channeling the line of the day from Democrats who want to divert attention from Democratic mayors and city councils across the country. Published July 5, 2021

Illustration on government unemployment checks by Linas Garsys/The Washington times

Human nature and stopping government unemployment checks

Books and articles -- scientific as well as theological -- have been written on human nature. Still, most people don't understand it, or refuse to learn from it, or worse, play to its dark side. Published June 30, 2021

Vice President Kamala Harris talks to the media after stepping off Air Force Two, Friday, June 25, 2021, on arrival to El Paso, Texas. Harris will visit the U.S. southern border as part of her role leading the Biden administration's response to a steep increase in migration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Biden-Harris administration takes lying about migrants at the border to a new level

All politicians tell lies, but the Biden-Harris administration is taking lies to a new level. They now want us to disbelieve what we can see. Published June 28, 2021

Iran's new President-elect Ebrahim Raisi waves to participants at the conclusion of his press conference in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 21, 2021. Raisi said Monday he wouldn't meet with President Joe Biden nor negotiate over Tehran's ballistic missile program and its support of regional militias, sticking to a hard-line position following his landslide victory in last week's election. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Biden’s dangerous game with Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran, as it calls itself, is not a republic, but it is Islamic. Published June 23, 2021

In this Aug. 18, 2017, file photo, a statue of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest sits in a park in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz, File)

Democrats need a day of atonement for deplorable civil rights record

With the creation of June 19th ("Juneteenth") as a federal holiday, Democrats have one more claim to be the party of civil rights, but the facts say otherwise. Published June 21, 2021

Liberals politicize schools and children illustration by The Washington Times

New Jersey school district foolishly eliminates names of ‘all religious and secular holidays’

No more Christmas, Hanukkah, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, or even Indigenous Peoples Day (formerly known as Columbus Day). Published June 16, 2021

Illustration on scandals in the Southern Baptist Convention by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Dysfunctional Southern Baptists: Repent!

Cover-ups of sexual misconduct, allegations of racism and intimidation of those who wish to speak their minds but can't for fear of losing their jobs. It sounds like the dysfunctional ways of the world, doesn't it? Published June 14, 2021