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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

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

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

Donald Trump’s chance to change the narrative

Donald Trump's impressive victory in Tuesday's election offers him a rare opportunity to change the narrative.

November 9, 2016

Donald Trump is an opportunity to go in a different direction

As a former "Never Trump-er," I have been interested in others who have converted, however reluctantly, if not into Trump supporters, then pragmatic accepters of Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton. Call us ever-Trump-ers.

November 7, 2016

The final speech Donald Trump should make

If Donald Trump wants to win this election and thwart the attempt by the corrupt Clintons to acquire the White House again, he must close the deal with persuadable voters in a nationally televised address.

November 2, 2016

Hillary Clinton’s new FBI investigation could discover corruption has always been there

I love definitions because they help focus the mind.

October 31, 2016

If undecided voters listen to Donald Trump, they will like what they hear

Last Saturday, Donald Trump delivered a speech in Gettysburg, Pa., that he should have given much earlier in the campaign, minus the usual threats against women who have accused him of sexual assault.

October 26, 2016

Dirty tricks: Then and now

Students of the Watergate era (or those old enough to have lived through it) will recall the "dirty tricks" played by Richard Nixon's henchmen, most notably Donald Segretti. Mr. Segretti, who was hired by Nixon's deputy assistant, Dwight Chapin, was tasked with smearing Democrats, including 1972 presidential candidate Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine.

October 24, 2016

The Bernie Sanders effect

Many millennials are OK with socialism, even communism, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

October 19, 2016

Hillary Clinton’s corruption and collusion

Modern journalists have little in common with those I was privileged to know when I was a copyboy at NBC News in Washington in the '60s.

October 17, 2016

Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump fighting distracts from issues

Not since George and Martha in the play "Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" or for older readers Don Ameche and Frances Langford in the radio comedy "The Bickersons," have we seen the kind of verbal pugilism practiced in Sunday night's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

October 12, 2016

Constitution at stake in election

This election is about a lot of things, but it is fundamentally about the U.S. Constitution and whether federal judges will adhere to their oath to "faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me under the Constitution and laws of the United States," or dilute, attack and destroy our founding document.

October 10, 2016

Donald Trump tax leak proves need for tax reform

What would you think of an individual or a company that earned a pre-tax profit of $29.9 million in one year, paid nothing in taxes and still received a $3.5 million refund?

October 5, 2016

Faith and the VP debate

In every election cycle since Jimmy Carter introduced "born again" into the political lexicon, a politician's faith has been an object of curiosity and contention.

October 3, 2016

Advice for second debate

Donald Trump scored a gentleman's "C" in his first debate with Hillary Clinton. She was programmed, like one of those androids from the film "Westworld," spewing out well-rehearsed sound bites, smiling (sometimes condescendingly), and even tossing in a few wiggles. It was all designed to make her look warm and wonderful.

September 28, 2016

It’s time for President Donald Trump

Now that all of my inside-the-Beltway, elitist, morally superior friends and colleagues have weighed in with their self-righteous denunciations of Donald Trump, it's my turn.

September 26, 2016

U.S. needs voice of certainty amid Islamic terrorism threat

In Florida Monday, following the bombings in New York and New Jersey, Donald Trump referred to the captured bombing suspect, Ahmad Khan Rahami, as an "evil thug." He then added, "Hillary Clinton is a weak and ineffective person and I will tell you, if you choose Donald Trump, these problems are going to go away far, far greater than anybody would think."

September 21, 2016