David French
French in 2012
Born	David Austin French (1969-01-24)January 24, 1969 (age 56) Opelika, Alabama, U.S.
Education	Lipscomb University (BA) Harvard University (JD)
Political party	Republican (before 2018) Independent (2018–present)
Spouse	Nancy Anderson
Military career
Branch	United States Army
Years of service	2007–2014
Rank	Major
Unit	Judge Advocate General's Corps
Battles / wars	Iraq War
Awards	Bronze Star Medal[1]

David Austin French (born January 24, 1969) is an American political commentator and former attorney. He is a columnist forThe New York Times and a visiting professor of public policy atLipscomb University. He was formerly senior editor ofThe Dispatch, a fellow at theNational Review Institute, and a staff writer forNational Review.

French was born on January 24, 1969, inOpelika, Alabama. His parents were students at nearbyAuburn University.^[2] He grew up inGeorgetown, Kentucky.^[3]

French graduated fromLipscomb University in 1991 with aBA,summa cum laude.^[4][5] He then attendedHarvard Law School, graduating in 1994 with hisJD,cum laude.^[6][7][8]

French has served as a senior counsel for theAmerican Center for Law and Justice and theAlliance Defending Freedom,^[9] has lectured atCornell Law School, and spent much of his career working onreligious rights issues.^[10] He served as president of theFoundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), now known as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).^[7] French retired from FIRE in 2005, citing plans to serve in theUnited States Army Reserve as ajudge-advocate general officer.^[11][12] He left the legal practice in 2015, and became a staff writer forNational Review from 2015 to 2019,^[13][14] and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.^[15]

French has authored several books,^[7] including the non-fictionDivided We Fall (2020).^[16][17]

French is a former senior editor ofThe Dispatch,^[18] and occasionally a contributing writer forThe Atlantic. French is a distinguished visiting professor of public policy atLipscomb University, his alma mater.^[19]

French became aNew York Times columnist in January 2023.^[18]

In August 2017, French was one of several co-authors of theNashville Statement, which affirmed "that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality ortransgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness."^[20] The statement was criticized by pro-LGBTQ Christians and LGBTQ rights activists,^[21][22] as well as by several conservative religious figures.^[23][24]

In November 2022, French announced that he had "changed his mind" on the legal recognition ofsame-sex marriage, although stating he was still morally opposed to the matter. He wrote that his "reasoning tracked my lifelong civil libertarian beliefs" and that:^[25]

Millions of Americans have formed families and live their lives in deep reliance onObergefell being good law. It would be profoundly disruptive and unjust to rip out the legal superstructure around which they've ordered their lives.^[25]

French is a former major in theUnited States Army Reserve^[26] and a veteran ofOperation Iraqi Freedom.^[7] French was deployed to Iraq in 2007 during theIraq War, serving inDiyala Governorate as squadron judge-advocate.^[27] He was awarded aBronze Star.^[26]

French briefly considered entering the 2016 U.S. presidential race, citing his strong moral objections to U.S. Republican Party presumptive nomineeDonald Trump. He ultimately decided that he had neither the name recognition nor the financial support to mount a viable campaign.^[28]

In 2016 French, his wife, and his family were the subject of online attacks when he criticized then-presidential candidateDonald Trump and thealt-right. French was bombarded with hatefultweets, including an image of his daughter in agas chamber.^[29]

A dispute between French and conservativeNew York Post editorSohrab Ahmari broke out in the summer of 2019 as a result of the publication of Ahmari's polemicalFirst Things article entitled "Against David French-ism."^[30] The dispute centered on their differing opinions on how conservatives should approach cultural and political debate and issues, with Ahmari arguing for a more ideologically firm approach against French's views.^[31][32]

French is married to authorNancy French.^[33] He and his family live inFranklin, Tennessee.^[34] They have three children, including a daughter adopted fromEthiopia.^[35]

French was until 2024 a member of thePresbyterian Church in America. Due to conflicts with his church and its members over political issues, and after personal attacks against him and his family, they switched to another church in Nashville.^[36]

• A Season for Justice: Defending the Rights of the Christian Church, Home, and School. Broadman & Holman. 2002.ISBN 0-8054-2491-1.^[37]
• Home and Away: A Story of Family in a Time of War. Center Street. 2011.ISBN 978-1-931722-90-2. WithNancy French.^[38]
• The Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore. Howard Books. 2014.ISBN 978-1-5011-0513-5. WithJay Sekulow,Jordan Sekulow, and Robert Ash.^[39]
• Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. St. Martin's Press. 2020.ISBN 978-1250201973.

Wikiquote has quotations related toDavid French.

• David French atNational Review
• David French at Ballotpedia

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