David French

David French joined The New York Times as an Opinion columnist in January 2023. Before that, he was a senior editor at The Dispatch, which he helped start, and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. 

He spent most of his career as a practicing lawyer, working in both commercial and constitutional litigation. In his late 30s, he joined the United States Army Reserve as a judge advocate general. He deployed to Iraq in 2007 and served in Diyala Province, where he was awarded a Bronze Star. During his legal career, he litigated in federal courts from coast to coast and served as a lecturer at Cornell Law School. He is a former president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

His most recent book is “Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.” He lives in Franklin, Tenn. For political and pop culture content, you can follow him on Threads.