David Keene

Editor at Large — David Keene, a trusted adviser to presidents, a longtime champion of personal liberty and one of conservatism’s most respected voices, is the former opinion editor of The Washington Times. An author, columnist and fixture on national television, Mr. Keene has championed conservative causes for more than five decades while offering advice to Republican presidents and countless candidates. He additionally served as chairman of the American Conservative Union and president of the National Rifle Association. He can be reached at me@davidakeene.com.

Columns by David Keene

Brandon Johnson: America’s least-popular mayor

Brandon Johnson of Chicago is according to a recent poll, less popular among the city's Hispanic and Black voters than the ICE agents scheduled to soon descend on the city. Published September 3, 2025

Kolakowski and Perry: Two heroes in Traverse City, Michigan

The media hate to have to report incidents in which armed citizens intervene to stop ongoing crimes or to apprehend violent predators to hold them for the police. Published August 3, 2025

Celebrating Coolidge’s quiet wisdom

This year, my wife and I celebrated a traditional Fourth of July in Plymouth Notch, Vermont, the birthplace of Calvin Coolidge, the only U.S. President born on Independence Day. Published July 9, 2025

The Biden Politburo: How unelected aides hijacked the presidency in the name of ‘saving democracy’

Veteran reporters Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper released their book, "Original Sin," last month, and it's still making waves. Published June 3, 2025

Trump finishes what Arlen Specter started

Sen. Arlen Specter was no conservative, but he was a good friend who cared about the criminal justice system. Published May 21, 2025

Van Hollen’s shame: Defending MS-13’s Abrego Garcia over constituents’ safety

Sen. Chris Van Hollen should be ashamed of himself. Published April 21, 2025

Who was the ‘decider’ within the Biden White House?

As president, George W. Bush proudly assured visitors that he and no one else was "decider." Just who was the "decider" in the Biden White House as the president of the United States slipped into senility remains an unanswered question. Published April 8, 2025

Trump takes on Nixon-era Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act

President Trump's success in cutting back and rationalizing federal spending largely depends on whether he can get away with spending less on programs than Congress appropriates. Published March 31, 2025

What the hell is going on in Romania?

Most Americans, focused on the goings-on here since President Trump moved into the Oval Office, have paid little attention to the political goings-on in a place like Romania until now. Published March 16, 2025

Real problem with the Palestinians: Nobody wants them

President Trump has "suggested" that Egypt and Jordan provide temporary refuge to more than a million Palestinians. He threatens foreign aid cutoffs and targeted tariffs if either country refuses. Published February 26, 2025

Five Republicans are prepared to tank Trump’s tax cuts

Last week, five blue-state Republican House Members vowed to block any extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Published January 30, 2025

Kash Patel will uncover weaponization at the FBI

Kash Patel strikes fear into Senate Democrats. They know he's the one man who might be able to investigate how the once-vaunted FBI has been weaponized. Published December 16, 2024

Keep the filibuster

Sen. Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican, and I were enjoying dinner at Washington's Jefferson Hotel the evening Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, "nuked" the filibuster. Published December 2, 2024

Fire the federal workforce’s anti-Trump army

The federal workforce includes hundreds of thousands of dedicated and efficient employees who do their jobs and don't let their personal political or personal views affect their performance. . Published November 18, 2024

Weaponization of electric vehicles is a devastating possibility

Last month, the world was taken aback when pagers in the hands of Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon and Syria began exploding. Published October 22, 2024

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Stumbling Toward Utopia’

The sixties have been with us since, well, the sixties, a fact brought home to me some years ago when the Badger State's Capitol was occupied and defaced by thousands of leftists. Published October 3, 2024

Pragmatic, middle-of-the-road Hogan is better than no Republican at all

My wife, Donna, had planned to accompany me to Montana a few weeks ago. Instead, she decided to stay home to do whatever else she could to help former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan win his Senate race. Published September 23, 2024

All of Biden-Harris ‘success’ statistics are an illusion

Nineteenth century humorist Mark Twain once observed that "figures don't lie, but liars figure." Published September 17, 2024

The problem with calling 911

Two weeks ago, a "flash mob" of perhaps 100 people broke into, robbed and vandalized a gas station and convenience store near the airport in Oakland, California. Published July 17, 2024