How this New York Times writer is approaching politics differently

In addition to being a New York Times award-winning journalist, constitutional lawyer, military veteran and author, David French has found his politics changing at the same time, as he went from supporting Republicans to voting for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the last election.

One thing he’s stayed constant to, though, is his Christian faith. And though he has faced ire from all directions over the course of his evolution, he’s maintained a steady calm, at least it appears so to me.

I met French at an American Enterprise Institute presentation, where he agreed to let me interview him after the program was done.

Four years ago, French published his book, “Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.”

Just like the title says, French believes that America’s current partisanship might be lead us toward a breakup.

He said that in 2020, he got some pushback for his gloomy forecast, especially for using the word “secession.”

“We hate each other more than we did four years ago. And it is very difficult to preserve a union in the face of an enormous amount of mutual hatred.”

—  — David French

“Like, ‘what are you talking about?’” French says. “(But) after January 6th, people said ‘no, I get what you’re saying now.’”

And partisanship didn’t end with the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. Anger has persisted throughout the last four years, up to and including during the 2024 election.

What puts French on the edge about the election are the bad attitudes the election evoked, not the policies at stake.

Here’s where French stands on the issues — and here’s why he thinks that’s not the most important thing

French laid out his politics for me. He didn’t vote for President Donald Trump in part because he doesn’t like the current president’s isolationist stance. He also supports sending Ukraine financial aid.

But he spends only a little time on these issues before pivoting. He begins to explain how his Christian perspective shapes his present view on politics.

“(When you ask what a Christian should think of politics,) most people will immediately respond with a set of issues,” he said. “I think that actually gets things a little bit backwards. The Bible has a lot more to say about how we act than it has to say about policy.”

This doctrinal focus makes sense for French. He started out his career in law and journalism as a staunch conservative. He actually shared with my AEI class that he found it hard to get a job when he got started — left-leaning places wouldn’t consider hiring him.

Things have changed since then. He opposed Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections. He publicly endorsed Kamala Harris in the last election cycle in a New York Times op-ed.

How did he find himself across the aisle?

“The reason is very simple,” he says. “To get my vote, you need to have a sufficient character for the position.”

He walks me back through a short history of Christians in American politics — back when Christian Republicans wouldn’t vote for Bill Clinton based on his character, and how that has changed since.

But French, a former member of the evangelical Presbyterian Church in America, says he’s less concerned about policy matters than he is about his lifelong faith in Jesus Christ.

He tells me he “never (had) a memory of not believing in Jesus.” His parents took him to church growing up and instilled in him an idea of what Christian living ought to look like — faith, hope and grace.

“But there is a very interesting human reality,” he tells me, “and it is this. You don’t know what values you truly hold until they’re tested and there’s a cost to holding them.”

And French has been tested lately.

In 2024, French and his wife, Nancy French, whom the Deseret News previously profiled, endured a difficult split from their Tennessee PCA congregation.

“I would lie if I said it wasn’t very painful to have people in my own church and denomination lie, attempt character assassination, try to destroy my livelihood, try to destroy my wife’s public reputation, try to destroy her livelihood,” he says.

Nancy French shared that after she and David refused to support Trump because of both his character as well as his policies, congregation members started to accost them at church.

As he shared in The New York Times, some congregation members wrote parody songs about David. Others filled his inbox with vicious emails. The PCA even disowned him in a public statement, citing his critiques of Trump.

In a 2024 appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Nancy French said they felt under attack by Republicans and evangelicals.

“Now we’re about as popular as head lice,” she said.

What a Christian in politics looks like

The Frenches may be as unpopular as head lice in some circles — but they’re popular here among the participants of the AEI program.

Most faculty and students at the event fall on the conservative side of the spectrum. Among the people I spoke to, many spoke about leftist cancel culture and secular values at their universities, which included places like Harvard, Stanford and Brown. This eroded their sympathy for the Democratic Party.

But French finds himself currently allied with Democrats.

“Scripture... doesn’t have much to say about tax rates,” he says. “It doesn’t have much to say about foreign policy. ... I’m not saying that your Christianity doesn’t influence your policy. Obviously, your deepest values influence your policy judgments. But Christians in good faith come to dramatically different policy prescriptions.”

Where scripture is “very, very, very clear,” he says, is on how to treat other people.

“The fruit of the spirit is a set of virtues. Kindness, peace, patience, gentleness, self-control,” he said, quoting Micah 6:8, which counsels readers to act justly, lovingly and humbly.

“I reject this idea that these values exist only until they stop working,” he says firmly. “No, these values exist and are of eternal value, even if they don’t result in a political outcome you want.”

Even in places where he’s popular, like at AEI. Even in places where he isn’t, like his home congregation in Tennessee, or in the circles of MAGA Christians.

My turn to quote scripture. 1 John 4:19. “We love (God), because he first loved us,” I say.

I ask him if this verse reflects how Christians should act in politics. Yes, he says — absolutely.

An American future left to make or break

French used Brigham Young University — which I currently attend — as an example of that verse in action.

“One thing that I would like to see ... Christians modeling more in the political sphere is the value of hospitality. ... A mindset that is warm and welcoming to other people, that is designed to create, and where interactions are seen as opportunities to bless another person, rather than opportunities to convince another person or argue,” he says. “And you know, one of my best recent experiences with hospitality was coming to BYU.”

In September 2024, French visited and spoke to BYU’s largely Latter-day Saint population in the context of the annual Constitution Day Lecture — a fitting occasion for a veteran and constitutional lawyer. He was greeted warmly.

“What community of people are better equipped to offer unconditional love to their neighbors than followers of Jesus Christ, who offered unconditional love to us?” he had asked the audience of thousands of students.

Now, sitting with him, hearing his positive reviews, I can’t help but smile.

“(BYU’s) hospitality (was) more convincing than the most eloquent essay,” he tells me.

“Nobody tried to convert you?” I joke.

He laughs and confirms that no, no one tried to convert him.

I express how glad I am that he enjoyed BYU. It’s an encouraging moment in the middle of a world rife with political division.

To his credit, French doesn’t try to sell me on an unrealistically rosy idea of the future. I remind him of the book he published four years ago. Four years later, does he still believe the warning he shared? Divided, will we fall?

He gives me his verdict. “We hate each other more than we did four years ago,” he says. “And it is very difficult to preserve a union in the face of an enormous amount of mutual hatred.”

To fight the division, French believes we need to lean into pluralism.

“One thing about pluralism: It is not a utopian political philosophy ... utopianism can appeal to the religious mind in a very, very powerful way. (Religious people) have a vision of an eternity that is actually a utopia,” he said. “The problem with utopianism though, is because the actual objective is impossible, it always ends in tears.

“What pluralism says is we acknowledge the existence of difference and conflict as a permanent part of the human condition.”

So how do we get to pluralism?

I bring up the word tolerance and he immediately shoots it down.

“When I think of the word tolerance, I translate it in my mind as grace (and mercy). ... I have heard the difference between mercy and grace described this way: Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve. Grace is when you get what you don’t deserve, in the positive sense.”

He retells part of Victor Hugo’s famous “Les Miserables.” Hugo writes about criminal Jean Valjean, whose life is changed when he is caught stealing candlesticks by a Catholic priest. The priest, rather than just letting Valjean go, actually gives him more of his riches. The priest’s act transforms Valjean from a sinner into a man of faith.

“Grace has a revolutionary effect on the human soul when you really experience it,” he said. “The essence of Christ’s grace and mercy is this concept of unmerited favor. By dying on the cross, He takes upon himself the sins of the world.”

So not just tolerance, I say. Rather, giving others what Christ has given us. Love for hate. Kindness for grief. Forgiveness for grudges.

French agrees. “That’s beyond mercy — that’s beyond mercy.”