Conservative political commentator David French made waves earlier this week with a New York Times op-ed titled “To Save Conservatism From Itself, I Am Voting for Harris.”
While French is a longtime critic of former President Donald Trump, this marks the first time French has publicly supported a presidential candidate from the Democratic Party.
Among those responding to French’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris is Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
While Mohler did not support Trump’s first presidential campaign, famously declaring on then-Twitter, “Never. Ever. Period,” Mohler later supported Trump’s reelection bid after Trump fulfilled his campaign promise of nominating pro-life Supreme Court justices.
“I believe life begins at conception,” French wrote to begin his op-ed. “If I lived in Florida, I would support the state’s heartbeat bill and vote against the referendum seeking to liberalize Florida’s abortion laws.”
French indicated that he supported the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. He also pointed out that he was a lawyer who has worked for “pro-life legal organizations” and that while he supports in-vitro fertilization, he advocates for the procedure to be used in a manner that comports with pro-life ethics.
However, French wrote, “I’m going to vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 and—ironically enough—I’m doing it in part to try to save conservatism.”
Notably, Harris has made access to abortion one of the major talking points of her campaign.
Nevertheless, French argued that since Trump’s rise to power in 2016, Trump has “pushed Republicans further and further away from Reaganite conservatism.” French cited Trump’s constant lying as evidence of Trump’s corrosive effect, pointing out several defamation lawsuits against some of Trump’s allies and former allies.
French also cited Trump’s apparent support for the Jan. 6 rioters.
“I know that threats and violence aren’t exclusive to the right,” French said, referencing assassination attempts against Trump and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as well as an active shooter who specifically targeted Republican members of Congress. “But only one party has nominated a man who was indicted for his role in the criminal scheme to steal an American election, a scheme that culminated in a violent political riot.”
Additionally, French argued that the Republican Party has effectively abandoned the pro-life cause, saying, “Even if you want to focus on abortion as the single issue that decides your vote, the picture for abortion opponents is grim.”
