David Frum is a writer for The Atlantic, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, and the author or co-author of now ten books. He has begun work on an eleventh, a history of the United States since the end of the Cold War.
Frum has been active in Republican politics since the first Reagan campaign of 1980. From 2001-2002, he served as a speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush. He is credited with helping to create the phrase "axis of evil” in Bush's 2002 State of the Union address. In recent years, Frum has been one of many prominent Republicans to openly criticize Donald Trump as not representing Republican or foundational democracy values.
Frum’s first book, Dead Right, won praise from William F. Buckley as “the most refreshing intellectual experience in a generation” and from Frank Rich in the New York Times as “the smartest book written from the inside about the American conservative movement.” In National Review, John Podhoretz hailed Frum’s history of the 1970s, How We Got Here, as “an audacious act of revisionism, written in a voice and style so original it deserves to be called revolutionary.” Frum’s memoir of his service in the George W. Bush administration, The Right Man, was a New York Times bestseller, as was his 2018 book, Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic. His more recent book, Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy looks at the causes of America’s national fragmentation and lays out a plan to restore democracy. Frum has also penned political novels. Arianna Huffington said of Frum’s 2012 novel, Patriots, “Frum is someone who fearlessly speaks his mind, regardless of where the chips may fall, so it’s no surprise he’s able to convey so much truth in his fiction
He is a frequent commentator on MSNBC, CNN, and BBC. From 2014 through 2017, Frum served as chairman of the board of trustees of the leading UK center-right think tank, Policy Exchange.
Frum is the son of prominent Canadian journalist Barabra Frum and of the Canadian businessman and philanthropist, Murray Frum. David Frum holds both BA and MA degrees in history from Yale and a law degree from Harvard, where he served as President of the Federalist Society. He and his wife Danielle Crittenden Frum live in Washington DC and Wellington, Ontario. Danielle is the author of four books and now hosts the popular Femsplainers podcast. They have three adult children.
The Common Good was proud to host Frum as a member in January of 2018 as a participant in our Town Hall at Hunter College, “Trump – Year One” Panel, alongside historian Douglas Brinkley, New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, and political strategist Edward Rollins. Frum currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board,
Twitter: @DavidFrum
Selected Media:
China Is a Paper Dragon, Frum, The Atlantic, 2021
The Quiet End of Kazakhstan's Denuclearization Program, Frum, The Atlantic, 2021
America Must Become a Democracy, Frum, The Atlantic, 2021
David Frum Rethinks Conservatism The New York Times, 2020
The turning of David Frum: Why a neoconservative pundit has become a relentless Trump critic National Post, 2018
David Frum Fights the Right The Walrus, 2021
David Frum on The Phoniness of Tucker Carlson on The Bulwark Podcast, with Charlie Sykes, 2021
