David French seems to be conservative America’s knight in shining armor. The war veteran, constitutional lawyer, and National Review blogger will potentially run against GOP nominee Donald Trump for the conservative vote in the general election.
French is quite unknown (at least compared to his presumptive billionaire opponent Trump) to the general public; he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page.
Bill Kristol chooses David French, for Independent Presidential Run. Have you EVER heard of him? #Trump2016
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) May 31, 2016
However, it can be garnered from French’s bio on National Review that as a graduate of Harvard’s Law School, author of a New York Times No. 1 bestseller on “defeating ISIS,” and a war veteran with a Bronze Star, he is of a much more political background than businessman Donald Trump.
Wikipedia-less David French first came to media attention on Sunday when the Weekly Standard’s editor, conservative Anti-Trump activist Bill Kristol, tweeted that he knows of an “impressive” independent candidate “with a strong team and a real chance” to defeat Donald Trump.
Just a heads up over this holiday weekend: There will be an independent candidate–an impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 29, 2016
Then, late Monday night, Bloomberg reported that it had received inside information that it was David French whom Kristol was considering for the role of an impressive independent candidate.
Kristol argued in favor of a potential third-party candidate’s obscurity in his latest piece on the Weekly Standard , saying that “the fact of Trump’s and Clinton’s unfitness for the Oval Office has become so self-evident that it’s no longer clear one needs a famous figure to provide an alternative.”
I know, I know, you’ve never heard of David French, so he must be some nobody unworthy of the Oval Office, right? pic.twitter.com/FA6wgSX5RE
— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) June 1, 2016
Many media outlets have ridiculed David French’s obscurity, saying he has no chance of becoming president against his media-savvy opponent Donald Trump, from the Vox article calling French a “ random dude off the street ” to the Daily Beast piece labeling him “ a Nobody Named David French .”
However, despite media speculation and Bloomberg’s inside information, both David French and Bill Kristol have remained silent on French’s potential run against Trump for the conservative vote.
French’s wife did tell MSNBC that her husband and herself are still weighing the issue.
Nancy French, wife of David French, tells MSNBC “he’d be great” as candidate but “We just don’t know if it’s the right thing for him to do.”
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) June 1, 2016
David French himself sent out a cryptic tweet that hints he might indeed be running as the third-party underdog.
All the normal political rules apply. The conventional wisdom has been right. An underdog can’t win. Right?
— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 1, 2016
The teasing tone of this tweet has worked, because now many are clamoring for David French to run as can be seen from a string of tweets by Huffington Post’s Politics Managing Editor, Amanda Terkel.
Everywhere I’ve gone today, the buzz about David French is unbelievable. Everyone is crying out for him to run.
— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) June 1, 2016
Stopped by a diner. Asked what’s on the menu. “David French,” the waitress told me.
— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) June 1, 2016
I talked to some tourists outside the White House today too. They were just standing there saying, “Someday, David French will live there”
— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) June 1, 2016
Cab drivers just won’t stop talking about how much they love David French and how excited they are about him.
— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) June 1, 2016
Amid all the media and public speculation of whether he is going to run or not, French is also getting attention from conservative elites. Mitt Romney has already expressed his interest on Twitter.
I know David French to be an honorable, intelligent and patriotic person. I look forward to following what he has to say.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) June 1, 2016
David French, with his Romney-Kristol backing, seems to be at the forefront of the “Never Trump” movement. If there was one thing that is clear from French’s writings, he is one of Donald Trump’s harshest critics.
He emphatically stated his “Never Trump” political stance in a recent piece for National Review , even calling his potential opponent Donald Trump “the instrument of national crisis .”
“[W]hen I look at Trump, I see a catastrophe in the making. And for that reason – among many others — I cannot in good conscience vote for the instrument of national crisis. I remain Never Trump.”
The potential third-party candidate and his anti-Trump politics may be obscure now, but with the buzz created by the news of his running against Trump… Who knows? We’ll just have to wait to find out.
[Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
