James Kirchick

Perhaps to no one’s surprise, Tucker Carlson just gave a full-throated defense of segregated country clubs. Out of the blue Tucker recently attacked me on his show by recounting a story I told him ~10 years ago. In his telling, my father sued a country club for not admitting him as a member. The actual story: In the ’90s, my father waged a newspaper campaign (not a lawsuit) against local country clubs because they were discriminatory – that is, they did not admit Jews, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, etc., even as guests. My brother, who was in preschool at the time, was not invited to a classmate’s birthday party because the club where the party was held did not allow Jews inside. (Yes, even 4-year-old Jews, as guests.) That’s the fight my dad waged—at significant personal and professional cost at the time—and I’m proud of him for it. thebulwark.com/p/tucker-carls…

Though the ostensible purpose of the WHCD is to support the free press, anyone who’s attended the weeklong bender knows that’s a thin patina of justification for dressing up, going out, and meeting famous people. @TheFP thefp.com/p/the-white-ho…

The truth is exactly the opposite of what Rhodes says wsj.com/opinion/trump-…

Unless the courts intervene, the Kennedy Center will shut down this July for two years, as part of a roughly $250 million renovation. In the lead-up, there’s been a wave of layoffs and a controversial rebranding under President Trump’s allies. Josef Palermo was among those laid off and wrote a firsthand account in The Atlantic titled “What I Saw Inside the Kennedy Center.” @GeoffRBennett speaks to Palermo for more.

Trump may be on the verge of an accomplishment that has eluded American presidents for seven decades: liberating communist Cuba, writes @jkirchick on.wsj.com/41zLS5X

The May issue of Commentary is now available. This issue explores the rise of anti-Americanism on both the Left and Right, the significance of America’s 250th anniversary, the mainstreaming of Hasan Piker, the unfounded fear of AI, and much more. With contributions from @CharlesFLehman, @rpondiscio, @jpodhoretz, @jkirchick, @JSchanzer, @orsonscottcard, @NancyRomm, @tal_fortgang. Read on at commentary.org and subscribe at commentary.org/subscribe.

When Pat Buchanan accused Jews of dual loyalty, he found very few allies on the left. Today, many prominent progressives embrace Joe Kent’s message. For them, it’s further confirmation of Israel’s pernicious hold on the U.S. | @jkirchick nationalreview.com/magazine/2026/…

A response to @pescami, @roddreher, and @douthatNYT regarding their claim that Orbán’s voluntary relinquishment of power proves he was never the autocrat of liberal imagination. @thefp thefp.com/p/orbans-ouste…

Trump mixes a Cuba Libre. Obama’s “thaw” helped entrench the communists, but this president seeks to freeze them out of power, writes @jkirchick on.wsj.com/4dTCyRO

Josef Palermo spent 10 months working at the Kennedy Center because he wanted to help protect it. He reports from inside the "hostile political takeover" of the nation’s cultural center: theatlantic.com/culture/2026/0…

Josef Palermo served as the Kennedy Center’s first curator of visual arts and special programming. Read him detail the institution’s implosion in ⁦@TheAtlantic⁩ theatlantic.com/culture/2026/0…

@barackobama’s Cuban ‘thaw’ helped entrench the communists. @POTUS seeks to freeze them out of power. My latest for @wsjopinion #comments_sectorf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">wsj.com/opinion/trump-…

Very proud of my husband for forgoing his severance package to speak out about the desecration he witnessed of the “Trump” Kennedy Center. @theatlantic theatlantic.com/culture/2026/0…

The New ‘Conversion Therapy’ Is Making Gay Kids Trans —my latest, in ⁦@TheFP⁩ thefp.com/p/the-new-conv…

@TuckerCarlson’s newsletters remind me of the @RonPaul newsletters the horrifying contents of which I ironically revealed on his MSNBC show in 2008. I wonder if @lewrockwell is ghostwriting these as well

This episode required explaining the Khia Asylum to @asymmetricinfo and @jkirchick, which in turn required explaining "My Neck, My Back" to them

Thanks to @jbarro and @asymmetricinfo for inviting me onto Central Air. No one can replace @bendreyfuss but I did my best. centralairpodcast.com/p/aipac-throwd…

I’m old enough to remember when @timodc thought standing against bigotry was worth losing an election over

Cuba’s Useless Idiots: @hasanthehun @jeremycorbyn @ryangrim @owenjonesjourno @codepink @ProgIntl @israhirsi @IADLLaw @NLGNews @taylorlorenz @medeabenjamin cc: ⁦@TheFP thefp.com/p/cubas-useles…

A simple question for @jonfavs, @TVietor08, and @jonlovett about @grahamformaine’s Nazi Tattoo: If it was revealed that @TedCruz had a Nazi tattoo on his chest for almost two decades, would you defend him? Cc: ⁦⁦@bdomenech⁩ @bigbenshowfox