Debra J. Saunders is the Washington columnist for the ''

Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal' ...

''. She returned to the ''Review-Journal'' in January 2024 after serving as the newspaper's White House correspondent during former president Donald J. Trump's term and in the early weeks of President Joe Biden's administration. Her podcast, "Covering Trump: War Stories from the White House Press Corps," laid out the experience in six episodes. Her column is syndicated by

Creators Syndicate Creators Syndicate (also known as Creators) is an American independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns to daily newspapers, websites, and other digital outlets. When founded in 1987, Creators Syndicate became one of the few suc ...

and is carried by newspapers in the United States. Saunders served as a fellow with the

Discovery Institute The Discovery Institute (DI) is a conservatism in the United States, politically conservative think tank that advocates the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific concept Article available froUniversiteit Gent of intelligent design (ID). It was fou ...

's Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership from 2021 through 2023.

Biography

Saunders graduated in 1980 from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. She majored in Greek and Latin. In 1992, she became an opinion-page columnist for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

,'' also syndicated by Creators. She later augmented her thrice-weekly columns with the Token Conservative blog, before leaving the paper in 2016. Between 1987 and 1992, Saunders was a columnist and editorial writer for the ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California, after the unrelated ''Los Angeles Times'', and the flagship newspaper of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado ...

''. She previously worked for conservative

advocacy groups Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

and for a Republican leader of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

. In addition to her columns, Saunders has written for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' and ''The Weekly Standard''. She is the author of one book, ''The World According to Gore'' (). Saunders is married to Wesley J. Smith.

Views

In 2006, Saunders wrote articles opposing the War on Drugs. She campaigned in her column for President Bush to issue more pardons and sentence commutations. Saunders voted against Proposition 22 in 2000. In 2004, Saunders wrote in support of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. She was critical of the California Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage.City Hall of Love
Debra Saunders, May 16, 2008 In 2007, she wrote an article that criticized the imprisoned freelance journalist Josh Wolf, although she opposed his imprisonment. In 2007, Saunders described herself as a climate change skeptic. In 2011, she wrote about the comic character '' Foreskin Man'', which was being used to promote a ballot initiative to ban

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

in San Francisco.Circumcision ballot measure and anti-Semitism
Debra Saunders, June 2, 2011 Saunders has described herself as a supporter of capital punishment, and has written articles arguing that Kevin Cooper, a death row inmate who claimed innocence, was in fact guilty.

References

External links

Token ConservativePodcasts of Saunders' recent articles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Debra 1954 births Living people American columnists National Review people University of Massachusetts Boston alumni