Paul Kengor Columns

When we think of a person’s impact on a city or region, we tend to think of some titan in industry or even a major sports figure. Perhaps some 19th century industrialist or current tech giant, or big-time quarterback or pitcher or NHL player. When we think of a city...

This summer marks the centenary of the landmark Supreme Court case, Pierce v. Society of Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The case dealt with a ballot initiative in the state of Oregon that required all parents to send their children to public schools. The actual intended...

“I always know when I’ve landed in America,” observes a German friend, “because the people in the airport look like slobs.” It isn’t just airports. Americans look like slobs everywhere. When they go out to dinner, attend an event, and basically go out and about in public. My friend Jeanne...

One year ago, Donald Trump was nearly assassinated in Butler. In my hometown. It was a historic, tragic event that affected not only the loved ones of those killed or injured but so many of us in this region. Personally, it has been strange over the last year when I...

The article “As traffic grows, Route 30 crash hot spots a concern for motorists, property owners, police and PennDOT” (June 20, TribLive) points out many dangerous places and reasons why they’re dangerous. The one thing that wasn’t blamed was the speeding of cars traveling 10 to 20 mph or more...

I recently had the privilege of being featured in the new film “The American Miracle.” The film is a docudrama, a mix of interviews with experts on the American founding and reenactments. The experts include the likes of Joseph Ellis and Robert George. The actors range from Richard Dreyfuss, Pat...

The first rule of launching a campaign is clever sloganeering. One might also call this marketing or “branding.” Many groups over the years have been very effective in that regard, from Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign to the LGBTQ movement’s “Marriage Equality” slogan to the enormously effective Black Lives...

It was September 2020. United Steelworkers, the steelworkers union, was aglow — literally — for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. You might recall what I’m talking about. Driving around Pittsburgh, you couldn’t miss it. The steelworkers union — which is to say, the brass that runs the union — had...

Prior to the papal conclave, I did a column titled “The pope of surprises.” It made the point that, throughout history, the Catholic cardinal-electors leave the Sistine Chapel selecting a pope few expected. But gosh, no one expected an American pope. “One of the more extraordinary days of my life,”...

While watching the dreadful Pittsburgh Pirates recently, I was struck by something very confusing. It was extra innings, and each team somehow started the inning with a runner on second base. The runner magically materialized on my TV after the commercial break. I tried to figure out when that player...

A popular expression of Pope Francis was his phrase “the God of surprises.” That phrase was often turned against Francis by critics. He was notorious for grabbing a microphone on an airplane and sloppily saying something off the cuff to reporters that seemed to instantly threaten two millennia of church...

President Trump’s trade policies are creating quite the uproar. They’re also creating a political realignment. The history of America’s dominant political parties on trade is complex. Republicans have largely favored free trade, whereas Democrats have been more committed to protecting their union base. As for tariffs, look at the last...

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) gets defensive when accused of being hostile to the concerns and freedoms of Christians, but there’s no denying the troubling track record. Everyone knows it. A conservative Jewish friend of mine calls the ACLU the “Anti-Christian Liberties Union.” I’ve written about its history in...

“How many tows have you done today?” I asked the guy rigging up my vehicle. “Three so far,” he said. “More to come.” “How late is your shift?” I followed. “Midnight,” he replied. “I like the shift, but my wife hates it. She really worries about my safety. It’s a...

“This is really scary,” writes a conservative friend of mine. “Putin is the new Hitler. It appears Trump is the new Neville Chamberlain. I’m guessing Trump is not a big fan of studying history, since he’s probably doomed to repeat it.” My friend is neither Never Trump nor certainly Always...

The sports world is abuzz over Travis Kelce’s next career move in light of his not-so-super performance during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl defeat. Well, I, your humble columnist, offer a not-so-subtle suggestion to Kelce: get married. He and Taylor Swift need to get hitched. When asked about that...

Last week I received a fascinating email from a longtime reader. Her assessment at first might sound like a salvo at Donald Trump and his family, but it was meant as a compliment to egg them on. She has been a strong Trump supporter since 2016. Her assessment related to...

We’re mere days from Jan. 20, 2025, the second inauguration of Donald Trump — this time as America’s 47th president. It is much anticipated by all, with some jubilant and others dreading the moment. But it ought to be much anticipated for a remarkable deadline Trump has given for that...

When it comes to politics, 2024 was an insane year. So much so that your faithful columnist has conjured up a list of the Top 5 Most Astonishing Political Moments of 2024. Here we go: Number 5 is President Joe Biden’s shocking appearance at the presidential debate. Pretty much any...

Count Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and a devout Christian, among the NFL players not happy about the league scheduling games this year on Christmas Day — a Wednesday no less. The Chiefs will play in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. For the Chiefs, there’s an added affront. Because the...

Of all the cast of rebels and rogues selected by President-elect Donald Trump for his incoming administration, few are igniting a meltdown quite like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Jay Bhattacharya. RFK Jr. has been nominated to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Bhattacharya has been selected to...

Early in the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Barbara Olson, a Washington-based author and pundit, sweetly gave her husband, Ted, a kiss goodbye. She was 45 years old, a well-known media personality and critic of the Clintons. She was a happy person who knew how to laugh with folks on...

On the eve of Tuesday’s election, RealClearPolitics posted a striking number. Its composite average of presidential polls showed a literal tie between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Each candidate was at 48.5%. You couldn’t get more even. Still, as my editors here will attest, I predicted that Trump would thus...

Among the annoying ads running in the 2024 presidential campaign, I’m particularly bothered by the Harris-Walz commercials blasting Donald Trump’s alleged tax cuts for “millionaires and billionaires” enacted during his presidential administration. The Harris-Walz campaign promises to “roll back Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.” I detest these ads...

In my previous column, I wrote about claims from liberals that a reelected Donald Trump will “destroy democracy.” I paused to condemn Donald Trump’s crude rhetoric over the years, but I also challenged those making such claims to 1) define “democracy” and 2) explain precisely how Trump would destroy it....