David Austin French (born January 24, 1970, in Abilene, Texas) is an American conservative writer, attorney, and veteran known for his principled commentary on politics, law, and culture. He grew up in a military family, moving frequently before settling in Kentucky. French earned a BA in History from Rhodes College (1992) and a JD from Harvard Law School (1998). He served in the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1998 to 2007, including a deployment to Iraq in 2007 where he earned a Bronze Star Medal. After his military service, he became president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) from 2008 to 2016, advocating for free speech on college campuses.

French transitioned to journalism in 2015, joining National Review as a senior writer where he gained prominence for his principled Never Trump positions during the 2016 presidential election, criticizing Donald Trump's character and policies while maintaining a conservative worldview. In 2020, he co-founded The Dispatch, a digital media outlet focused on independent conservative analysis, and serves as its senior editor. French has authored books such as 'Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation' (2020) and contributes to outlets like Time and The Atlantic. He is married to Nancy French, with whom he has three children, and resides in Tennessee. His work often emphasizes constitutional principles, religious liberty, and opposition to authoritarian tendencies within the Republican Party.