Marc Alexander Thiessen, born on January 13, 1967, is an American political columnist, speechwriter, and commentator. He is a columnist for The Washington Post, a Fox News contributor, and a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Background and Early Career
Thiessen grew up on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, where both his parents were doctors and "left-of-center liberal Democrat types." After graduating from college, Thiessen moved to Washington, D.C., where he has worked for many years, starting at the lobbying firm Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly (BMSK) from 1989 to 1993. He joined the George W. Bush administration.
Speechwriting Career
From 2004 to 2009, Thiessen was a member of President George W. Bush’s speechwriting team, serving as chief speechwriter in the final years of the administration. Earlier, he was chief speechwriter for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and a longtime aide to Senator Jesse Helms.
"Courting Disaster"
In 2010, Thiessen published Courting Disaster: How the C.I.A. Kept America Safe and How Barack Obama Is Inviting the Next Attack, a book defending the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques, which became a New York Times bestseller and drew significant criticism.
In the book, Thiessen argued that the CIA's systematic use of enhanced interrogation techniques was effective, lawful, and moral. The book was endorsed by the former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and former Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
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Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side, heavily criticized Courting Disaster; in a book review in The New Yorker, Mayer wrote that Thiessen's book was "based on a series of slipshod premises" and was "better at conveying fear than at relaying the facts."
In the book, Thiessen writes, "In the decade before the C.I.A. began interrogating captured terrorists, Al-Qaeda launched repeated attacks against America. In the eight years since the C.I.A."
Political Commentary
Thiessen has been a columnist for The Washington Post since March 2010. He is also a Fox News contributor.
Thiessen's commentary often touches on foreign policy and national security issues. For example, he has written about Iran.
Personal Life
Thiessen lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife Pamela, who is the staff director of the United States Senate Republican Policy Committee.
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Views on Trump and the Republican Party
Thiessen is a Republican, but he has sometimes been critical of Donald Trump. According to Mark Levin, success goes to McConnell and the establishment Republicans, while all failures go to Trump and MAGA.
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