Tom Nichols

Thomas Michael Nichols (born December 7, 1960) is an American writer, academic specialist on international affairs, and retired professor at the U.S. Naval War College.

His work deals with issues involving Russia, nuclear weapons, and national security affairs.

Born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Nichols grew up in Chicopee, Massachusetts, where he attended public schools in the 1960s and 1970s.

His paternal grandparents were Greek immigrants, and his mother is of Irish descent.

He stated in a speech at The Heritage Foundation that he did not come from an educated family, noting that his parents were "both Depression era kids who dropped out of high school".

Nichols registered with the Republican Party in 1979.

He describes himself as a Never Trump conservative.

Nichols was awarded a BA degree in political science from Boston University in 1983, an MA degree in political science from Columbia University in 1984, a certificate from the Harriman Institute of Columbia University in 1985, and a PhD in government from Georgetown University in 1988.

His doctoral thesis was The politics of doctrine: Khrushchev, Gorbachev and the Soviet military.

Following completion of his doctorate at Georgetown University, in 1989 Nichols received a faculty appointment at Dartmouth College.

Nichols is a five-time Jeopardy! champion, winning during regular season play in 1994.

Nichols initially lost his fifth game, but was invited back due to a "clue discrepancy."

He later participated in the 1994 Tournament of Champions and the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions, losing in the quarterfinals and the first round, respectively.

He remained there until 1997, teaching political science and Russian affairs.

In 1997, Nichols became professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College, a position he retained until 2008.

Subsequently, Nichols was named professor of national security affairs at the war college.

He retired in 2022.

He also is a senior associate of the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs New York City.

Concurrent during his tenure at Dartmouth, Nichols served as legislative aide for defense and foreign affairs to U.S. Senator John Heinz (R-Pennsylvania).

In 2005, Nichols was appointed to visiting and adjunct faculty roles at La Salle University and Harvard University, respectively.

Nichols was named a fellow at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2008.

He is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the 'Atlantic Daily' newsletter.

After his previous marriage ended in divorce, Nichols married his current wife Lynn in 2014.

Nichols has one daughter; the family lives in Middletown, Rhode Island.

He is a Greek Orthodox Christian.

Nichols had a brief cameo role on the HBO series Succession, appearing as right-wing political commentator Ben Stove in the episode "America Decides".

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Nichols argued that conservatives should vote for Hillary Clinton, whom he detested, because Trump was "too mentally unstable" to serve as commander-in-chief.

Nichols continued that type of argument for the 2018 midterm elections and advocated that Republicans could save the party by electing as many Democrats as possible in that election.

Following the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States, Nichols announced on October 7, 2018, that he would leave the Republican Party to become an independent.

He claimed that Senator Susan Collins's "yes" vote on the confirmation convinced him that the Republican Party exists to exercise raw political power.

He stated that the Republicans have become a threat to the rule of law and to constitutional norms.

Nichols also criticized the Democratic Party for being "torn between totalitarian instincts on one side and complete political malpractice on the other".

He said that with the exception of Senators Chris Coons, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic party's behavior during the Kavanaugh hearings was "detestable".

In an opinion column published in 2019, Nichols cited the Mueller Report to argue that Trump failed in his role as a citizen and then as commander-in-chief, by not doing more to prevent and punish the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.

In April 2022, Nichols was quoted regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stating: "If Putin's goal was to cement his grip on power by making Russia hated for decades to come, well, congratulations, I guess."