Editing Thomas L. Friedman

{{short description|American journalist and author (born 1953)}}
{{other people||Tom Friedman (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Thomas Friedman
| image              = Thomas Friedman 2005 (5).jpg
| caption            = Friedman in 2005
| birth_name         = Thomas Loren Friedman
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1953|07|20}}
| birth_place        = [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], [[U.S.]]
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| education          = [[Brandeis University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[St Antony's College, Oxford]] ([[Master of Philosophy|MPhil]])
| occupation         = Author<br/>Columnist
| networth           = 
| spouse             = [[Ann B. Friedman|Ann Bucksbaum]]<ref name=ann/>
| children           = 2
| website            = {{URL|http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/}}
| relatives          = [[Matthew Bucksbaum]] (father-in-law)
}}
'''Thomas Loren Friedman''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|r|iː|d|m|ən}} {{respell|FREED|mən}}; born July 20, 1953) is an American [[political commentator]] and author. He is a three-time [[Pulitzer Prize]] winner who is a weekly [[columnist]] for ''[[The New York Times]]''. He has written extensively on [[foreign affairs]], [[global trade]], the [[Middle East]], [[globalization]], and [[environmental issue]]s.

Friedman began his career as a reporter and won two Pulitzer Prizes in the 1980s for his coverage on conflict in Lebanon and politics in Israel, followed by a further prize in 2002 for commentary on the [[war on terror]].

==Early life and education==
[[File:Thomas Friedman World Economic Forum 2013.jpg|thumb|Friedman during the [[World Economic Forum|WEF]] 2013]]
Friedman was born on July 20, 1953, in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], the son of Margaret and Harold Friedman.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-11 |title=Thomas L. Friedman Official Biography - Thomas L. Friedman |url=https://www.thomaslfriedman.com/official-bio/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=www.thomaslfriedman.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Harold, who was vice president of a [[ball bearing]] company, United Bearing, died of a [[heart attack]] in 1973 when Tom was nineteen years old. Margaret, who served in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]] and studied [[Home Economics]] at the [[University of Wisconsin]], was a [[Homemaking|homemaker]] and a [[Part-time job|part-time]] [[bookkeeper]]. Margaret was also a Silver Life Master [[duplicate bridge]] player, who died in 2008. Friedman has two older sisters, Shelley and Jane. From an early age, Friedman, whose father often took him to the [[golf]] course for a round after work, wanted to be a professional golfer. He played a lot of sports, and became serious about [[tennis]] and golf. He [[Golf caddy|caddied]] at a local country club and in 1970 caddied for professional golfer [[Chi Chi Rodriguez]] when the [[US Open (golf)|US Open]] [[1970 U.S. Open (golf)|came to town]].<ref name="wired flat">{{cite news | url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/friedman.html | title=Why the World Is Flat | website=Wired.com | date=May 2005 | access-date=February 6, 2012 | archive-date=February 12, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212203153/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/friedman.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Friedman is [[Jewish]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/opinion/friedman-newt-mitt-bibi-and-vladimir.html?_r=3&hp |title=Newt, Mitt, Bibi and Vladimir |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 14, 2011 |access-date=March 26, 2012 |first=Thomas L. |last=Friedman |archive-date=May 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508010430/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/opinion/friedman-newt-mitt-bibi-and-vladimir.html?_r=3&hp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-21 |title="I Am Jewish" {{!}} Facing History & Ourselves |url=https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/i-am-jewish |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=www.facinghistory.org |language=en}}</ref> He attended [[Hebrew]] school five days a week until his [[Bar Mitzvah]],<ref>''From Beirut to Jerusalem''. 1990, page 4</ref> then [[St. Louis Park High School]], where he wrote articles for his [[Student publication|school's newspaper]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slpschools.org/sh/Echo/First%20One/Frame%20Set/Front%20Page1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050428164819/http://www.slpschools.org/sh/Echo/First%20One/Frame%20Set/Front%20Page1.html|url-status=dead|title=''The Echo''|archive-date=April 28, 2005}}</ref> He became enamored with [[Israel]] after a visit there in December 1968, and he spent all three of his high school summers living on [[Kibbutz]] [[HaHotrim]], near [[Haifa]].<ref name=bei>''From Beirut to Jerusalem''. 1990, page 5</ref> He has characterized his high school years as "one big celebration of Israel's victory in the [[Six-Day War]]."<ref name=bei />

Friedman studied at the [[University of Minnesota]] for two years, but later [[College transfer|transferred]] to [[Brandeis University]] and graduated ''[[summa cum laude]]'' in 1975 with a degree in Mediterranean studies. Friedman also pursued Arabic studies at [[The American University in Cairo]], where he graduated in 1974 from its Arabic language unit (ALU).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/casa/notable-alumni|title=Notable Alumni &#124; The American University in Cairo|website=www.aucegypt.edu|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=April 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429044931/https://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/casa/notable-alumni|url-status=live}}</ref> After graduating from Brandeis, he attended [[St Antony's College, Oxford|St Antony's College]] at the [[University of Oxford]] as a [[Marshall Scholarship|Marshall Scholar]], earning an [[Master of Philosophy|M.Phil.]] in [[Middle Eastern studies]].

==Journalism career==
[[File:Thomas Friedman, Columnist, The New York Times (15275914641).jpg|thumb|Friedman speaking at the [[Chatham House]] in London in September 2014]]
Friedman joined the London bureau of [[United Press International]] after completing his master's degree. He was dispatched a year later to [[Beirut]], where he lived from June 1979 to May 1981 while covering the [[Lebanon Civil War]]. He was hired by ''The New York Times'' as a reporter in 1981 and re-dispatched to Beirut at the start of the [[1982 Lebanon War|1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon]]. His coverage of the war, particularly the [[Sabra and Shatila massacre]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Thomas L. |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9504E4D81138F935A1575AC0A964948260 |title=article by Thomas Friedman on Beirut massacre |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 26, 1982 |access-date=May 15, 2010 |archive-date=December 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031514/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/26/world/the-beirut-massacre-the-four-days.html |url-status=live }}</ref> won him the [[Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting]] (shared with Loren Jenkins of ''[[The Washington Post]]'').<ref name=pulitzer /> Alongside [[David K. Shipler]], he also won the [[George Polk Award]] for foreign reporting.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 27, 1983 |title=Winners of Polk Award For Journalism Named |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/27/nyregion/winners-of-polk-award-for-journalism-named.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

In June 1984, Friedman was transferred to [[Jerusalem]], where he served as the ''New York Times'' Jerusalem Bureau Chief until February 1988. That year he received a second Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, which cited his coverage of the [[First Intifada|First Palestinian Intifada]].<ref name=pulitzer>{{cite web|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/International-Reporting|title=International Reporting: Past winners & finalists by category|website=The Pulitzer Prizes|access-date=March 25, 2012|archive-date=December 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224123142/http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/International-Reporting|url-status=live}}</ref> He wrote a book, ''[[From Beirut to Jerusalem]]'', describing his experiences in the Middle East,<ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas L. Friedman – Bio |url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/specialevents/gc2011/bios/bioFriedman.php?iframe |publisher=University of Southern California |access-date=August 5, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527171242/http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/specialevents/gc2011//bios/bioFriedman.php?iframe |archive-date=May 27, 2011 }}</ref> which won the 1989 U.S. [[National Book Award for Nonfiction]].<ref name=nba1989>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-1989 |title=National Book Awards – 1989 |publisher=[[National Book Foundation]] |access-date=March 25, 2012 |archive-date=January 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131145521/https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-1989/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Friedman covered [[U.S. Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[James Baker]] during the administration of President [[George H. W. Bush]]. Following the election of [[Bill Clinton]] in 1992, Friedman became the [[White House correspondent]] for the ''New York Times''. In 1994, he began to write more about [[foreign policy]] and [[economics]], and moved to the [[op-ed]] page of ''The New York Times'' the following year as a foreign affairs columnist. In 2002, Friedman won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Commentary]] for his "clarity of vision, based on extensive reporting, in commenting on the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2002 |title=Thomas Friedman of The New York Times |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/thomas-friedman |website=The Pulitzer Prizes}}</ref>

In February 2002, Friedman met [[House of Saud|Saudi]] [[Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud|Crown Prince Abdullah]] and encouraged him to make a comprehensive attempt to end the [[Arab–Israeli conflict]] by normalizing Arab relations with Israel in exchange for the [[right of return|return of refugees]] alongside an end to the [[Israeli-occupied territories|Israel territorial occupations]]. Abdullah proposed the [[Arab Peace Initiative]] at the [[Beirut Summit]] that March, which Friedman has since strongly supported.<ref name=what>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/833589.html |title=What Arab initiative?|author=Akiva Eldar|website=Haaretz.com}}</ref>

Friedman received the 2004 [[Overseas Press Club]] Award for lifetime achievement and the same year was named to the [[Order of the British Empire]] by [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/events/the-world-is-fast-by-thomas-l-friedman/|title="The world is fast" by Thomas L. Friedman|website=Oxford Martin School|access-date=June 8, 2020|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031516/https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/events/the-world-is-fast-by-thomas-l-friedman/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Columnist Biography: Thomas L. Friedman|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/FRIEDMAN-BIO.html?8qa|access-date=August 27, 2020|website=The New York Times|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031526/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/FRIEDMAN-BIO.html?8qa|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2011, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that President [[Barack Obama]] "has sounded out" Friedman concerning Middle East issues.<ref>{{cite news|last=Landler|first=Mark|title=Obama Seeks Reset in Arab World|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/12/us/politics/12prexy.html?_r=1&sq=zakaria&st=nyt&scp=1&pagewanted=print|access-date=May 25, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 11, 2011|archive-date=January 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107045357/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/12/us/politics/12prexy.html?_r=1|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Views==
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?185389-1/depth-thomas-friedman ''In Depth'' interview with Friedman, May 1, 2005], [[C-SPAN]]}} 
Friedman has been criticized for his staunch advocacy of the [[Iraq War]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Iraq 10 Years Later: The Deadly Consequences of Spin|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/iraq-war-spin-bush-david-corn/|access-date=April 25, 2019|website=Motherjones.com|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031513/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/iraq-war-spin-bush-david-corn/|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as unregulated trade,<ref>{{cite web|date=February 18, 2014|title=What Does Tom Friedman Know About TPP?|url=https://fair.org/home/what-does-tom-friedman-know-about-tpp/|access-date=April 25, 2019|website=Fair.org|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031532/https://fair.org/home/what-does-tom-friedman-know-about-tpp/|url-status=live}}</ref> and his early support of Saudi Royal Prince [[Mohammed bin Salman]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Larison|first=Daniel|date=September 5, 2018|title=Treat MbS as the War Criminal He Is|url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/treat-mbs-as-the-war-criminal-he-is/|access-date=April 25, 2019|website=The American Conservative|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031537/https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/treat-mbs-as-the-war-criminal-he-is/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Aadhaar ===
Friedman has publicly expressed his support for the biometrics based [[Aadhaar|Unique Identification]] program of [[India]]. When asked about the privacy concerns raised by the UID program in India he said:<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/facebook-is-tracking-you-more-than-anything-not-aadhaar-thomas-friedman/articleshow/62750180.cms|title=Facebook is tracking you more than anything, not Aadhaar: Thomas Friedman|last=Gupte|first=Masoom|date=February 2, 2018|newspaper=[[The Economic Times]]|access-date=February 2, 2018|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031609/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/facebook-is-tracking-you-more-than-anything-not-aadhaar-thomas-friedman/articleshow/62750180.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote|I am a huge enthusiast of the UID platform. I feel that is going to be a platform for innovation. Societies require these platforms where people are integrated with a trusted ID. I think concerns about privacy are bogus. The platform doesn't store anything about you except your biometrics. It's not tracking you. Facebook is tracking you much more today. If you are worried about privacy, then you shouldn't be using Google, Facebook, Twitter, any of these things. They are tracking you so much more than the Indian government is tracking you. What's worse is that they are selling it [information about you] for profit. So, I think the privacy concern [around Aadhaar] is bogus.}}

===Globalization===
{{further|The Lexus and the Olive Tree|The World Is Flat|Longitudes and Attitudes}}
[[File:Secretary Kerry Sits With New York Times Columnist Friedman for a Conversation at the World Economic Forum in Davos (32368960855).jpg|thumb|Friedman and U.S. Secretary of State [[John Kerry]] at the [[World Economic Forum]] in Davos, January 17, 2017]]
Friedman first discussed his views on [[globalization]] in the book ''The Lexus and the Olive Tree'' (1999). In 2004, visits to [[Bangalore]], India, and [[Dalian]], China, led Friedman to write a follow-up analysis, ''[[The World Is Flat]]'' (2005). Friedman believes that individual countries must sacrifice some degree of economic sovereignty to global institutions (such as [[capital market]]s and [[multinational corporation]]s), a situation he has termed the "golden straitjacket".<ref>{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Thomas L.|title=The Lexus and the Olive Tree|url=https://archive.org/details/lexusolivetre00frie|url-access=registration|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|date=1999|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lexusolivetre00frie/page/87 87–88]|isbn=9780374192037}}</ref>

In 2000, Friedman championed Free Trade with The People's Republic of China, claiming that Free Trade would make China more democratic.<ref>Friedman, Thomas. "Trade bill will expand democracy in China. Eugene Register Guard. May 17, 2000.</ref> He has also expressed concern about the United States' lack of [[energy independence]]. He has stated, "First rule of oil—addicts never tell the truth to their pushers. We are the addicts, the oil producers are the pushers—we've never had an honest conversation with the Saudis."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2010/12/03/us-has-lost-its-leverage-in-the-world-friedman.html|title=US Has 'Lost Its Leverage' in the World: Friedman|website=[[CNBC]]|access-date=September 16, 2017|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031555/https://www.cnbc.com/id/40489880|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2007, Friedman viewed [[Immigration to the United States|American immigration laws]] as too restrictive and damaging to U.S. economic output: "It is pure idiocy that Congress will not open our borders—as wide as possible—to attract and keep the world's first-round intellectual draft choices in an age when everyone increasingly has the same innovation tools and the key differentiator is human talent."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/opinion/23friedman.html?_r=1 |title=Laughing and Crying |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 27, 2007 |access-date=November 17, 2010 |first=Thomas L. |last=Friedman |archive-date=December 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031555/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/opinion/23friedman.html?_r=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After visiting the [[San Ysidro Port of Entry]] in San Diego, California in early April 2019, Friedman wrote, "The whole day left me more certain than ever that we have a real immigration crisis and that the solution is a high wall with a big gate—but a smart gate."<ref name="TFriedmanNYTApril2019">{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/opinion/trump-immigration-border-wall.html |title= Trump Is Wasting Our Immigration Crisis: The system needs to be fixed, but "the wall" is only part of the solution |author= Thomas L. Friedman |date= April 23, 2019 |work= [[The New York Times]] |access-date= April 25, 2019 |archive-date= December 23, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031557/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/opinion/trump-immigration-border-wall.html |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name="RScarryExaminerApril2019">{{cite web |url= https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/thomas-friedman-joins-america-endorses-trumps-immigration-positions |title= Thomas Friedman joins America, endorses Trump's immigration positions |author=  Eddie Scarry |date= April 25, 2019 |work= [[Washington Examiner]] |quote= Give New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman credit for his admission, rare among the national news media, that President Trump's immigration positions are logical, humane, and morally right. |access-date= April 25, 2019 }}</ref>

===Terrorism===
After the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001, Friedman's writing focused more on the threat of [[terrorism]] and the Middle East. He was awarded the 2002 [[Pulitzer Prize for Commentary]] "for his clarity of vision, based on extensive reporting, in commenting on the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat".<ref name=":0" /> These columns were collected and published in the book ''[[Longitudes and Attitudes]]''.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}} For a while, his reporting on post-9/11 topics led him to diverge from his prior interests in technological advances and globalization, until he began to research ''The World Is Flat''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/magazine/its-a-flat-world-after-all.html|title=It's a Flat World, After All|last=Friedman|first=Thomas L.|date=April 3, 2005|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 17, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031607/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/magazine/its-a-flat-world-after-all.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the [[7 July 2005 London bombings|7/7 London bombings]], Friedman called for the [[U.S. State Department]] to "shine a spotlight on [[hate speech]] wherever it appears", and to create a quarterly "War of Ideas Report, which would focus on those religious leaders and writers who are inciting violence against others".<ref name="hatemongers">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/opinion/giving-the-hatemongers-no-place-to-hide.html | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | title=Giving the Hatemongers No Place to Hide | first=Thomas L. | last=Friedman | date=July 22, 2005 | access-date=July 5, 2015 | archive-date=December 23, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031623/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/opinion/giving-the-hatemongers-no-place-to-hide.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Friedman said the governmental speech-monitoring should go beyond those who actually advocate violence, and include also those whom former State Department spokesperson [[James Rubin|Jamie Rubin]] calls "excuse makers".<ref name="hatemongers"/> In his July 22 column, Friedman wrote against the "excuses" made by terrorists or apologists who blame their actions on third-party influences or pressures. "After every major terrorist incident, the excuse makers come out to tell us ... why the terrorists acted. These excuse makers are just one notch less despicable than the terrorists and also deserve to be exposed. When you live in an open society like London, where anyone with a grievance can publish an article, run for office or start a political movement, the notion that blowing up a busload of innocent civilians in response to Iraq is somehow "understandable" is outrageous. "It erases the distinction between legitimate dissent and terrorism" Mr. Rubin said, "and an open society needs to maintain a clear wall between them."<ref name="hatemongers"/> As part of their response to this column, the editors at [[Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting|FAIR]] encouraged their readers to contact Friedman and inform him that "opponents of the Iraq War do not deserve to be on a government blacklist-even if they oppose the war because they believe it encourages terrorism".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://fair.org/take-action/action-alerts/a-new-blacklist-for-quotexcuse-makersquot/ | work=[[Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting|FAIR]] | title=A New Blacklist for 'Excuse Makers' | date=July 27, 2005 | access-date=July 5, 2015 | archive-date=December 23, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031615/https://fair.org/take-action/action-alerts/a-new-blacklist-for-quotexcuse-makersquot/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Kosovo War===
During the [[1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]], Friedman wrote the following in ''The New York Times'' on April 23, 1999: "Like it or not, we are at war with the Serbian nation (the Serbs certainly think so), and the stakes have to be very clear: Every week you ravage Kosovo is another decade we will set your country back by pulverizing you. You want 1950? We can do 1950. You want [[Battle of Kosovo|1389]]? We can do 1389 too." Friedman urged the US to destroy "in Belgrade: every power grid, water pipe, bridge [and] road", annex Albania and Macedonia as "U.S. protectorates", "occupy the Balkans for years",  and "[g]ive war a chance."<ref>{{cite news|author=Thomas Friedman|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/23/opinion/foreign-affairs-stop-the-music.html|title=Stop the Music|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 23, 1999|access-date=February 13, 2017|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031604/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/23/opinion/foreign-affairs-stop-the-music.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting]] (FAIR) labeled Friedman's remarks "war-mongering" and "crude race-hatred and war-crime agitation".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2941 |title=CPJ Declares Open Season on Thomas Friedman|website= Fair.org}}</ref> Steve Chapman, critical of the response taken by NATO, referred to Friedman as "the most fervent supporter of the air war" and ironically asked in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'': "Why stop at 1389? Why not revive the idea, proposed but never adopted in Vietnam, of bombing the enemy all the way back to the Stone Age?"<ref>{{cite news |author=Steve Chapman |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/04/29/a-war-against-all-of-the-serbs/ |title=A War Against All Of The Serbs |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=April 29, 1999 |access-date=May 1, 2013 |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103113452/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-04-29/news/9904290059_1_nato-serbian-civilians |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Norman Solomon]] asserted in 2007 that "a tone of sadism could be discerned" in Friedman's article.<ref>{{cite news | first=Norman | last=Solomon | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/thomas-friedman-hooked-on_b_63368 | title=Thomas Friedman: Hooked on War | work=[[HuffPost]] | date=September 6, 2007 | access-date=April 26, 2020 | archive-date=December 23, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031610/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/thomas-friedman-hooked-on_b_63368 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Iraq===
Friedman supported the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], writing that the establishment of a democratic state in the Middle East would force other countries in the region to liberalize and modernize.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}} In his February 9, 2003, column for ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', Friedman also pointed to the lack of compliance with the [[United Nations Security Council Resolution]] regarding [[Iraq]]'s [[weapons of mass destruction]]:
{{blockquote|The French position is utterly incoherent. The inspections have not worked yet, says Mr. de Villepin, because Saddam has not fully cooperated, and, therefore, we should triple the number of inspectors. But the inspections have failed not because of a shortage of inspectors. They have failed because of a shortage of compliance on Saddam's part, as the French know. The way you get that compliance out of a thug like Saddam is not by tripling the inspectors, but by tripling the threat that if he does not comply he will be faced with a U.N.-approved war.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/reform/cluster1/2003/0209india.htm |title=Vote France Off the Island |website=Globalpolicy.org |date=February 9, 2003 |access-date=May 15, 2010 |archive-date=December 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031609/https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/200/41165.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Nevertheless, he found the incoherence of the American position to be an asset, arguing that "the axis-of-evil idea isn't thought through -- but that's what I like about it. (...) There is a lot about the Bush team's foreign policy I don't like, but their willingness to restore our deterrence, and to be as crazy as some of our enemies, is one thing they have right. It is the only way we're going to get our turkey back.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Greenwald |first1=Glenn |title=The Tom Friedman of 2002 has not gone anywhere |url=https://www.salon.com/2007/11/18/friedman_2/ |work=Salon |date=November 18, 2007 |language=en}}</ref>

After the invasion, Friedman expressed alarm over the post-invasion conduct of the war by the [[George W. Bush]] administration. Nevertheless, until his piece dated August 4, 2006 (see below), his columns remained hopeful to the possibility of a positive conclusion to the Iraq conflict (although his optimism appeared to steadily diminish as the conflict continued). Friedman chided George W. Bush and Tony Blair for "hyping" the evidence, and stated plainly that converting Iraq to democracy "would be a huge undertaking, though, and maybe impossible, given Iraq's fractious history". In January 2004, he participated in a forum on ''[[Slate.com|Slate]]'' called "[[Liberal Hawks]] Reconsider the Iraq War", in which he dismisses the justification for war based on Iraq's lack of compliance with the U.N. Resolutions:
{{blockquote|The right reason for this war … was to oust Saddam's regime and partner with the Iraqi people to try to implement the Arab Human Development report's prescriptions in the heart of the Arab world. That report said the Arab world is falling off the globe because of a lack of freedom, women's empowerment, and modern education. The right reason for this war was to partner with Arab moderates in a long-term strategy of dehumiliation and redignification.<ref name="four reasons">{{cite journal| url=http://www.slate.com/id/2093620/entry/2093763/| title=Liberal Hawks Reconsider the Iraq War: Four Reasons To Invade Iraq| first=Thomas| last=Friedman| date=January 12, 2004| journal=Slate| access-date=December 7, 2006| archive-date=December 23, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031611/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/features/2004/liberal_hawks_reconsider_the_iraq_war/four_reasons_to_invade_iraq.html| url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In his September 29, 2005, column in ''The New York Times'', Friedman entertained the idea of supporting the [[Kurds]] and [[Shias]] in a civil war against the [[Sunnis]]: "If they [the Sunnis] won't come around, we should arm the Shiites and Kurds and leave the Sunnis of Iraq to reap the wind."<ref>[http://web.krg.org/articles/article_detail.asp?LangNr=12&RubricNr=94,106,109&ArticleNr=6377&LNNr=28&RNNr=70 The Endgame in Iraq]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051216010417/http://web.krg.org/articles/article_detail.asp?LangNr=12&RubricNr=94%2C106%2C109&ArticleNr=6377&LNNr=28&RNNr=70 |date=December 16, 2005 }} Sep 29. 2005</ref>

Critics of Friedman's position on the Iraq War have noted his recurrent assertion that "the next six months" will prove critical in determining the outcome of the conflict. A May 2006 study by [[Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting]] cited 14 examples of Friedman's declaring the next "few months" or "six months" as a decisive or critical period, dating from in November&nbsp;2003, describing it as "a long series of similar do-or-die dates that never seem to get any closer".<ref>[http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2884 Tom Friedman's Flexible Deadlines: Iraq's 'decisive' six months have lasted two and a half years] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004120725/http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2884 |date=October 4, 2012 }} May 16, 2006</ref> The blogger [[Atrios]] coined the neologism "[[Friedman Unit]]" to refer to this unit of time in relation to Iraq, noting its use as a supposedly critical window of opportunity.<ref name="Black">{{cite web | first = Duncan | last = Black | url = https://www.eschatonblog.com/2006_05_21_atrios_archive.html#114826445526365297 | author-link = Atrios | title = The Six Monthers | publisher = Blogspot | date = May 21, 2006 | access-date = April 26, 2020 | archive-date = December 23, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031615/https://www.eschatonblog.com/2006_05_21_atrios_archive.html#114826445526365297 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>''[[HuffPost]]'' cited it as the "Best New Phrase" of 2006.{{cite news | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/media-winners-of-2006-ho_n_37388 | title=Media Winners of 2006: Honorable Mentions (Rapid-Fire Round II) | work=[[HuffPost]] | date=January 2, 2007 | access-date=April 26, 2020 | archive-date=December 23, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031606/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/media-winners-of-2006-ho_n_37388 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In a live television interview aired June 11, 2006, on [[CNN]], [[Howard Kurtz]] asked Friedman about the concept: "Now, I want to understand how a columnist's mind works when you take positions, because you were chided recently for writing several times in different occasions 'the next six months are crucial in Iraq.'"  Friedman responded: "The fact is that the outcome there is unclear, and I reflected that in my column. And I will continue to reflect."<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/11/rs.01.html White House Mounts Media Blitz After Killing of Zarqawi] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005082152/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/11/rs.01.html |date=October 5, 2016 }} June 11, 2006</ref>  Responding to prodding from [[Stephen Colbert]], Friedman said in 2007: "We've run out of six months. It's really time to set a deadline."<ref>{{cite web|last=Corley |first=Matt |url=http://thinkprogress.org/2007/09/25/friedman-six-months-no-more/ |title=No more 'Friedmans' for Friedman. |website=ThinkProgress.org |date=September 25, 2007 |access-date=October 6, 2011}}</ref>

===Environment===
''Iran's Great Weakness May Be Its Oil'', by Thomas Friedman, challenges and debates conflicts about oil. Friedman states,"The best tool we have for curbing Iran's influence is not containment or engagement, but getting the price of oil down in the long term with [[North American energy independence|conservation and an alternative-energy strategy]]. Let's exploit [[Iran's oil]] addiction by ending ours".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/02/thomas_friedman.html |title=Economist's View: Thomas Friedman: Iran's Great Weakness May Be Its Oil |website=Economistsview.typepad.com |date=February 3, 2007 |access-date=October 6, 2011}}</ref> In ''[[Hot, Flat, and Crowded]]'', he says that "any car company that gets taxpayer money must demonstrate a plan for transforming every vehicle in its fleet to a [[hybrid electric|hybrid-electric engine]] with [[flex-fuel]] capability, so its entire fleet can also run on next generation [[cellulosic ethanol]]".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/opinion/12friedman.html?_r=1 | newspaper=The New York Times | title=How to Fix a Flat | first=Thomas L. | last=Friedman | date=November 12, 2008 | access-date=March 28, 2010}}</ref>

In a Fresh Dialogues interview, Friedman described his motivations for writing the book: "My concern is about America.... Demand for clean energy, clean fuel and [[Efficient energy use|energy efficiency]] is clearly going to explode; it's going to be the next great global industry. I know that as sure as I know that I'm sitting here at [[De Anza College]] talking to you. By being big in the next big thing, we'll be seen by the rest of the world as working on the most important problem in the world."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/09/18/tom-friedman-transcript-of-fresh-dialogues-interview/ |title=Fresh Dialogues interview with Alison van Diggelen, September 10, 2009 |website=Freshdialogues.com |date=September 18, 2009 |access-date=May 15, 2010}}</ref> Some of Friedman's environmental critics question his support of still-undeveloped [[coal pollution mitigation]] technology ("clean coal") and coal mining as emblematic of Friedman's less than "green" commitment to renewable energy.<ref name="autogenerated1">[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/10/opinion/10friedman.html?scp=2&sq=Friedman+green+lump&st=nyt The NYT's Thomas Friedman ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104204255/http://select.nytimes.com/2007/01/10/opinion/10friedman.html?scp=2&sq=Friedman+green+lump&st=nyt |date=January 4, 2016 }} January 2007</ref>

===Israel===
Friedman has been criticized by organizations such as [[Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting]] for defending Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon as a form of "educating" Israel's opponents; according to FAIR, Friedman was explicitly endorsing terrorism by Israel against Lebanese and Palestinians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fair.org/take-action/action-alerts/terrorism-on-the-new-york-times-op-ed-page/|title=Terrorism on the New York Times Op-Ed Page|date=January 14, 2009|website=Fair.org|access-date=April 18, 2013|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031639/https://fair.org/take-action/action-alerts/terrorism-on-the-new-york-times-op-ed-page/|url-status=live}}</ref> Journalist [[Glenn Greenwald]] and professor [[Noam Chomsky]] also accused Friedman of endorsing and encouraging terrorism by Israeli forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2009/01/14/friedman_7/|title=Tom Friedman offers a perfect definition of "terrorism"|first=Glenn|last=Greenwald|author-link=Glenn Greenwald|website=Salon.com|date=January 14, 2009|access-date=April 18, 2013|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031626/https://www.salon.com/2009/01/14/friedman_7/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20090119.htm|title="Exterminate all the Brutes": Gaza 2009|website=Chomsky.info|access-date=November 24, 2009|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031625/https://chomsky.info/articles/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Political reporter Belen Fernandez heavily critiques Friedman's commentary regarding Israel. Among other criticisms, Fernandez singles out Friedman's suggestion that Israeli forces were unaware that their allied [[Lebanese Forces (militia)|Lebanese militias]] carried out the [[Sabra and Shatila massacre]] while under their guard, contradicting the assessments of other journalists and observers; his encouragement of strong-armed force by the Israeli army against Palestinians; and his opposition to [[Israeli settlement|settlements]] only on the grounds that they are counter-productive, rather than because they violate [[International law and Israeli settlements|international law]] or cause suffering for Palestinians. Fernandez suggests that Friedman is most worried about successfully maintaining Israel's Jewish ethnocracy and actively opposing a "one-man, one-vote" system of democracy.<ref>Fernandez, Belen. ''The Imperial Messenger: Thomas Friedman at Work''. Verso Books, 2011, p 99-107</ref>

Friedman has also come under criticism from supporters of Israel. In an op-ed, Yitzhak Benhorin criticized Friedman's alleged suggestion that Israel relinquish territory it had occupied in the 1967 Middle Eastern War.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4028408,00.html|title=Go figure Tom Friedman|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=February 14, 2011|access-date=February 14, 2011|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031624/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4028408,00.html|url-status=live|last1=Sherman|first1=Martin}}</ref> Friedman sparked criticism for writing that congressional ovations for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were "bought and paid for by the [[Israel lobby in the United States|Israel lobby]]."<ref>Thomas L. Friedman: [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/opinion/friedman-newt-mitt-bibi-and-vladimir.html?_r=1 Newt, Mitt, Bibi and Vladimir] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322100547/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/opinion/friedman-newt-mitt-bibi-and-vladimir.html?_r=1 |date=March 22, 2015 }} ''New York Times'' December 13, 2011.</ref> A letter from the [[American Jewish Committee]] objected that "Public opinion polls consistently show a high level of American ... support for and identification with Israel. This indicates that the people's elected representatives are fully reflecting the will of the voters."<ref>[http://blogs.jpost.com/content/new-york-times-columnist-tom-friedman-crossed-line New York Times Columnist Tom Friedman Crossed a Line] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103070852/http://blogs.jpost.com/content/new-york-times-columnist-tom-friedman-crossed-line |date=November 3, 2013 }} ''Jerusalem Post,'' December 19, 2011.</ref> Friedman responded to criticism by writing: "In retrospect I probably should have used a more precise term like 'engineered' by the Israel lobby – a term that does not suggest grand conspiracy theories that I don't subscribe to."<ref>[http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/12/20/3090840/friedman-sorry-for-bought-and-paid-for-jab-at-congress Friedman responds to criticism over ‘bought and paid for’ jab at Congress] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418202933/http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/12/20/3090840/friedman-sorry-for-bought-and-paid-for-jab-at-congress |date=April 18, 2012 }} JTA, December 20, 2011.</ref>

Friedman hailed the Trump-brokered [[Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement|peace agreement]] between [[Israel]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]] as "exactly what Trump said it was in his tweet: a 'HUGE breakthrough.{{'"}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/512125-trump-seeks-to-build-campaign-momentum-with-middle-east-deal|title=Trump seeks to build campaign momentum with Middle East deal|first=Ian|last=Swanson|date=August 16, 2020|website=The Hill|access-date=September 9, 2020|archive-date=November 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115060306/https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/512125-trump-seeks-to-build-campaign-momentum-with-middle-east-deal|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2023, as the Netanyahu’s government proposed new laws leading to judicial reform intended to limit the powers of Israel’s [[Supreme Court of Israel|Supreme Court]], Friedman wrote an opinion piece supporting the Biden government’s changing diplomatic approach toward Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/opinion/netanyahu-israel-judiciary.html |title=The U.S. Reassessment of Netanyahu's Government Has Begun| last=Friedman |first=Thomas L.|website=[[The New York Times]] |date=2023-07-11 |access-date=2023-11-05 }}</ref> Following the outbreak of the [[Gaza war]], Friedman urged Israel against military over-reach and further settlement expansions, saying to do so otherwise would risk destabilizing the region and the US-Israel alliance.<ref>{{cite news |author=Thomas Friedman |date=2023-10-27 |title=Israel: From the Six-Day War to the Six-Front War |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/opinion/israel-gaza-palestine-war.html |work=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Thomas Friedman |date=2023-10-19 |title=Israel Is About to Make a Terrible Mistake |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/opinion/biden-speech-israel-gaza.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>

===China===
In September 2009, Friedman wrote an article praising China's [[one-party state|one-party]] [[autocracy]], saying that China's leaders are "boosting gasoline prices" and "overtaking us in electric cars, solar power, energy efficiency, batteries, nuclear power and wind power."<ref name="12:10 EDT">{{cite magazine|author=EDT |url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Tom-Friedman-hails-China_s-one-party-autocracy-8229077-59075192.html |title=New York Times columnist Tom Friedman hails China's one-party autocracy |magazine=Washington Examiner |date=September 13, 2009 |access-date=May 15, 2010 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The article was in turn subject to critical analysis: [[Matt Lewis (journalist)|Matt Lewis]] who wrote, "Friedman's apparent wish for a 'benign' dictator is utopian, inasmuch as it ignores Lord Acton's warning that 'absolute power corrupts absolutely.'"<ref>{{cite web|author=Matt Lewis|url=http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/20/tom-friedman-praises-chinas-one-party-autocracy-again/|title=Tom Friedman, in Praising China's 'One-Party Autocracy,' Just Doesn't Get It|work=Politics Daily |date=January 20, 2011|access-date=October 26, 2012|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031627/https://www.huffpost.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[William Easterly]] who quotes Friedman's one-party autocracy assertions<ref>{{cite web|author=William Easterly|url=http://williameasterly.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/benevolent-autocrats-easterly-2nd-draft.pdf|title=Benevolent Autocrats|publisher=William Easterly|date=May 2011|pages=2|access-date=October 26, 2012|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031613/https://williameasterly.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/benevolent-autocrats-easterly-2nd-draft.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> as part of his academic paper in which he concluded that, "Formal theory and evidence provides little or no basis on which to believe the benevolent autocrat story" and that, "economists should retain their traditional skepticism for stories that have little good theory or empirics to support them."<ref>{{cite web|author=William Easterly|url=http://williameasterly.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/benevolent-autocrats-easterly-2nd-draft.pdf|title=Benevolent Autocrats|publisher=William Easterly|date=May 2011|pages=44|access-date=October 26, 2012|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031624/https://williameasterly.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/benevolent-autocrats-easterly-2nd-draft.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> However, in a July 2012 article in the NYT,<ref name="12:10 EDT"/> he also wrote that the current Chinese leadership has not used its surging economic growth to also introduce gradual political reform and that, "Corruption is as bad as ever, institutionalized transparency and rule of law remain weak and consensual politics nonexistent."<ref>{{cite news|author=Thomas Friedman|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/opinion/friedman-what-the-locusts-ate.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0|title=What the Locusts Ate|date=June 5, 2012|access-date=October 26, 2012|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031629/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/opinion/friedman-what-the-locusts-ate.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref> When asked if he had "China envy" during a Fresh Dialogues interview, Friedman replied, "You detect the envy of someone who wants his own government to act democratically with the same effectiveness that China can do autocratically."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/09/16/tom-friedman-china-envy-explained/ |title=Fresh Dialogues Interview with Alison van Diggelen |website=Freshdialogues.com |date=September 16, 2009 |access-date=May 15, 2010 |archive-date=December 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031633/https://www.freshdialogues.com/2009/09/16/tom-friedman-china-envy-explained/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Likewise, in a 2011 interview with the [[BBC]] Friedman says that he wants his children to live in a world where "there's a strong America counterbalancing a strong and thriving China, and not one where you have a strong and rising China and an America that is uncertain, weak and unable to project power economically and militarily it historically did."<ref>{{YouTube|ws3Yr6JjZyk|BBC Two: The Chinese Are Coming: Episode 2: The Americas (Part 4 of 4), quote can be heard from 11:50 to 12:15 }}{{dead link|date=October 2011}}</ref>

Friedman's work is popular in China. His book ''The World is Flat'' was a bestseller in the country, although criticism of China in the book was removed when it was published in the country.<ref name="economist">{{cite news|title=The role of Thomas Friedman|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2013/05/chinese-dream-0|newspaper=The Economist|date=May 6, 2013|access-date=July 13, 2017|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028145059/https://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2013/05/chinese-dream-0|url-status=live}}</ref> A translated version of his article from ''The New York Times'', "China Needs Its Own Dream", has been credited with popularizing the phrase "[[Chinese Dream]]" in China, a term that was later adopted as a slogan by [[Xi Jinping]].<ref name="economist"/> Friedman, in the magazine ''[[Foreign Policy]]'', has attributed the phrase to Peggy Liu and her environmental NGO JUCCCE.<ref name=FP>{{cite news|last=Fish|first=Isaac Stone|title=Thomas Friedman: I only deserve partial credit for coining the 'Chinese dream'|url=http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/05/03/thomas_friedman_i_only_deserve_partial_credit_for_coining_the_chinese_dream|newspaper=Foreign Policy|date=May 3, 2013|access-date=May 30, 2013|archive-date=June 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607020405/http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/05/03/thomas_friedman_i_only_deserve_partial_credit_for_coining_the_chinese_dream|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2020, Friedman told CNBC that "Trump is not the American president America deserves, in my opinion. But he definitely is the American president China deserved. We needed to have a president who was going to call the game with China. And Trump has done it, with I would say more grit and toughness than any of his predecessors. I give him credit for that."<ref>{{cite news |title=Trump is the U.S. president that China deserves, says New York Times' Thomas Friedman |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/01/new-york-times-columnist-thomas-friedman-donald-trump-is-us-president-china-deserves.html |work=CNBC |date=September 1, 2020}}</ref> In November the same year, Friedman observed that Xi Jinping had brought about "an end to four decades of steady integration of China’s economy with the West".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/opinion/china-united-states-trade-economy.html |title=How China Lost America |author=Thomas Friedman |date=2022-11-01 |work=New York Times }}</ref>

===Iran===
As the [[Iran nuclear deal framework|Iran nuclear deal agreement]] reached between Iran and a group of world powers (the [[P5+1]]). In Friedman's interview, he mentioned that "Our view of the Middle East is deeply colored by Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey and they all have their own interest. 15 of the 19 hijackers on 911 were from Saudi Arabia, none from Iran! Iranians had a spontaneous demonstration to support Americans on 911." He added, "What strikes you most about Iran (vs. Saudi Arabia) is that Iran has real politics... A country of 85 million people, a great civilization, many educated men and women, if they want to get a bomb they will get it. They have demonstrated they could do it under the most severe sanctions... Show me where Iranians have acted reckless [like Saddam Hussein]. These are survivors."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hulu.com/watch/823275|title=Charlie Rose|access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054340/http://www.hulu.com/watch/823275|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On February 2, 2024, Friedman penned a allegorical op-ed entitled, "Understanding the Middle East Through the Animal Kingdom", in which he posited Iran as a metaphorical "parasitoid wasp" with proxies in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, as caterpillars. Friedman claimed "We [America] have no counterstrategy that safely and efficiently kills the wasp without setting fire to the whole jungle", suggesting that America militarily destroy the entire Middle East to annihilate Iran and its allies. He concluded that he could "contemplate" the Middle East by watching Animal Planet.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Thomas Friedman |date=2024-02-02 |title=Understanding the Middle East Through the Animal Kingdom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/01/30/opinion/thepoint/friedman-middle-east-animals?.html |work=New York Times}}</ref> The New Arab reported that it has been criticized for racism and [[orientalism]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 February 2024 |title=Thomas Friedman's 'Middle East Animal Kingdom' article in New York Times enrages Arabs, supporters of Palestine over 'racism' |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/thomas-friedman-nyt-middle-east-animal-kingdom-enrages-arabs |website=The New Arab}}</ref>

===Radical centrism===
In the 2010s, Friedman wrote several columns supporting the politics of [[Radical center (politics)|radical centrism]]. In one he stated that, if the "radical center wants to be empowered, it can't just whine.  It needs its own [[grassroots|grass-roots]] movement".<ref>Friedman, Thomas L. (March 20, 2010).  "[https://web.archive.org/web/20170201040317/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/opinion/24friedman.html?_r=0 A Tea Party Without Nuts]".  ''The New York Times''.  Retrieved February 25, 2013.</ref>  In another column Friedman promoted [[Americans Elect]], an organization trying to field a radical-centrist candidate for the [[2012 U.S. presidential election]].  That column decried "the two-party duopoly that has dominated American political life".<ref>Friedman, Thomas (July 23, 2011).  "[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24friedman.html?_r=0 Make Way for the Radical Center] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005042006/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24friedman.html?_r=0 |date=October 5, 2014 }}".  ''The New York Times''.  Retrieved February 23, 2013.</ref>   Friedman's radical-centrist columns received a considerable amount of criticism, particularly from liberals.<ref>Marx, Greg (July 25, 2011).  "[https://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/tom_friedmans_radical_wrongnes.php?page=all Tom Friedman's 'Radical' Wrongness] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622053405/https://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/tom_friedmans_radical_wrongnes.php?page=all |date=June 22, 2016 }}".  ''Columbia Journalism Review''.  Retrieved February 28, 2013.</ref>

==Personal life==
Friedman's wife, Ann (née Bucksbaum) is  a teacher and a native of [[Marshalltown, Iowa]].<ref>[https://plaza.las.iastate.edu/directory/ann-bucksbaum-friedman/ Iowa state University Plaza of Heroines: "Ann Bucksbaum Friedman"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031511/https://plaza.las.iastate.edu/directory/ann-bucksbaum-friedman/ |date=December 23, 2020}} Retrieved September 24, 2017</ref> A graduate of [[Stanford University]] and the [[London School of Economics]],<ref name="archive.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.las.iastate.edu/kiosk/2892.shtml|title=Plaza of Heroines - Ann Bucksbaum Friedman|date=October 18, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081018111132/http://www.las.iastate.edu/kiosk/2892.shtml|access-date=April 25, 2019|archive-date=October 18, 2008}}</ref> she is the daughter of real estate developer [[Matthew Bucksbaum]],<ref name=ann>{{cite news |last= O'Connell |first= Jonathan |date=January 25, 2017 |title= Philanthropist Ann Friedman picked to turn D.C.'s Franklin School into 'Planet Word.'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/digger/wp/2017/01/25/philanthropist-ann-friedman-picked-to-turn-d-c-s-franklin-school-into-planet-word/ |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |location=Washington DC |access-date=January 25, 2018 }}</ref> whom Friedman describes as his "best friend".<ref name="Washingtonian">{{cite news |last1=Graff |first1=Garrett |title=Thomas Friedman is On Top of the World |url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2006/07/01/thomas-friedman-is-on-top-of-the-world/ |agency=Washingtonian Magazine |date=July 1, 2006 |access-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-date=December 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031510/https://www.washingtonian.com/2006/07/01/thomas-friedman-is-on-top-of-the-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/thomas-friedman-is-on-top-of-the-world/ Forbes: "Thomas Friedman is On Top of the World" by Garrett M. Graff] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104150905/http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/thomas-friedman-is-on-top-of-the-world/|date=November 4, 2015 }} July 1, 2006</ref> They were married in London on Thanksgiving Day 1978 and live in an 11,400-square-foot mansion in [[Bethesda, Maryland]].<ref name="vanity">{{cite news|date=November 2008|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2008/11/thomas-friedmans-world-is-flat-broke|title=Thomas Friedman's World Is Flat Broke|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|access-date=April 15, 2020|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031526/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/11/thomas-friedmans-world-is-flat-broke|url-status=live}}</ref> They have two daughters, Orly (born 1985) and Natalie (born 1988).<ref name="archive.org"/>

Friedman supported [[Hillary Clinton]] for President of the United States in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 election]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/opinion/the-gop-partys-over.html|title=Opinion - The (G.O.P.) Party's Over|first=Thomas L.|last=Friedman|date=July 13, 2016|access-date=April 25, 2019|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> and supported [[Michael Bloomberg]] in the [[2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2020 primaries]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/opinion/michael-bloomberg.html|title=Why I Like Mike: The Democratic Party, looking to bring down Trump, should look at the recent Israeli elections|author=Thomas Friedman|date=November 12, 2019|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=November 21, 2019|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031630/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/opinion/michael-bloomberg.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mediaite.com/politics/nyt-columnist-endorses-bloomberg-disclosure-he-donates-to-my-wifes-museum/|title=NY Times Columnist Endorses Bloomberg (Disclosure: He Donates to My Wife's Museum|author=Charlie Nash|date=November 13, 2019|publisher=Mediaite|access-date=November 21, 2019|archive-date=December 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223031630/https://www.mediaite.com/politics/nyt-columnist-endorses-bloomberg-disclosure-he-donates-to-my-wifes-museum/|url-status=live}}</ref> He supported [[Joe Biden]] in the [[2020 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/09/25/thomas_friedman_im_terrified_covering_americas_potential_second_civil_war_i_shudder_at_four_more_years.html|title=Thomas Friedman: I'm Terrified Covering America's Potential Second Civil War, I Shudder At Four More Years|last=Friedman|date=September 25, 2020|access-date=September 28, 2020|website=RealClearPolitics}}</ref> Friedman is on the board of directors for [[Planet Word]], a private museum dedicated to language based in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/the-latest-word-on-planet-word-downtown-dcs-museum-for-language-is-set-to-open-in-may/2019/11/06/48a64328-f1f0-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html|title=The latest word on Planet Word: Downtown D.C.'s language museum is set to open in May|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

==Awards==
Friedman has won three [[Pulitzer Prize]]s:
* 1983: for his coverage of the war in Lebanon. A distinguished example of international reporting<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/thomas-l-friedman-and-loren-jenkins The 1983 Pulitzer Prize Winner in International Reporting: Thomas L. Friedman and Loren Jenkins of The New York Times and The Washington Post, (respectively)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602141839/http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/thomas-l-friedman-and-loren-jenkins |date=June 2, 2016 }}, 2016</ref>
* 1988: for coverage of Israel: a distinguished example of reporting on international affairs<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/thomas-l-friedman The 1988 Pulitzer Prize Winner in International Reporting: Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602184239/http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/thomas-l-friedman |date=June 2, 2016 }}, Pulitzer Prize site, 2016</ref>
* 2002: for his commentary illuminating the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/thomas-friedman The 2002 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Commentary: Thomas Friedman of The New York Times] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602142845/http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/thomas-friedman |date=June 2, 2016 }}, Pulitzer Prize site, 2016</ref>

==Published works==
* ''[[From Beirut to Jerusalem]]'' : One Man's Middle Eastern Odyssey (1989; expanded edition 1990) – winner of the [[National Book Award]] in its first edition<ref name=nba1989/>
* ''[[The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization]]'' (1999; revised edition 2000)
* ''[[Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11]]'' (2002; reprinted 2003 as ''Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism'')
* ''[[The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century]]'' (2005; expanded edition 2006; revised edition 2007)
* ''[[Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—And How It Can Renew America]]'' (2008)
* ''[[That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back]]'' (Co-written with [[Michael Mandelbaum]] 2011)
* ''[[Thank You for Being Late|Thank You for Being Late: Finding a Job, Running a Country, and Keeping Your Head in an Age of Accelerations]]'' (November 2016)<ref name="NYT_review">{{citation |title=The Message of Thomas Friedman's New Book: It's Going to Be O.K. |url=http://nyti.ms/2f1MVXj |access-date=January 15, 2017 |date=November 22, 2016 |author=John Micklethwait |newspaper=The New York Times }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Curiosity quotient]]
* [[New Yorkers in journalism]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{official website |www.thomaslfriedman.com }}
* [https://www.nytimes.com/by/thomas-l-friedman Columns for ''The New York Times'']
* {{IMDb name|295385}}
* {{C-SPAN|10332}}
* {{Muckrack}}

{{Thomas Friedman}}
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{{PulitzerPrize Commentary 2001–2025}}
{{PulitzerPrize International Reporting}}
{{LivingstonAward International Reporting}}
{{Authority control}}

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