Jump to content
Main menu Navigation ●Main page ●Contents ●Current events ●Random article ●About Wikipedia ●Contact us ●Donate Contribute ●Help ●Learn to edit ●Community portal ●Recent changes ●Upload file
●Create account ●Log in ●Create account ● Log in Pages for logged out editors learn more ●Contributions ●Talk
View source for Dinesh D'Souza

●Article ●Talk ●Read ●View source ●View history Tools Actions ●Read ●View source ●View history General ●What links here ●Related changes ●Upload file ●Special pages ●Page information ●Get shortened URL ●Download QR code ●Wikidata item Appearance ← Dinesh D'Souza You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reason:
This page is currently semi-protected so that only established, registered users can edit it.
Why is the page protected?

While most articles can be edited by anyone, semi-protection is sometimes necessary to prevent vandalism to popular pages.
The reason for protection can be found in the protection log. If there are no relevant entries in the protection log, the page may have been moved after being protected.
What can I do?

If you have a user account, log in first. If you do not yet have an account, you may create one; after 4 days and 10 edits, you will be able to edit semi-protected pages.
Discuss this page with others.
For move-protected pages, see requested moves.
Request that the page's protection level be reduced.
Find out more about how to get started editing Wikipedia.
If you have noticed an error or have a suggestion for a simple, non-controversial change, you can submit an edit request by clicking the button below and following the instructions. An established user may then make the change on your behalf. Please check the talk page first in case the issue is already being discussed.
Submit an edit request
If you wrote any text, please save it temporarily to your device until you can edit this page.
You can view and copy the source of this page:
{{Short description|Indian-American political commentator}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Dinesh D'Souza
| image              = Dinesh D'Souza (50755833428) (cropped).jpg
| caption            = D'Souza in 2018
| birth_name         = Dinesh Joseph D'Souza
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1961|4|25}}
| birth_place        = Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]), India
| known_for          = [[Right-wing populism]], [[Christian apologetics]], [[political commentary]], and filmmaking
| education          = [[Dartmouth College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| occupation         = [[political commentary|Political commentator]]
| party              = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Dixie Brubaker|1992|2012|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Deborah Fancher|March 19, 2016}}
}}
| children           = Danielle D'Souza Gill (daughter)
| relatives          = 
| website            = {{Official_URL}}
}}

'''Dinesh Joseph D'Souza''' ({{IPAc-en|d|ɪ|ˈ|n|ɛ|ʃ|_|d|ə|ˈ|s|uː|z|ə}}; born April 25, 1961) is an Indian-American [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]]<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Jenkins|first=Nash|date=31 May 2018|title=President Trump Says He's Pardoning Dinesh D'Souza. Who's That, and What Did He Do?|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=https://time.com/5297000/who-is-dinesh-dsouza/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Breuninger|first1=Kevin|last2=Higgins|first2=Tucker|date=31 May 2018|title=Trump will pardon conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, who was convicted of campaign finance violation|work=[[CNBC]]|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/31/trump-will-pardon-conservative-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-who-was-convicted-for.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Shugerman|first=Emily|date=31 May 2018|title=Dinesh D'Souza: Trump 'will give full pardon' to right-wing theorist for campaign finance violations|work=[[The Independent]]|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-dinesh-dsouza-pardon-campaign-election-finance-violation-a8377546.html}}</ref><!--"Right-wing" as a descriptor is the consensus per an RfC closure in March 2021. --> political commentator, [[conspiracy theorist]], author, filmmaker and convicted felon who received a Presidential pardon by [[Donald Trump]] for his crimes.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Jenkins|first=Nash|date=31 May 2018|title=President Trump Says He's Pardoning Dinesh D'Souza. Who's That, and What Did He Do?|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=https://time.com/5297000/who-is-dinesh-dsouza/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Breuninger|first1=Kevin|last2=Higgins|first2=Tucker|date=31 May 2018|title=Trump will pardon conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, who was convicted of campaign finance violation|work=[[CNBC]]|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/31/trump-will-pardon-conservative-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-who-was-convicted-for.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Shugerman|first=Emily|date=31 May 2018|title=Dinesh D'Souza: Trump 'will give full pardon' to right-wing theorist for campaign finance violations|work=[[The Independent]]|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-dinesh-dsouza-pardon-campaign-election-finance-violation-a8377546.html}}</ref>{{refn|Multiple sources:
* Indian-American<ref name="Stricherz-Atlantic">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/what-happened-to-dinesh-dsouza/374939/|title=What happened to Dinesh D'Souza|first=Mark|last=Stricherz|magazine= [[The Atlantic]] |date=July 25, 2014|access-date=June 7, 2018}}</ref><ref name=":6" />
* Political commentator<ref name="Wilson-Guardian">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/31/who-is-dinesh-dsouza-trump-pardon-profile-rightwing-provocateur|title=Dinesh D'Souza: far-right provocateur and key figure in US culture wars|last=Wilson|first=Jason|date=31 May 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="DaSilva-Newsweek">{{cite news |first=Chantal |last=Da Silva |author-link=Chantal Da Silva |url=http://www.newsweek.com/dinesh-dsouza-outrage-mocking-survivors-florida-school-814004 |title=Florida school shooting survivor hits out at right-wing pundit Dinesh D'Souza for mocking grieving students |newspaper=Newsweek |date=February 21, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222040623/http://www.newsweek.com/dinesh-dsouza-outrage-mocking-survivors-florida-school-814004 |archive-date=February 22, 2018  }}</ref><ref name="tomnamako" /><ref name=":6" />
* Provocateur<ref name="Wilson-Guardian"/><ref>{{cite web|title=A publisher abruptly recalled the '2,000 Mules' election denial book. NPR got a copy.|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/09/08/1121648290/a-publisher-abruptly-recalled-the-2-000-mules-election-denial-book-npr-got-a-cop|publisher=NPR|work=All Things Considered|author= Tom Dreisbach|date=September 8, 2022|quote=the conservative provocateur Dinesh D'Souza}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44321650|publisher=BBC News|title=Dinesh D'Souza: Why did Trump pardon the provocateur?|author=Anthony Zurcher|date=May 31, 2018|quote=all-around political provocateur}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-pardon-20180531-story.html|title=Trump pardons Dinesh D'Souza, says he may do same for Martha Stewart and cut sentence of ex-Illinois Gov. Blagojevich|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|author= provocateur Dinesh D'Souza|date=May 31, 2018}}</ref>
* Author<ref name="Wilson-Guardian"/><ref name="Howard-NBC">{{cite web|last=Howard|first=Adam|date=July 22, 2016|title=Dinesh D'Souza, Conservative Firebrand, Set to Debut Anti-Clinton Film|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dinesh-d-souza-conservative-firebrand-set-debut-anti-clinton-film-n614891|access-date=February 8, 2021|website=[[NBC News]]}}</ref><ref name="Stricherz-Atlantic"/><ref name=":6" />
* Filmmaker<ref name="Wilson-Guardian"/><ref name="DaSilva-Newsweek"/><ref name="Howard-NBC"/><ref name="Stricherz-Atlantic"/>
* Conspiracy theorist<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Whitfield|first=Stephen J.|date=October 2018|title=The Persistence of the Protocols|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12115-018-0282-6|journal=[[Society (journal)|Society]]|language=en|volume=55|issue=5|pages=417–421|doi=10.1007/s12115-018-0282-6|s2cid=150256723|issn=0147-2011|quote=Most recently the conspiracy theorist Dinesh D'Souza accused Soros of supporting antifa, that is, of backing 'domestic terrorism.'}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Langer|first=Armin|title=The eternal George Soros|date=April 2, 2021|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781000373370/chapters/10.4324/9781003048640-9|work=Europe: Continent of Conspiracies|pages=163–184|editor-last=Önnerfors|editor-first=Andreas|edition=1|place=Abingdon, Oxon|publisher=[[Routledge]]|language=en|doi=10.4324/9781003048640-9|isbn=978-1-003-04864-0|s2cid=233615606|quote=The US conspiracy theorist and pro-Trump commentator Dinesh D'Souza...|editor2-last=Krouwel|editor2-first=André}}</ref><ref name="Bevan-ABC">{{cite news |title=Trump pardons right-wing conspiracy theorist Dinesh D'Souza — World News with Matt Bevan |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/world-news-with-matt-bevan/9823560 |work=[[Radio National]] |date=1 June 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="tomnamako" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Savan|first=Leslie|date=July 8, 2014|title=ABC News Helps Dinesh D'Souza Hype His Latest Conspiracy Theory|language=en-US|work=[[The Nation]]|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/abc-news-helps-dinesh-dsouza-hype-his-latest-conspiracy-theory/|access-date=March 1, 2021|issn=0027-8378}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Jones|first=Sarah|date=May 31, 2018|title=Grifters All the Way Down|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/148645/dinesh-dsouza-grifter-chief|access-date=March 1, 2021|issn=0028-6583}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Stern|first=Marlow|date=May 31, 2018|title=Trevor Noah Compares Trump-Pardoned Dinesh D'Souza to KKK 'Grand Wizard'|language=en|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/trevor-noah-compares-the-trump-pardoned-dinesh-dsouza-to-kkk-grand-wizard|access-date=March 1, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Rodgers|first=Jennifer|date=March 19, 2019|title=Trump is turning his pardon power into a shield|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/19/opinions/trump-pardon-power-abuse-rodgers/index.html|access-date=March 1, 2021|website=[[CNN]]|language=en}}</ref>}} He has made several financially successful films,<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/14/spike-lee-michael-moore-dinesh-dsouza-can-a-film-change-politics</ref> and written over a dozen books, several of them [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' best-sellers]].<ref name="NYT20180531" /><ref name="Schuessler">{{cite news|first=Jennifer|last=Schuessler|url=https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2010-10-17/hardcover-nonfiction/list.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|title=Best Sellers Hardcover Nonfiction|date=October 17, 2010|access-date=August 29, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517103558/http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2010-10-17/hardcover-nonfiction/list.html|archive-date=May 17, 2013}}</ref>

Born in [[Mumbai]], D'Souza moved to the United States as an exchange student and graduated from [[Dartmouth College]]. He was a policy adviser in the administration of President [[Ronald Reagan]] and has been affiliated with the [[American Enterprise Institute]] and the [[Hoover Institution]].<ref name=":6" /> He became a naturalized citizen in 1991.<ref name="reuters1" /> From 2010 to 2012, he was president of [[The King's College (New York)|The King's College]], a Christian school in New York City, until he resigned after an alleged adultery scandal.<ref name="nyt-kings">{{Cite news|last=Kaminer|first=Ariel|date=October 19, 2012|title=Dinesh D'Souza is out as King's college president in scandal|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/nyregion/dinesh-dsouza-is-out-as-kings-college-president-in-scandal.html|url-status=live|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131005526/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/nyregion/dinesh-dsouza-is-out-as-kings-college-president-in-scandal.html|archive-date=January 31, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 2012, D'Souza released the [[conspiracy theory|conspiracist]] [[political film]]<ref>https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/10/dinesh-dsouza-if-it-can-happen-to-me-it-can-happen-to-you-the-world-according-to-police-state/</ref> ''[[2016: Obama's America]]'', an anti-[[Barack Obama]] [[polemic]] based on his 2010 book ''The Roots of Obama's Rage''; it earned $33 million, making it the highest-grossing [[political films]] of all time.<ref name="bomojodoc" /><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Grady|last=Smith|url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/08/28/how-2016-obamas-america-became-a-box-office-hit/|title=How ''2016: Obama's America'' became a box office hit – and where it goes from here|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=August 28, 2012|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014113953/http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/08/28/how-2016-obamas-america-became-a-box-office-hit/|archive-date=October 14, 2014}}</ref> He has since released five other [[conspiracy theory|conspiracist]] [[political film]]s:<ref>https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/10/dinesh-dsouza-if-it-can-happen-to-me-it-can-happen-to-you-the-world-according-to-police-state/</ref> ''[[America: Imagine the World Without Her]]'' (2014), ''[[Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party|Hillary's America]]'' (2016), ''[[Death of a Nation (2018 film)|Death of a Nation]]'' (2018), ''[[Trump Card (2020 film)|Trump Card]]'' (2020) and ''[[2000 Mules]]'' (2022). D'Souza's films and commentary have generated considerable controversy due to their promotion of [[List of conspiracy theories|conspiracy theories]] and falsehoods,{{refn|<ref name="NYT20180531" /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/01/dinesh_d_souza_conspiracy_theories_conservatives_blame_the_obama_administration.html|title=Conspiracy of Dunces|first=David|last=Weigel|author-link=David Weigel|magazine=Slate|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=June 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Peretz|first=Evgenia|date=April 13, 2015|title=Get a Rare Glimpse of Dinesh D'Souza's Life After Conviction|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/04/dinesh-dsouza-video-life-after-conviction|access-date=2021-06-23|website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Zurcher|first=Anthony|date=2018-05-31|title=Why did Trump pardon Dinesh D'Souza?|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44321650|access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-pardons-dinesh-dsouza-2018-5|title=Trump announces he will pardon conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance fraud in 2014|last=Mark|first=Michelle|website=Business Insider|access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref><ref name="tomnamako">{{Cite web|last1=Namako|first1=Tom|last2=Georgantopoulos|first2=Mary Ann|date=May 31, 2018|title=Trump Says He Will Pardon Far-Right Commentator Dinesh D'Souza|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomnamako/trump-pardon-dinesh-dsouza|access-date=February 8, 2021|website=[[BuzzFeed News]]|language=en}}</ref>}} as well as for their incendiary nature.<ref name="NYT20180531" />

In 2012, D'Souza contributed $10,000 to the [[2012 United States Senate election in New York|Senate campaign]] of [[Wendy Long]] on behalf of himself and his wife, agreeing in writing to attribute that contribution as $5,000 from his wife and $5,000 from him. He directed two other people to give Long a total of $20,000 in addition, which he agreed to reimburse, and later did. At the time, the Election Act limited campaign contributions to $5,000 from any individual to any one candidate. Two years later, D'Souza pleaded guilty in federal court to one [[felony]] charge of using a "[[straw donor]]" to make the [[Campaign finance in the United States#Sources of campaign funding|illegal campaign contribution]].<ref name="fbi">{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/newyork/news/press-releases/dinesh-dsouza-sentenced-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-five-years-of-probation-for-campaign-finance-fraud|title=Dinesh D'Souza Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to Five Years of Probation for Campaign Finance Fraud|date=September 23, 2014|access-date=May 31, 2018}}</ref><ref name="felony">{{cite news|first=David A.|last=Graham|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/does-the-latest-manafort-news-vindicate-trumps-wiretap-claim/540321/|title=Is Trump's 'Wiretap' Claim Vindicated?|publisher=[[The Atlantic (magazine)|The Atlantic]]|date=September 19, 2017|access-date=September 20, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920011905/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/does-the-latest-manafort-news-vindicate-trumps-wiretap-claim/540321/|archive-date=September 20, 2017}}</ref> He was sentenced to eight months incarceration in a [[halfway house]] near his home in [[San Diego]], five years' probation, and a $30,000 fine.<ref name="Raymond" /><ref name="Mahler" /> In 2018, D'Souza was issued a [[Federal pardons in the United States|pardon]] by President [[Donald Trump]].<ref name=":9" />

{{TOC limit|4}}

==Early life and career==
Dinesh Joseph D'Souza<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201222232/http://www.reaganlibrary.gov/white-house-staff-and-office-files-1981-1989-8-595-i-ft/9993-koch-1|archive-date=February 1, 2014|title=KOCH, KATHLEEN D.: Files, 1984-1988 REAGAN LIBRARY COLLECTIONS|publisher=Reagan Library|access-date=December 13, 2018|url=http://www.reaganlibrary.gov/white-house-staff-and-office-files-1981-1989-8-595-i-ft/9993-koch-1}}</ref> was born in [[Bombay]] in 1961. D'Souza grew up in a middle-class family; his parents were [[Goan Catholics|Roman Catholics from the state of Goa]] in [[Western India]], where his father was an executive with [[Johnson & Johnson]], and his mother was a housewife.<ref>{{cite book|first=J. Clement|last=Vaz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7DJLxYBYA-YC&pg=PA332|title=Profiles of Eminent Goans, Past and Present|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|date=January 1, 1997|isbn=978-81-7022-619-2|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="vf">{{cite magazine|last=Peretz|first=Evgenia|date=April 13, 2015|title=Dinesh D'Souza's life after conviction|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/04/dinesh-dsouza-video-life-after-conviction|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=June 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Helen|last1=Zia|first2=Susan B.|last2=Gall|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hI_iWTpKNg8C&q=%22johnson%20and%20johnson%22|title=Notable Asian Americans|date=January 1, 1995|publisher=Gale Research|isbn=978-0-8103-9623-4|via=Google Books}}</ref> D'Souza attended the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[St. Stanislaus High School]] in Bombay.<ref>{{cite news|first=Chidanand|last=Rajghatta|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-29/news/33476254_1_anti-obama-anti-obama-documentary-obama-s-rage|title=Indian-American scholar's anti-Obama film storms US box-office|newspaper=The Economic Times|date=August 29, 2012|access-date=February 1, 2018}}</ref> He graduated in 1976 and completed his 11th and 12th years at [[Sydenham College]], also in Bombay.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stanislites.org/alumni/content/dinesh-dsouza|title=Dinesh D'Souza biography|publisher=St. Stanislaus Ex-Students Association|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704041917/http://stanislites.org/alumni/content/dinesh-dsouza|archive-date=July 4, 2017}}</ref> In 1978, D'Souza became a foreign exchange student and traveled to the United States under the [[Rotary Youth Exchange]] and attended [[Patagonia Union High School|the local public school]] in [[Patagonia, Arizona]]. He went on to matriculate at [[Dartmouth College]], where he graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in English in 1983 and was a member of [[Phi Beta Kappa]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=746|title=Person Detail: Dinesh D'Souza|publisher=[[Independent Institute]]|access-date=August 17, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527105052/http://independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=746|archive-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>

While at Dartmouth, D'Souza wrote for ''[[The Dartmouth Review]]'', an independent, student-edited, alumni and [[Collegiate Network]] subsidized publication.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Dartmouth Review » About|url=http://www.dartreview.com/about/|website=www.dartreview.com|access-date=November 5, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107025802/http://www.dartreview.com/about/|archive-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref> D'Souza faced criticism during his time at ''The Review'' for authoring an article publicly outing homosexual members of the school's Gay Straight Alliance student organization.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2017/05/jaden-young-fraught-history|title=The fraught history of LGBT performance at the College|newspaper=[[The Dartmouth]]|date=May 24, 2017|access-date=February 10, 2019}}</ref><ref name="MotherJones" /> He also oversaw ''The Review''<nowiki/>'s publication of "a light-hearted interview" with a former leader of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] over a staged photograph of a Black person hanged from a tree; and a piece mocking affirmative action in higher education, written from the point of view of a Black student and phrased in [[Ebonics (word)|Ebonics]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name="MotherJones" /> These incidents caused US Representative [[Jack Kemp]], then a prominent Republican leader and member of ''The Review''<nowiki/>'s advisory board, to resign from the board.<ref name="MotherJones">{{Cite web |last=Corn |first=David |title=Remember how Dinesh D'Souza outed gay classmates and thought it was awesome? |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/dinesh-dsouza-indictment-dartmouth-outed-gay-classmates/ |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=Mother Jones |language=en-US}}</ref>

After graduating from Dartmouth, D'Souza became editor of a monthly journal called ''The Prospect'', a publication financed by a group of [[Princeton University]] alumni. The paper and its writers ignited much controversy during D'Souza's editorship by, among other things, criticizing the college's [[affirmative action]] policies.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/29/nyregion/critical-monthly-rouses-princeton.html|title=Critical Monthly Rouses Princeton|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 29, 1984|access-date=June 29, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524161032/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/29/nyregion/critical-monthly-rouses-princeton.html|archive-date=May 24, 2015}}</ref>

From 1985 to 1987, D'Souza was contributing editor for the ''[[Policy Review]]'', a journal then published by [[The Heritage Foundation]] in Washington, D.C. In a September 1985 article titled "The Bishops as Pawns," D'Souza asserted that [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic bishops in the United States]] were being manipulated by [[Liberalism in the United States|American liberals]] in agreeing to oppose the U.S. military buildup and use of power abroad when, D'Souza believed, they knew very little about these subjects to which they were lending their religious credibility.<ref>{{cite news|last=D'Souza|first=Dinesh|date=July 1997|title=20 years of 'Policy Review'|work=[[Policy Review]]|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_199707/ai_n8783155/pg_2|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016104155/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_199707/ai_n8783155/pg_2|archive-date=October 16, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Ronald Reagan and Dinesh D'Souza.jpg|thumb|D'Souza greeting [[President of the United States|President]] [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1988]]
Between 1987 and 1988,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dailybruin.com/2018/02/01/former-reagan-adviser-encourages-political-debate-among-students | title=Former Reagan adviser encourages political debate among students|work=Daily Bruin|first=Megana|last=Sekar|date=February 1, 2018|access-date=June 18, 2024}}</ref> D'Souza was a policy adviser in the administration of President [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref name="NYT-2010-09-25">{{cite news|first=Tim|last=Arango|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/business/media/25forbes.html|title=Forbes Article Spurs Media Soul Searching|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 24, 2010|access-date=September 7, 2012}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> He has been affiliated with the [[American Enterprise Institute]] and the [[Hoover Institution]] at [[Stanford University]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|date=2018-02-22|title=Who is Dinesh D'Souza and why is he in the news?|language=en-IN|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/who-is-dinesh-dsouza-and-why-is-he-in-the-news/article22826220.ece|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603041605/https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/who-is-dinesh-dsouza-and-why-is-he-in-the-news/article22826220.ece|archive-date=2021-06-03|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref name=":102">{{Cite web|last=Matthews|first=Dylan|date=2014-10-08|title=Dinesh D'Souza, America's greatest conservative troll, explained|url=https://www.vox.com/2014/10/8/6936717/dinesh-dsouza-explained|access-date=2021-10-03|website=Vox|language=en}}</ref>

In 1991, D'Souza became a [[Naturalization|naturalized]] United States citizen.<ref name="reuters1">{{cite news|last=Stempel|first=Jonatan|date=September 10, 2014|title=U.S. seeks up to 16 months in prison for Dinesh D'Souza|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-dsouza-idUSKBN0H52GL20140910|url-status=live|access-date=December 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924204337/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/10/us-usa-politics-dsouza-idUSKBN0H52GL20140910|archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref>

==Career as author, political commentator, and filmmaker==
===Authorship===
====''The End of Racism''====
In 1995, D'Souza published ''The End of Racism'', in which he claimed that exaggerated claims of racism are holding back progress among African Americans in the United States. He defended the Southern slave owners and said, "The American slave was treated like property, which is to say, pretty well."<ref>{{cite book|title=The End of Racism: Finding Values In An Age Of Technoaffluence|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=1996|page=91|first=Dinesh|last=D'Souza|isbn=978-0-684-82524-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNV3XwST4WIC&pg=PA91}}</ref> D'Souza also called for a repeal of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], and argued: "Given the intensity of black rage and its appeal to a wide constituency, whites are right to be nervous. Black rage is a response to black suffering and failure, and reflects the irresistible temptation to attribute African American problems to a history of white racist oppression."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Heilbrunn|first=Jacob|date=May 31, 2018|title=Trump Pardoned Dinesh D'Souza to Troll Liberals|url=https://politi.co/2Jm9Ta6|access-date=2021-06-20|website=[[Politico]]|language=en}}</ref>

A reviewer for ''[[The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education]]'' responded to the book by posting a list of 16 recent racist incidents against black people.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education]]|title=Dinesh D'Souza's Race Merchants|volume=9|year=1995|issue=9|page=16|doi=10.2307/2962605|jstor=2962605}}</ref> [[Michael Bérubé]], in a lengthy review article, referred to the book as "encyclopedic pseudoscience", calling it illogical and saying some of the book's policy recommendations are [[fascist]]; he stated that it is "so egregious an affront to human decency as to set a new and sorry standard for 'intellectual'".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review: Extreme Prejudice; Rev. of ''The End of Racism'' by Dinesh D'Souza|author-link=Michael Bérubé|first=Michael|last=Bérubé|journal=Transition|volume=69|year=1996|pages=90–98|jstor=2935241}}</ref>

The book was also panned by many other critics: John David Smith, in ''[[The Journal of Southern History]]'', said D'Souza claims blacks are inferior and opines that "D'Souza bases his terribly insensitive, reactionary polemic on sound bite statistical and historical evidence, frequently gleaned out of context and patched together illogically. His book is flawed because he ignores the complex causes and severity of white racism, misrepresents Boas's arguments, and undervalues the matrix of ignorance, fear, and long-term economic inequality that he dubs black cultural pathology. How, according to his own logic, can allegedly inferior people uplift themselves without government assistance?" He adds that D'Souza's "biased diatribe trivializes serious pathologies, white and black, and adds little to our understanding of America's painful racial dilemma".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review of ''The End of Racism'' by Dinesh D'Souza|first=John David|last=Smith|journal=[[The Journal of Southern History]]|volume=62|issue=3|year=1996|pages=640–43|doi=10.2307/2211572|jstor=2211572}}</ref>

The prepublication version of the book contained a chapter dedicated to those portrayed by D'Souza as authentic racists, including many [[Paleoconservatism|paleoconservatives]], such as prominent philosopher and [[Washington times|''The Washington Times'']] editor [[Samuel T. Francis]], to whom he attributed several false quotes at the inaugural [[American Renaissance (magazine)|''American Renaissance'']] conference. A column by D'Souza in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' containing this material led to Francis being fired.<ref>Dinesh D'Souza, "Racism: It's a White (and Black) Thing", ''[[The Washington Post]]'', September 24, 1995.</ref> D'Souza's account of Francis's speech was contradicted by video of the event. American Renaissance organizer [[Jared Taylor]] took legal action against D'Souza for several false claims, including that speakers had used racial slurs, resulting in publisher [[Free Press (publisher)|Free Press]] canceling the initial run and forcing D'Souza to rewrite portions of the book. Some observers, such as [[The Baltimore Sun|''Baltimore Sun'']] writer [[Gregory Kane (journalist)|Gregory Kane]] noted that D'Souza's book bore many similarities to Taylor's 1992 work ''Paved with Good Intentions,'' despite D'Souza accusing Taylor of racism''.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stigmatizing blacks rightly draws fire |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-06-26-9906270231-story.html |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=Baltimore Sun |date=June 26, 1999 |language=en}}</ref> Many right-wing critics, such as [[Lawrence Auster]], believed that D'Souza was attacking Francis and others to protect himself from accusations of racism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Racism Debate |url=https://www.americanheritage.com/our-racism-debate-0 |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=AMERICAN HERITAGE |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=RACE AND REALITY |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1995/10/07/race-and-reality/b3e42928-753d-4dac-8588-7cf5b04143cd/ |access-date=2022-04-15 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-01-14 |title=The Castaway |url=https://americasfuture.org/the-castaway/ |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=America's Future |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Washington Examiner recycles Dinesh D'Souza's smear of Samuel Francis |url=http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/003112.html |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=www.amnation.com}}</ref>

[[Paul Finkelman]] commented on what he called D'Souza's trivialization of racism. In a review article called "The Rise of the New Racism", Finkelman stated that much of what D'Souza says is untrue, and much is only partially true, and described the book as being "like a parody of scholarship, where selected 'facts' are pulled out of any recognizable context, and used to support a particular viewpoint". In Finkelman's opinion, the book exemplifies a "new racism", which "(<span class="ltr">1</span>) denies the history of racial oppression in America; (<span class="ltr">2</span>) rejects biological racism in favor of an attack on black culture; and (<span class="ltr">3</span>) supports formal, de jure equality in order to attack civil rights laws that prohibit private discrimination and in order to undermine any public policies that might monitor equality and give it substantive meaning".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review: The Rise of the New Racism; Rev. of ''The End of Racism'' by Dinesh D'Souza|first=Paul|last=Finkelman|author-link=Paul Finkelman|journal=[[Yale Law & Policy Review]]|volume=15|issue=1|year=1996|pages=245–82|jstor=40239481}}</ref>

The conservative black economist [[Glenn Loury]] severed his ties with the [[American Enterprise Institute]] over the organization's role in the publication of the book. Loury wrote that the book "violated canons of civility and commonality", with D'Souza "determined to place poor, urban blacks outside the orbit of American civilization."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Prashad|first=Vijay|date=2019-02-13|title=Anti-D'Souza: The Ends of Racism and the Asian American|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.17953/amer.24.1.a9091q81w3546q17|journal=Amerasia Journal|volume=24|pages=23–40|language=en|doi=10.17953/amer.24.1.a9091q81w3546q17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=L. Riley|first=Jason|date=2002-03-04|title=A Black Intellectual Takes It All Back|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1015202837873661920|access-date=2021-01-19|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

====''What's So Great About America''====
In the second chapter of his 2002 book, ''What's So Great About America'', D'Souza argues that while [[colonialism]] was terrible, it had the unintended consequence of lifting third world countries up to Western civilization. D'Souza writes, "I realize that in saying these things I am opening the door for my critics, and the incorrigible enemies of the West, to say that I am justifying colonialism ... This is the purest nonsense. What I am doing is pointing out a historical fact: despite the corrupt and self-serving motives of [its] practitioners ... colonialism ... proved to be the mechanism that brought millions of nonwhite people into the orbit of Western freedom." He holds up the European colonization of India as an example, arguing that in the long run colonization was beneficial for India, because it introduced Western law, universities, infrastructure, and the like, while effectively ending [[human sacrifice]], the practice of [[Sati (practice)|''Sati'']], and other "charming indigenous customs".<ref>{{cite book|title=What's So Great About America|author=Dinesh D'Souza|pages=[https://archive.org/details/whatssogreatabou00dsou_0/page/56 56–59, 174]|date=2002|publisher=the Penguin Group|isbn=978-0-14-200301-5|url=https://archive.org/details/whatssogreatabou00dsou_0/page/56}}</ref>

In a review of the book, economist [[Thomas Sowell]] wrote that D'Souza's book exposed the fallacies and hypocrisies of various criticisms of the United States by the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]], "domestic [[multiculturalism|multiculturalist]] cults," those who seek [[reparations for slavery]], and the worldwide intelligentsia. According to Sowell: "Perhaps it takes somebody from outside to truly appreciate all the blessings that too many native-born Americans take for granted. D'Souza understands how rare—sometimes unique—these blessings are."<ref name="sowell">{{cite web|first=Thomas|last=Sowell|url=http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1639|title=What's So Great About America?|publisher=Capitalism Magazine|date=June 7, 2002|access-date=October 1, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030613005322/http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1639|archive-date=June 13, 2003}}</ref> Sowell also wrote that D'Souza challenges the notion that all world cultures are equal: "D'Souza challenges one of the central premises of today's intelligentsia: The equality of all cultures. 'If one begins with the multicultural premise that all cultures are equal, then the world as it is makes very little sense,' he says. Some cultures have completely outperformed others in providing the things that all people seek—health, food, housing, security, and the amenities of life."<ref name=sowell/>

====''The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and its Responsibility for 9/11''====
In early 2007, D'Souza published ''The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and its Responsibility for 9/11'', in which he argues that the American cultural left was in large part responsible for the Muslim anger that led to the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref name="salon.com/news">{{cite web|last1=Koppelman|first1=Alex|title=How the left caused 9/11, by Dinesh D'Souza|url=http://www.salon.com/2007/01/20/d_souza_2|website=Salon.com|access-date=June 29, 2015|date=January 20, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703123243/http://www.salon.com/2007/01/20/d_souza_2/|archive-date=July 3, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref> He argues that Muslims do not hate America because of its freedom and democracy, but because they perceive America to be imposing its moral depravity (support for sexual licentiousness) on the world.<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/219722/eyeing-enemy/interview Eyeing the Enemy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422160242/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/219722/eyeing-enemy/interview |date=April 22, 2012 }}, Nationalreview.com; retrieved May 20, 2012.</ref> D'Souza also argues that the [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse]] was a result of "the sexual immodesty of liberal America", and asserts that the conditions of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay]] "are comparable to the accommodations in mid-level Middle Eastern hotels."<ref name=":1">{{cite web|last=Kakutani|first=Michiko|date=February 6, 2007|title=Dispatch From Gomorrah, Savaging the Cultural Left|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/books/06kaku.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210530065708/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/books/06kaku.html|archive-date=May 30, 2021|access-date=May 30, 2021|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

The book was criticized in major American newspapers and magazines and described as, among other things, "the worst nonfiction book about terrorism published by a major house since 9/11"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011200082.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Incendiary|first=Warren|last=Bass|date=January 14, 2007|access-date=May 1, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102174217/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011200082.html|archive-date=November 2, 2012}}</ref> and "a national disgrace".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/books/review/Wolfe.t.html|title=The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11 – By Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Alan|last=Wolfe|date=January 21, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315035519/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/books/review/Wolfe.t.html|archive-date=March 15, 2017}}</ref> [[Michiko Kakutani]] in ''[[The New York Times]]'' described it as "a nasty stewpot of intellectually untenable premises and irresponsible speculation that frequently reads like a ''Saturday Night Live'' parody of the crackpot right."<ref name=":1" />

D'Souza's book caused controversy in the conservative movement. His conservative critics widely mocked his thesis that the cultural left was responsible for 9/11. In response, D'Souza posted a 6,500-word essay on ''[[National Review Online]]'',<ref>{{cite news|first=Dinesh|last=D'Souza|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2007/03/closing-conservative-mind-part-i-dinesh-dsouza/|title=The Closing of the Conservative Mind|work=National Review Online|date=March 12, 2007|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425202011/https://www.nationalreview.com/2007/03/closing-conservative-mind-part-i-dinesh-dsouza/|archive-date=April 25, 2018}}</ref> and ''NRO'' subsequently published a litany of responses from conservative authors who accused D'Souza of character assassination, [[elitism]] and pseudo-intellectualism.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=NR Symposium|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2007/03/enemy-dsouza-knows-nro-symposium/|title=An NRO Symposium on ''The Enemy at Home''|magazine=National Review Online|date=March 16, 2007|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425202011/https://www.nationalreview.com/2007/03/enemy-dsouza-knows-nro-symposium/|archive-date=April 25, 2018}}</ref>

====''The Roots of Obama's Rage''====
The September 2010 book by D'Souza, ''The Roots of Obama's Rage'' (published in condensed form in a September 2010 ''[[Forbes]]'' op-ed), interprets President [[Barack Obama]]'s past and how it formed his beliefs. D'Souza states that Obama is "living out his father's dream", so that "[<span class="ltr">i</span>]ncredibly, the U.S. is being ruled according to the dreams of a Luo tribesman of the 1950s", who, D'Souza goes on to describe as a "philandering, inebriated African socialist".<ref name="forbes-HOT">{{cite magazine|last=D'Souza|first=Dinesh|date=September 9, 2010|title=How Obama Thinks|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0927/politics-socialism-capitalism-private-enterprises-obama-business-problem.html|url-status=live|magazine=[[Forbes]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100928145329/http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0927/politics-socialism-capitalism-private-enterprises-obama-business-problem.html|archive-date=September 28, 2010|access-date=September 27, 2010}}</ref> The book appeared on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]] for four weeks in October–November 2010.<ref name="Schuessler" />

Ryan Chittum, in an article in the ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'', described the ''Forbes'' article as "a fact-twisting, error-laden piece of paranoia ... the worst kind of smear journalism—a singularly disgusting work".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Chittum|first=Ryan|date=September 13, 2010|title=Forbes' Shameful Piece on Obama as the "Other"|url=https://www.cjr.org/the_audit/forbes_shameful_obama_dinesh_dsouza.php|url-status=live|magazine=Columbia Journalism Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223012842/http://cjr.org/the_audit/forbes_shameful_obama_dinesh_dsouza.php/|archive-date=December 23, 2016|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref> Commentators on both the right and left strongly disputed assertions made about Obama in the book and article. The left-leaning [[Media Matters for America]] wrote that "''The Roots of Obama's Rage'' [was] rooted in lies".<ref>{{cite news|last=Maloy|first=Simon|date=October 4, 2010|title=D'Souza's The Roots of Obama's Rage rooted in lies|publisher=[[Media Matters]]|url=http://mediamatters.org/research/2010/10/04/dsouzas-the-roots-of-obamas-rage-rooted-in-lies/171476|url-status=live|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223185906/http://mediamatters.org/research/2010/10/04/dsouzas-the-roots-of-obamas-rage-rooted-in-lies/171476|archive-date=February 23, 2017}}</ref> Daniel Larison of ''[[The American Conservative]]'' stated: "Dinesh D'Souza has authored what may possibly be the most ridiculous piece of Obama analysis yet written ... All in all, D'Souza's article reads like a bad conspiracy theory."<ref name=":13">{{cite magazine|last=Larison|first=Daniel|date=September 9, 2010|title=Obama, Anticolonial Hegemonist?|url=http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/obama-anticolonial-hegemonist|url-status=live|magazine=The American Conservative|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401235440/http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/obama-anticolonial-hegemonist/|archive-date=April 1, 2016|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref> Larison criticized D'Souza's suggestion that Obama is anti-business, citing a lack of evidence.<ref name=":13" /> [[Andrew Ferguson]] of ''[[The Weekly Standard]]'' wrote, "D'Souza always sees absence of evidence as evidence of something or other ... There is, indeed, a name for the beliefs that motivate President Obama, but it's not anticolonialism; it's not even socialism. It's liberalism!".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ferguson|first=Andrew|date=October 25, 2010|title=The Roots of Lunacy|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/roots-lunacy_508809.html|url-status=live|magazine=The Weekly Standard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911073239/http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/roots-lunacy_508809.html|archive-date=September 11, 2015|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref> The magazine published D'Souza's letter, in which he expressed surprise "at the petty, vindictive tone of Andrew Ferguson's review".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Halper|first=Daniel|date=October 25, 2010|title=The Roots of Lunacy, Cont.|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/roots-lunacy-cont_511913.html?page=2|url-status=live|magazine=The Weekly Standard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029020818/http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/roots-lunacy-cont_511913.html?page=2|archive-date=October 29, 2014|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref>

====''America: Imagine the World Without Her''====
D'Souza wrote the book ''America: Imagine the World Without Her'' on which his 2014 film of the same name is based. When the warehouse club [[Costco]] pulled the book from its shelves shortly before the film's release, conservative media and fans on social media criticized the move. Costco said it pulled the book due to low sales. D'Souza disputed the explanation, saying the book had only been out a few weeks and had surged to No. 1 on [[Amazon.com]], while Costco stocked hundreds of much lower-selling books. He and other conservatives asserted it was pulled because one of Costco's co-founders, [[James Sinegal]], supported Obama's politics.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/dinesh-dsouza-says-costcos-decision-to-pull-his-book-from-stores-was-political-123006|title=Dinesh D'Souza Says Costco's Decision to Pull His Book From Stores Was Political|last1=Barnhart|first1=Melissa|date=July 9, 2014|work=[[The Christian Post]]|access-date=November 6, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/07/08/costco-pulls-book-by-anti-obama-author-dinesh-dsouza-from-its-stores|title=Costco pulls book by anti-Obama author Dinesh D'Souza from its stores|last=Connelly|first=Joel|date=July 8, 2014|work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|access-date=November 6, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205175442/http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/07/08/costco-pulls-book-by-anti-obama-author-dinesh-dsouza-from-its-stores/|archive-date=December 5, 2014}}</ref> Costco reordered the book and cited the documentary's release and related interest for the reorder.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/9/costco-re-stock-dinesh-dsouzas-america-after-publi|title=Costco caves: Dinesh D'Souza's book to be re-stocked after public outcry|last=Chasmar|first=Jessica|date=July 9, 2014|work=[[The Washington Times]]|access-date=November 6, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008014930/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/9/costco-re-stock-dinesh-dsouzas-america-after-publi/|archive-date=October 8, 2014}}</ref>

====''The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left''====
In July 2017, D'Souza published ''The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left''. In the book, D'Souza asserts that the 2016 Democratic Party platform was similar to the platform of the [[Nazi Germany|Third Reich]]. The statement received media attention in 2018 when repeated by [[Donald Trump Jr.]] [[PolitiFact]] gave the claim its "''Pants-on-Fire''" rating, noting that "only a small number of elements of the two platforms are clearly similar, and those are so uncontroversial that they appear in the Republican platform as well."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/aug/03/donald-trump-jr/did-nazi-platform-echo-democratic-platform-donald-/|title=Nazi platform did not echo today's Democratic platform|work=@politifact|access-date=August 4, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Historians refuted D'Souza's assertion, with [[University of Maryland, Baltimore|University of Maryland]] historian and Barack Obama critic [[Jeffrey Herf]] saying, "There is not the slightest, tiny sliver in which this could be even somewhat accurate."<ref name=":0" /> In another review of the book, historian [[Nicole Hemmer]], then of the University of Virginia's [[Miller Center of Public Affairs]], wrote: "For a book about secret Nazis, ''The Big Lie'' is surprisingly dull ... ''The Big Lie'' thus adds little to the no-you're-the-fascist genre on the right".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hemmer |first=Nicole |date=August 1, 2017 |title=Ideology Out, Hucksterism In: The decline of Dinesh D'Souza mirrors that of the Republican Party. |url=https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-08-01/dinesh-dsouzas-the-big-lie-mirrors-the-decline-of-the-gop |access-date=May 30, 2022 |website=[[U.S. News & World Report]]}}</ref> ''New York Times'' columnist [[Ross Douthat]] criticized the book, saying it was a "plea-for-attention" by D'Souza, and that the author had "become a hack". Douthat further stated, "Because D'Souza has become a professional deceiver, what he adds are extraordinary elisions, sweeping calumnies and laughable leaps."<ref>{{Cite news|first=Ross|last=Douthat|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/02/opinion/sunday/conservatism-jeff-flake-dsouza.html|title=Right-Wing Books, Wrong Answers|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 2, 2017|access-date=September 28, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928102947/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/02/opinion/sunday/conservatism-jeff-flake-dsouza.html|archive-date=September 28, 2017}}</ref>

In an article for ''[[The American Conservative]],'' historian and philosopher [[Paul Gottfried]], who has written extensively on the subject of fascism, harshly criticized a [[PragerU]] video hosted by D'Souza which maintained that fascism was a leftist ideology. D'Souza also maintained that Italian philosopher [[Giovanni Gentile]], who influenced Italian fascism, was a leftist, to which Gottfried noted that this contradicted the research by "almost all scholars of Gentile's work, from across the political spectrum, who view him, as I do in my study of fascism, as the most distinguished intellectual of the revolutionary right."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/right-wing-celebrities-play-fast-and-loose-with-history/|title=Right-wing Celebrities Play Fast and Loose With History|last=Gottfried|first=Paul|website=The American Conservative|date=December 27, 2017 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref>

====Christian apologetics series====
{{Expand section|date=May 2021}}
D'Souza's [[Christian apologetics]] books, ''What's So Great About Christianity'' and ''Life After Death: The Evidence'', were both on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/books/bestseller/1111besthardnonfiction.html |title=''The New York Times'' Bestsellers |website=[[The New York Times]] |date= November 11, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517105346/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/books/bestseller/1111besthardnonfiction.html |archive-date=2013-05-17}}</ref>

===Filmmaking===
D'Souza has written and directed a number of [[conspiracy theory|conspiracist]] [[political films]].<ref>https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/10/dinesh-dsouza-if-it-can-happen-to-me-it-can-happen-to-you-the-world-according-to-police-state/</ref>

====''2016: Obama's America'' film (2012)====
{{Main|2016: Obama's America}}
D'Souza wrote and co-directed the documentary-style polemical film ''[[2016: Obama's America]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sharkey |first=Betsy |date=August 26, 2012 |title=2016: Obama's America' goes by the book |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-obamas-america-critics-notebook-2016-20120827,0,3566497.story?dssReturn |access-date=February 1, 2018}}</ref> Through interviews and reenactments, the film compares the similarities in the lives of D'Souza and President [[Barack Obama]]. D'Souza suggested that early influences on Obama affected the decisions he made as president. The film's [[tagline]] is "Love him or hate him, you don't know him." The film has been criticized on the grounds that what D'Souza claims to be an investigation of Obama includes considerable projection, speculation, and selective borrowing from Obama's autobiography, to prove D'Souza's own narrative.<ref>{{cite news|first=Andy|last=Webster|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/movies/2016-obamas-america-by-dinesh-dsouza.html|title=Documentary Exploring Obama's Political Roots|work=The New York Times|date=August 12, 2012|access-date=September 7, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816071016/http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/movies/2016-obamas-america-by-dinesh-dsouza.html|archive-date=August 16, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Beth|last=Fouhy|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/28/is-dsouzas-anti-obama-film-subjective/?page=all#pagebreak|title=Is D'Souza's anti-Obama film 'subjective'?|newspaper=[[The Washington Times]]|date=August 28, 2012|access-date=September 7, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904113925/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/28/is-dsouzas-anti-obama-film-subjective/?page=all#pagebreak|archive-date=September 4, 2012}}</ref> In a "Fact Check" of the film, the [[Associated Press]] found that D'Souza provided little or no evidence for most of his claims, noted that several allegations were factually false, and described the film's central thesis as "almost entirely subjective and a logical stretch at best."<ref>{{Cite news|first=Beth|last=Fouhy|url=https://www.yahoo.com/movies/news/fact-check-anti-obama-film-muddy-facts-072153385--politics.html|title=FACT CHECK: Anti-Obama film muddy on facts|publisher=Yahoo! Entertainment|date=August 28, 2012|access-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912012700/https://www.yahoo.com/movies/news/fact-check-anti-obama-film-muddy-facts-072153385--politics.html|archive-date=September 12, 2017}}</ref>

After a limited release beginning July 13, 2012, the film expanded to over 1,000 theaters in late August 2012, and reached more than 2,000 theaters before the end of September 2012, eventually grossing more than $33.4 million.<ref name="bomojodoc">{{cite web |title=Documentary Movies at the Box Office – Box Office Mojo |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=documentary.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830030116/http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=documentary.htm |archive-date=August 30, 2012 |access-date=December 23, 2016 |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref> It is the fifth highest-grossing documentary-style film in the United States during the last four decades,<ref name="bomojodoc" /> and the second highest-grossing political documentary.<ref name="bomojopoldoc">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=politicaldoc.htm|title=Documentary – Political Movies at the Box Office – Box Office Mojo|publisher=boxofficemojo.com|access-date=December 23, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110083242/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=politicaldoc.htm|archive-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref>

The Obama administration described the film as "an insidious attempt to dishonestly smear the president".<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 5, 2012|title="2016: Obama's America" is a deliberate distortion of President Obama's record and world view|url=http://www.barackobama.com/truth-team/entry/2016-obamas-america-is-a-deliberate-distortion-of-president-obamas-record-a|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107234935/http://www.barackobama.com/truth-team/entry/2016-obamas-america-is-a-deliberate-distortion-of-president-obamas-record-a|archive-date=November 7, 2012|access-date=November 27, 2020|website=barackobama.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Cavan|last=Sieczkowski|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/11/obama-campaign-responds-2016-obamas-america-smear-president_n_1874978.html|title=President's Campaign Slams Anti-Obama Film '2016: Obama's America'|work=[[Huffington Post]]|date=September 11, 2012|access-date=December 23, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161211060932/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/11/obama-campaign-responds-2016-obamas-america-smear-president_n_1874978.html|archive-date=December 11, 2016}}</ref> Later, when D'Souza was indicted for violating election law, D'Souza and his co-producers alleged that he was selectively prosecuted, and that the indictment was politically motivated retribution for the success of the film.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Bond|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2016-obamas-america-filmmaker-indicted-673670|title='2016: Obama's America' Filmmaker Indicted for Violating Campaign Finance Laws|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=January 23, 2014|access-date=December 23, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116235616/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2016-obamas-america-filmmaker-indicted-673670|archive-date=November 16, 2016}}</ref>

====''America: Imagine the World Without Her'' (2014)====
{{Main|America: Imagine the World Without Her}}
In March 2013, D'Souza announced work on a documentary-style film titled ''[[America: Imagine the World Without Her]]'' for release in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title='2016: Obama's America' Filmmakers Making Follow-Up Film (Exclusive)|author=Paul Bond|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2016-obamas-america-filmmakers-making-429104|newspaper=Hollywood Reporter|date=March 16, 2013|access-date=March 17, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317213813/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2016-obamas-america-filmmakers-making-429104|archive-date=March 17, 2013}}</ref> ''America'' was marketed to political conservatives and through Christian marketing firms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-america-marketing-targets-713396|title=Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Marketing Targets Church Groups|last=Bond|first=Paul|date=2014-06-19|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en|access-date=2019-01-28}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Times]]'' states that D'Souza is saying that Americans no longer have past heroes like Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan, but "we do have us" in "our struggle for the restoration of America."<ref>{{cite news|author=Harrod, Andrew E.|title=Imaging a World without America; Dinesh D'Souza's New Film Refutes Detractors Who Scorn Her History|url=http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/1/harrod-imagining-a-world-without-america|newspaper=[[The Washington Times]]|location=Washington, DC|access-date=July 28, 2014|date=July 2, 2014}}</ref>

[[Lions Gate Entertainment]] released ''America'' in three theaters on June 27, 2014, and expanded its distribution on the weekend of the U.S. holiday [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] on July 4, 2014. [[CinemaScore]] reported that the opening-weekend audiences gave the film an "A+" grade.<ref name="Wrap">{{cite web|last1=Cunningham|first1=Todd|title=Dinesh D'Souza's Doc 'America' Can't Match Box-Office Lightning of His '2016: Obama's America'|url=https://www.thewrap.com/dinesh-dsouzas-doc-america-cant-match-box-office-lightning-of-his-2016-obamas-america|website=The Wrap|access-date=August 19, 2014|date=July 6, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824111616/http://www.thewrap.com/dinesh-dsouzas-doc-america-cant-match-box-office-lightning-of-his-2016-obamas-america/|archive-date=August 24, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3869&p=.htm|title=Weekend Report: 'Transformers' Repeats On Weak Independence Day Weekend – Box Office Mojo|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717153654/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3869&p=.htm|archive-date=July 17, 2015}}</ref> The film grossed {{nowrap|$14.4 million}}, which made it the highest-grossing documentary in the United States in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=america2014.htm|title=America (2014)|work=boxofficemojo.com|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=November 6, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107020924/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=america2014.htm|archive-date=November 7, 2014}}</ref>

The film review website [[Metacritic]] surveyed {{nowrap|11 movie critics}} and assessed 10 reviews as negative and 1 as mixed, with none being positive. It gave an aggregate score of 15 out of 100, which indicates "overwhelming dislike".<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/america|title=America Reviews|work=metacritic.com|publisher=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=November 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726003953/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/america|archive-date=July 26, 2014}}</ref> The similar website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] surveyed {{nowrap|24 critics}} and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 22 as negative and 2 as positive. Of the {{nowrap|24 reviews}}, it determined an average rating of 2.9 out of 10. The website gave the film an overall score of 8% and said of the consensus, "Passionate but poorly constructed, ''America'' preaches to the choir."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/america_imagine_the_world_without_her_2014|title=America: Imagine the World Without Her|work=rottentomatoes.com|publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=November 3, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111132104/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/america_imagine_the_world_without_her_2014/|archive-date=November 11, 2014}}</ref> ''The Hollywood Reporter''{{'}}s Paul Bond said the film performed well in its limited theatrical release, "overcoming several negative reviews in the mainstream media".<ref name="bond20140705">{{cite journal|last=Bond|first=Paul|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-dinesh-dsouzas-america-features-716708|title=Why Dinesh D'Souza's 'America' Features Clips of Matt Damon, Woody Harrelson|journal=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=July 5, 2014|access-date=December 10, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416054603/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-dinesh-dsouzas-america-features-716708|archive-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref> Bond reported, "Conservatives ... seem thrilled with the movie."<ref name="bond20140705" />

====''Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party'' (2016)====
{{main|Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party}}
[[File:Dinesh D'Souza by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|D'Souza at CPAC 2016 in Washington, D.C.]]
On July 25, 2016, D'Souza released the documentary film ''Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party''.<ref name="Child">{{cite news|last1=Child|first1=Ben|title=Rightwing Firebrand Dinesh D'Souza Takes Aim at Hillary Clinton In Latest Documentary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/mar/08/dinesh-dsouza-hillary-clinton-documentary-conservative-film-maker|date=March 8, 2016|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=April 5, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404131430/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/mar/08/dinesh-dsouza-hillary-clinton-documentary-conservative-film-maker|archive-date=April 4, 2016}}</ref> The film criticizes the Democratic Party and [[Hillary Clinton]], the presumptive (and ultimate) Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 2016.<ref name="Child" /><ref>{{cite web|title=D'Souza Offers a Look Inside Hillary's America|url=http://www.trunews.com/article/dsouza-offers-a-look-inside-hillarys-america|date=July 20, 2016|publisher=trunews.com|access-date=July 21, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721115656/http://www.trunews.com/article/dsouza-offers-a-look-inside-hillarys-america|archive-date=July 21, 2016}}</ref>

The film was universally panned by professional film critics. On review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 4%, based on 27 professional reviews, with an average rating of 1.7/10. The critics' consensus on the site reads, "''Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party'' finds Dinesh D'Souza once again preaching to the right-wing choir—albeit less effectively than ever."<ref name="RT">{{Rotten Tomatoes|qid=Q25999937|title=Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 1 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".<ref>{{Metacritic film|title=Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party|qid=Q25999937}}</ref> It is the lowest-rated film on the website.<ref>{{cite web|title=Best Movies of All Time|url=https://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/all/filtered?sort=asc|access-date=April 5, 2021|website=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref>

Peter Sobczynski wrote, "''Hillary's America'' may well be the single dumbest documentary that I have ever seen in my life."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sobczynski|first1=Peter|date=July 15, 2016|title=Hillary's America: The Secret History Of The Democratic Party Movie Review (2016)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hillarys-america-the-secret-history-of-the-democratic-party-2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923132708/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hillarys-america-the-secret-history-of-the-democratic-party-2016|archive-date=September 23, 2016|access-date=October 13, 2016|website=[[RogerEbert.com]]}}</ref> A July 2016 review in ''[[Variety magazine|Variety]]'' characterized D'Souza as "a right-wing conspiracy wingnut, the kind of "thinker" who takes off from Barack Obama birther theories and just keeps going, spinning out a web of comic-book liberal evil."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/hillarys-america-review-dinesh-dsouza-1201814480/|title=Film Review: 'Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party'|first=Owen|last=Gleiberman|date=July 15, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222044705/https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/hillarys-america-review-dinesh-dsouza-1201814480/|archive-date=February 22, 2018}}</ref> Alex Shephard of ''[[The New Republic]]'' said: {{blockquote|Because he is a very dumb man, D'Souza doesn't even make a credible argument that [[Bill Clinton|Bill]] and Hillary are corrupt, even though in many ways it's low-hanging fruit. Instead, like every fringe weirdo who comes after the Clintons does, he overreaches and invents an absurd conspiracy ... It's not enough for, say, the [[Clinton Foundation]] to have taken money from, say, [[Saudi Arabia]]—instead, Clinton is literally presented as selling America to foreign countries. Why? D'Souza never explains.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Shephard|first1=Alex|last2=Silverman|first2=Jacob|date=2016-08-05|title=How Bad Is Dinesh D'Souza's Hillary's America? A Conversation.|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/135845/bad-dinesh-dsouzas-hillarys-america-conversation|access-date=2021-08-19|issn=0028-6583}}</ref>}}

Some conservatives viewed the film more positively. [[John Fund]] of the ''[[National Review]]'' stated that "[the film] is over the top in places and definitely selective, but the troubling facts are accurate and extensively documented in the D'Souza book that accompanies the movie." He also called the film "intensely patriotic".<ref>{{cite magazine | last1=Fund | first1=John | title=Hillary's America – A Two-by-Four Bashing Democrats | url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/438016/hillarys-america-dinesh-dsouza-democrats-racist-past-corrupt-present | date=July 18, 2016 | magazine=[[National Review]] | access-date=July 21, 2016 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721042854/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/438016/hillarys-america-dinesh-dsouza-democrats-racist-past-corrupt-present | archive-date=July 21, 2016 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> On July 23, 2016, [[Donald Trump]], who was then running as the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] presidential nominee against Clinton, called on supporters to see the film.<ref>{{cite news | first=Bryan | last=Alexander | title='Hillary's America' Documentary Cracks Top 10 at Box Office | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/07/24/hillarys-america-documentary-cracks-top-10-box-office/87506198/ | date=July 24, 2016 | newspaper=[[USA Today]] | access-date=July 25, 2016 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724222534/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/07/24/hillarys-america-documentary-cracks-top-10-box-office/87506198/ | archive-date=July 24, 2016 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

On January 23, 2017, the film was nominated for five [[Golden Raspberry Awards]], Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Dinesh D'Souza), Worst Actress ([[Rebekah Turner]]<ref>The video revealing the winners listed the nominee as "The 'Actress' Who Played [[Hillary Clinton]]". [[Mikaela Krantz]] also played a younger Hillary Clinton in the film, but only Rebekah Turner was on the official list of nominees.</ref><ref name="Derschowitz 2017">{{cite web | last=Derschowitz | first=Jessica | title='Zoolander No. 2,' 'Batman v Superman' Lead 2017 Razzies Nominations | website=EW.com | date=2017-01-23 | url=https://ew.com/awards/2017/01/23/razzies-2017-nominations-list/ | access-date=2024-04-02}}</ref>), Worst Director (Dinesh D'Souza and Bruce Schooley), and Worst Screenplay.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Jessica|last=Derschowitz|url=https://ew.com/awards/2017/01/23/razzies-2017-nominations-list/|title='Zoolander No. 2,' 'Batman v Superman' Lead 2017 Razzies Nominations|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=January 23, 2017|access-date=January 23, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107021217/http://ew.com/awards/2017/01/23/razzies-2017-nominations-list/|archive-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref> In response to the Razzie nominations, D'Souza stated that he was "actually quite honored" and called the nominations "petty revenge" in response to Trump's election victory, also stating that "the film might have played an important role in the election."<ref name="Petty">{{cite news | first=Bryan | last=Alexander | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/01/23/hillarys-america-director-dinesh-dsouza-calls-5-razzie-noms-petty-revenge/96969770/ | title='Hillary's America' Director D'Souza Calls 5 Razzie Noms 'Petty Revenge' | newspaper=[[USA Today]] | date=January 23, 2017 | access-date=January 24, 2017 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124014443/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/01/23/hillarys-america-director-dinesh-dsouza-calls-5-razzie-noms-petty-revenge/96969770/ | archive-date=January 24, 2017 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> D'Souza appeared in the video announcing the film as having won four of the five possible Razzies repeating his view that [[Trump Derangement Syndrome|the nominations were awarded in response to Trump's election victory]].<ref name="RazzieWinners">{{cite web | first1=Kimberly | last1=Nordyke | first2=Patrick | last2=Shanley | title=Razzie Awards: 'Batman v Superman', 'Hillary's America' Top Winners | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2017-razzie-award-winners-970378 | work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=February 25, 2017 | access-date=February 25, 2017 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226061415/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2017-razzie-award-winners-970378 | archive-date=February 26, 2017 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

====''Death of a Nation: Can We Save America a Second Time?'' (2018)====
{{main|Death of a Nation (2018 film)}}
''Death of a Nation'' had its world premiere in [[Los Angeles]], California on July 30, 2018.<ref name="bond">{{cite magazine | last=Bond | first=Paul | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-new-film-claims-democrats-racist-nazis-clip-1129938 | title=Dinesh D'Souza's New Film Makes Incendiary Claims About Democrats' History | magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=July 30, 2018 | access-date=July 31, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | last=Carras | first=Christi | url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/donald-trump-jr-to-co-host-death-of-a-nation-screening-in-dc-with-dinesh-dsouza-1202891884/ | title=Donald Trump Jr. to Co-Host 'Death of a Nation' Screening in D.C. With Dinesh D'Souza | magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=August 1, 2018 | access-date=August 2, 2018 }}</ref> A showing in [[Washington, D.C.]], on August 1, 2018, was co-hosted by D'Souza and President Donald Trump's son [[Donald Trump Jr.]]<ref name="Stanley-Becker">{{cite news | last=Stanley-Becker | first=Isaac | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/08/02/under-trump-a-red-carpet-for-dinesh-dsouza-who-claims-hitler-was-a-liberal-in-new-documentary/ | title=Under Trump, a red carpet for Dinesh D'Souza, who claims Hitler was a liberal in new documentary | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=August 2, 2018 | access-date=August 3, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Polus | first=Sarah | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2018/08/02/donald-trump-jr-co-hosts-dinesh-dsouzas-very-conservative-d-c-film-premiere/? | title=Donald Trump Jr. co-hosts Dinesh D'Souza's very conservative D.C. film premiere | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=August 2, 2018 | access-date=August 2, 2018 }}</ref>

The film ''Death of a Nation'' centers around drawing parallels between the 45th President of the United States, [[Donald Trump]], and the 16th President of the United States, [[Abraham Lincoln]]. ''Death of a Nation'' explores the role of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] in opposing both presidents. In the film, D'Souza accuses the Democratic Party—both historically and presently—of racism, [[white supremacy]], and fascism. D'Souza further argues that the political left attempt to falsely push claims of racism, white supremacy, and fascism onto the political right for political gain. He claims that the modern political left is currently using these types of accusations in attempts to remove Trump from office "by any means necessary."

The film includes numerous falsehoods and has received criticism from historians regarding aspects of historical accuracy.<ref name="herndon">{{cite news | last=Herndon | first=Astead W. | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/us/politics/dinesh-dsouza-death-of-a-nation.html | title=A New Film Compares Democrats to Nazis and Trump to Lincoln. At This Screening, It Was a Hit. | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=August 17, 2018 | access-date=August 21, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/171018|title=What Dinesh D'Souza's "Death of a Nation" Gets Wrong About Martin Van Buren {{!}} History News Network|website=historynewsnetwork.org|date=February 16, 2019 |access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref> The film characterizes [[Adolf Hitler]] as a liberal; historians characterize Hitler and the Nazis as being far-right.<ref name="Stanley-Becker" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Broich|first=John|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/08/01/there-is-nothing-liberal-about-fascism/|title=There is nothing liberal about fascism|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 1, 2018|access-date=April 18, 2018}}</ref> It also claims that Hitler was an [[LGBT|LGBTQ]] sympathizer, whereas the Nazis murdered thousands of gay men and [[Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany|imprisoned homosexuals in concentration camps]].<ref>{{cite news|last= Marhoefer|first=Laurie|url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/08/gay-nazi-myth-why-dinesh-dsouzas-misuse-of-history-is-so-galling.html|title=Why the Myth of the 'Gay Nazi' Is Back in Circulation|work=Slate|date=August 24, 2018|access-date=June 2, 2020}}</ref>

On the review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 0% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 1.9/10.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_of_a_nation|title=Death of a Nation (2018)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=August 7, 2018}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a weighted average score of 1 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/death-of-a-nation | title=Death of a Nation reviews| website=[[Metacritic]] | access-date=August 7, 2018 }}</ref> [[PostTrak]] reported that filmgoers gave the film a score of 4 out of 5 stars,<ref name="opening">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/08/tom-cruise-mila-kunis-box-office-mission-impossible-fallout-christopher-robin-spy-who-dumped-me-1202439507/|title='Mission' Notches Best 2nd Weekend For Franchise With $35M; 'Christopher Robin' No Eeyore With $25M – Sunday Box Office|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=August 5, 2018 |first=Anthony |last= D'Alessandro |access-date=August 5, 2018}}</ref> while ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' wrote that those polled by [[CinemaScore]] (which was paid by ''Death of a Nation''{{'}}s filmmakers to conduct polls of audiences) gave it a grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=McClintock | first=Pamela | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-why-dinesh-dsouzas-death-a-nation-didnt-get-a-trump-bump-1132318 | title=Box Office: Why Dinesh D'Souza's 'Death of a Nation' Didn't Get a Big Trump Bump | magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=August 6, 2018 | access-date=August 6, 2018 }}</ref>

On its opening weekend, the film grossed $2.3 million on 1,032 screens, the lowest wide release for a D'Souza film.<ref name=opening /> {{As of|2018|8|19|df=US}}, the film has grossed {{nowrap|$5.3 million}}.<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |title=Death of a Nation: Can We Save America a Second Time? (2018) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=deathofanation.htm |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=August 22, 2018}}</ref>

====''2000 Mules'' (2022)====
{{Main|2000 Mules}}
In May 2022, D'Souza released ''2000 Mules'', a [[conspiracy theory|conspiracist]] [[political film]]<ref>https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/10/dinesh-dsouza-if-it-can-happen-to-me-it-can-happen-to-you-the-world-according-to-police-state/</ref> that falsely alleges Democrat-aligned individuals were paid to illegally collect and deposit ballots into drop boxes in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin during the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]]. The film was based on research by [[True the Vote]]. Former president [[Donald Trump]] praised the film as exposing "great election fraud".<ref name="Swenson_5/3/2022">{{cite news |last1=Swenson |first1=Ali |date=May 3, 2022 |title=FACT FOCUS: Gaping holes in the claim of 2K ballot 'mules |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-technology-health-arizona-e1b49d2311bf900f44fa5c6dac406762 |quote=Praised by former President Donald Trump as exposing "great election fraud," the movie, called "2000 Mules," paints an ominous picture suggesting Democrat-aligned ballot "mules" were supposedly paid to illegally collect and drop off ballots in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But that's based on faulty assumptions, anonymous accounts and improper analysis of cellphone location data, which is not precise enough to confirm that somebody deposited a ballot into a drop box, according to experts.}}</ref><ref name="Bump_4/29/2022">{{Cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=April 29, 2022 |title=Analysis {{!}} The dishonest pivot at the heart of the new voter-fraud conspiracy |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/29/dishonest-pivot-heart-new-voter-fraud-conspiracy/ |access-date=April 30, 2022}}</ref><ref name="PolitiFact_5/4/2022">{{cite news |last1=McCarthy |first1=Bill |last2=Sherman |first2=Amy |date=May 4, 2022 |title=The faulty premise of the '2,000 mules' trailer about voting by mail in the 2020 election |publisher=[[PolitiFact]] |url=https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/may/04/faulty-premise-2000-mules-trailer-about-voting-mai/}}</ref>

The Associated Press reported the film was based on faulty assumptions, anonymous accounts and improper analysis of cellphone location data.<ref name="Swenson_5/3/2022" /><ref name="Bump_4/29/2022" /><ref name="PolitiFact_5/4/2022" /> ''[[The Dispatch]]'', a conservative<ref name="Coppins">{{cite news |last1=Coppins |first1=McKay |title=The Conservatives Trying to Ditch Fake News |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/01/dispatch-tries-sell-real-news-right/605860/ |access-date=12 April 2021 |publisher=The Atlantic |date=January 31, 2020 | quote=''The Dispatch'' produces "serious, factually grounded journalism for a conservative audience".}}</ref> online magazine, found that "The film's ballot harvesting theory is full of holes", and mentioned that "D'Souza has a history of promoting false and misleading claims".<ref name="Himmelman_5/21/2022">{{cite web | last=Himmelman | first=Khaya | title=Fact Checking Dinesh D'Souza's '2,000 Mules' | website=[[The Dispatch]] Fact Check | date=May 21, 2022 | url=https://factcheck.thedispatch.com/p/fact-checking-dinesh-dsouzas-2000 | access-date=May 21, 2022}}</ref> On May 31, 2024, AP reported that the publisher of the film, Salem Media Group Inc., had apologized to the man they falsely accused of election fraud in the film and accompanying book, and withdrawn both from their platforms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/2000-mules-film-apology-f1c2de96f17e72241761b4e6deaee5cb|title=Publisher of '2000 Mules' apologizes to Georgia man falsely accused of ballot fraud in the film|date=May 31, 2024|website=AP News|first=Kate|last=Brumback|access-date=June 18, 2024}}</ref>

====''Police State'' (2023)====
Released in October 2023, ''The Washington Post'' reported this film "uses falsehoods, misleading interviews and dramatizations to allege federal persecution of Jan. 6 rioters and Christians." It was screened at Donald Trump's [[Mar-a-Lago]] residence soon after release.<ref>{{cite news |title=Trump and allies plot revenge, Justice Department control in a second term |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 5, 2023|first1=Isaac|last1=Arnsdorf|first2=Josh|last2=Dawsey|first3=Devlin|last3=Barrett|access-date=June 18, 2024}}</ref>

===Media appearances and speaking engagements===
D'Souza has appeared on numerous national television networks and programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.speakersnetworkworldwide.com/SpeakerDetails/7225/Dinesh-DSouza.html|title=Dinesh D'Souza profile|publisher=Speakers Network Worldwide|access-date=September 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206011359/http://www.speakersnetworkworldwide.com/SpeakerDetails/7225/Dinesh-DSouza.html|archive-date=December 6, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Six days after the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001, attacks]], D'Souza appeared on ''[[Politically Incorrect]]'' hosted by [[Bill Maher]]. He disputed the assertion that terrorists were cowards by saying, "Look at what they did. You have a whole bunch of guys who were willing to give their life; none of them backed out. All of them slammed themselves into pieces of concrete. These are warriors." Maher agreed with D'Souza's comments and said, "We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from two thousand miles away."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/29/arts/think-tank-in-new-war-on-terrorism-words-are-weapons-too.html|title=In New War on Terrorism, Words Are Weapons, Too|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Celestine|last=Bohlen|date=September 29, 2001|access-date=June 6, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113004142/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/29/arts/think-tank-in-new-war-on-terrorism-words-are-weapons-too.html|archive-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref>

During an interview on ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' on January 16, 2007, while promoting his book ''The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11'', D'Souza maintained that [[Liberalism in the United States|liberals]] had some responsibility for the September 11 attacks. He said liberals' "[[Interventionism (politics)|penchant for interference]]" had a decided effect in convincing the [[Presidency of Jimmy Carter|Carter administration]] to withdraw support from the [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah]], which brought on Muslim fundamentalists' control of the [[Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Iranian government]]. He also said that the distorted representation of American culture on television is one source of [[Anti-Americanism|resentment of the United States]] by Muslims worldwide. D'Souza believes that traditional Muslims are not too different from traditional Jews and Christians in America. Towards the end of the interview, he admitted that he and Islamic militants share some of the same negative beliefs about liberal Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/80900/january-16-2007/dinesh-d-souza|title=The Colbert Report|publisher=colbertnation.com|date=January 16, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605174503/http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/80900/january-16-2007/dinesh-d-souza|archive-date=June 5, 2010}}</ref>

In late February 2017, students at [[Trinity University (Texas)|Trinity University]] in [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]], stole more than 200 flyers advertising D'Souza's planned appearance at the university the first week of March. D'Souza called the protest "pathetic", and suggested the demonstrators "Come out and debate me. In the best case you may win; in the worst, you'll learn something". Twin brothers Manfred and Jonah Wendt, co-founders of the student conservative group Tigers for Liberty, had passed around 600 notices of D'Souza's visit to campus. Those returned by the protesters contained negative comments about D'Souza.<ref>{{cite news|first=Lauren|last=Caruba|url=https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/Conservative-student-group-s-fliers-defaced-at-10964039.php|title=Conservative student group's fliers defaced at Trinity|newspaper=[[San Antonio Express-News]]|date=February 27, 2017|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222105244/https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/Conservative-student-group-s-fliers-defaced-at-10964039.php|archive-date=February 22, 2018}}</ref>

==Views==
{{Conservatism US}}
D'Souza is generally identified as a [[Neoconservatism|neoconservative]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X9cQkXIWn2EC|title=The Rebuke of History: The Southern Agrarians and American Conservative Thought|last=Murphy|first=Paul V.|date=2001|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-0-8078-4960-6|page=247|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ourhBwAAQBAJ|title=Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America|last=Nguyen|first=Viet Thanh|date=2002-03-28|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-028723-8|language=en}}</ref> He defines [[Conservatism in the United States|conservatism in the American sense]] as "conserving the principles of the [[American Revolution]]."<ref>D'Souza (2002), ''Letters to a Young Conservative'', p. 5</ref> In ''Letters to a Young Conservative'', written as an introduction to conservative ideas for youth, D'Souza argues that it is a blend of [[classical liberalism]] and ancient [[virtue]], in particular, "the belief that there are moral standards in the universe and that living up to them is the best way to have a full and happy life." He also argues against what he calls the modern [[liberalism|liberal]] belief that "human nature is intrinsically good," and thus that "the great conflicts in the world ... arise out of terrible misunderstandings that can be corrected through ongoing conversation and through the mediation of the [[United Nations]]."<ref>{{Cite book |last=D'Souza |first=Dinesh |title=Letters to a Young Conservative |year=2002 |page=9}}</ref>

In the book ''Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus'' (1991), D'Souza argued that intolerance of conservative views is common at many universities. He has attributed many modern social problems to what he calls the "cultural left."<ref>{{Cite book |last=D'Souza |first=Dinesh |title=Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus |year=1991}}</ref> In the same book, D'Souza criticized the [[Affirmative action in the United States|affirmative action]] policies of the [[University of California, Berkeley]].
D'Souza has also been critical of [[feminism]], and Bruce Goldner, in a review of D'Souza's ''Illiberal Education'', noted that he "has a tendency to characterize feminists as castrating [[Misanthropy|misanthropes]]".<ref name=":12">{{cite journal|title=Rev. of ''Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus'' by Dinesh D'Souza|first=Bruce|last=Goldner|journal=[[Michigan Law Review]]|volume=90|issue=6|year=1992|pages=1291–1307|doi=10.2307/1289414|jstor=1289414|url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2297&context=mlr}}</ref>

===Religion===
D'Souza attended the [[Evangelicalism in the United States|evangelical]] church [[Calvary Chapel]] from 2000 to about 2010.<ref>{{cite news|first=Carl E.|last=Olson|title=Then: Dinesh D'Souza leaves Catholic Church. Now: He leaves wife.|publisher=Catholic World Report|date=October 16, 2012 | access-date=October 5, 2019 | url=https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2012/10/16/then-dinesh-dsouza-leaves-catholic-church-now-he-leaves-wife/}}</ref> While stating that his Catholic background is important to him, D'Souza also says he is comfortable with [[Protestant Reformation]] theology and identifies as a nondenominational Christian.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2010/08/dsouzas-just-plain-confused.html|title=Jesus Creed – Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith for today|date=August 25, 2010|publisher=beliefnet.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826193306/http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2010/08/dsouzas-just-plain-confused.html|archive-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> A writer of [[Christian apologetics]], D'Souza has debated against prominent atheists and critics of Christianity on religious and moral issues. His debate opponents have included [[Dan Barker]], [[Christopher Hitchens]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nd.edu/~cprelig/nddebate|title=Is Religion the Problem?|publisher=[[University of Notre Dame]]|access-date=September 25, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811085727/http://www.nd.edu/~cprelig/nddebate/|archive-date=August 11, 2010}}</ref> [[Peter Singer]],<ref>[http://www.fixed-point.org/index.php/component/search/Peter%20Singer?ordering=&searchphrase=all "Can There Be Morality without God?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716165424/http://www.fixed-point.org/index.php/component/search/Peter%20Singer?ordering=&searchphrase=all |date=July 16, 2011 }} Retrieved November 29, 2010.</ref> [[Daniel Dennett]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://richarddawkins.net/article,1942,Daniel-Dennett-Debates-Dinesh-DSouza,Tufts-University |title=Daniel Dennett debates Dinesh D'Souza |publisher=RichardDawkins.net |date=December 1, 2007 |access-date=January 8, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120072015/http://richarddawkins.net/article%2C1942%2CDaniel-Dennett-Debates-Dinesh-DSouza%2CTufts-University |archive-date=January 20, 2008 }}</ref> [[Michael Shermer]], [[David Silverman (activist)|David Silverman]],<ref>[http://richarddawkins.net/articles/643668-update-video-replaced-david-silverman-debates-dinesh-d-souza David Silverman Debates Dinesh D'souza] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111031154139/http://richarddawkins.net/articles/643668-update-video-replaced-david-silverman-debates-dinesh-d-souza |date=October 31, 2011 }}, ''[[Richard Dawkins Foundation]]''; accessed December 24, 2016.</ref> and [[Bart D. Ehrman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tkc.edu/abouttkc/president/dsouza/president_blog.asp |title=The King's College, ''President's Blog'' |publisher=Tkc.edu |date=August 31, 2010 |access-date=November 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214161639/http://www.tkc.edu/abouttkc/president/dsouza/president_blog.asp |archive-date=February 14, 2012 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.fixed-point.org/index.php/blog/216-whywesuffer "Debating 'God's Problem': Why We Suffer"]{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=Judgesurreal777 |fix-attempted=yes }}, fixed-point.org; retrieved November 29, 2010.</ref>

As a guest contributor for ''[[The Christian Science Monitor|Christian Science Monitor]]'', D'Souza wrote, "The moral teachings of Jesus provide no support for—indeed they stand as a stern rebuke to—the historical injustices perpetrated in the name of Christianity."<ref name="csmonitor">[http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1121/p09s01-coop.html Dinesh D'Souza, "Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213140711/http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1121/p09s01-coop.html |date=December 13, 2007 }}, ''[[Christian Science Monitor]]'', November 21, 2006.</ref> He often speaks out against [[atheism]], nonbelief in spirituality, and [[secularism]]. D'Souza elaborated on his views in the 2007 book he authored, ''What's so Great about Christianity''. In 2009, he published ''Life After Death: The Evidence'', which argues for an [[afterlife]].

D'Souza has also commented on [[Islam]]. He stated in 2007 that "radical Islamic" thinkers have not condemned modernity, science or freedom but only United States' support of "secular dictators in the region" which deny "Muslims freedom and control over their own destiny".<ref>{{cite web|first=Brian|last=Saint-Paul|url=http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/saint-paul/00041.html|title=Knowing the Enemy – Dinesh D'Souza on Islam and the West|publisher=Catholicity.com|date=January 31, 2007|access-date=September 25, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613182722/http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/saint-paul/00041.html|archive-date=June 13, 2011}}</ref> He has debated [[Serge Trifkovic]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Trifkovic vs. D'Souza|url=http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/007416.html|access-date=2020-12-21|website=www.amnation.com}}</ref> and [[Robert Spencer (author)|Robert Spencer]], who both deem Islam "inherently aggressive, racist, violent, and intolerant." He has labelled Spencer an "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobe]]" and "an effective [[polemics|polemicist]]" in his writings on Islam.<ref name="Bin Laden">{{cite web|first=Dinesh|last=D'Souza|url=http://www.newageislam.com/radical-islamism-and-jihad/is-islam-the-problem?-why-is-america-letting-bin-laden-define-islam?/d/1149|publisher=AOL|title=Letting Bin Laden Define Islam|date=March 2, 2007|access-date=October 18, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129201603/http://www.newageislam.com/radical-islamism-and-jihad/is-islam-the-problem?-why-is-america-letting-bin-laden-define-islam%3F/d/1149|archive-date=January 29, 2013}}</ref> D'Souza has also warned against support for "a $100 million mosque scheduled to be built near the site where terrorists in the name of Islam brought down the World Trade Center" (i.e., the [[Park51|Park 51 Islamic community center and mosque project]]),<ref name=forbes-HOT/> and the Middle East becoming a "United States of Islam"<ref name="WEBSTER-12-8-12">{{cite news |last1=WEBSTER |first1=ANDY |title=Documentary Exploring Obama's Political Roots |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/movies/2016-obamas-america-by-dinesh-dsouza.html |access-date=June 9, 2018 |agency=New York Times |date=August 12, 2012}}</ref> in his attacks against President [[Barack Obama]].

D'Souza has [[Criticism of atheism|criticized atheism]], writing: "The crimes of atheism have generally been perpetrated through a hubristic ideology that sees man, not God, as the creator of values. Using the latest techniques of science and technology, man seeks to displace God and create a [[Secularity|secular]] [[utopia]] here on earth".<ref>{{Cite news |last=D'Souza |first=Dinesh |date=2006-11-21 |title=Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history |work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1121/p09s01-coop.html |access-date=2022-05-08 |issn=0882-7729}}</ref>

===Promotion of conspiracy theories===
D'Souza has promoted several [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]], such as the false claim that [[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|Obama was not born in the United States]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Seipel|first=Brooke|date=2018-05-31|title=President Trump pardons Dinesh D'Souza|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/390029-trump-to-pardon-dinesh-dsouza/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-01|website=[[The Hill (magazine)|The Hill]]|language=en|quote=Like Arpaio and Trump, D'Souza promoted the unfounded conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was ineligible to serve as president because he was born outside the U.S.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601143931/http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/390029-trump-to-pardon-dinesh-dsouza |archive-date=June 1, 2018 }}</ref><ref name=":10" /> and the conspiracy theory that [[Clinton body count conspiracy theory|the Clintons had murdered people]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tani|first=Maxwell|date=November 6, 2017|title=Donald Trump Jr. revives conspiracy theory about Clintons amid Donna Brazile controversy|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jr-donna-brazile-hillary-clinton-2017-11|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-01|website=[[Business Insider]]|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106012712/http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jr-donna-brazile-hillary-clinton-2017-11 |archive-date=November 6, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Weber|first=Peter|date=August 12, 2019|title=Dinesh D'Souza tried to use his time behind bars to bolster Epstein conspiracy theory, failed|url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/858426/dinesh-dsouza-tried-use-time-behind-bars-bolster-epstein-conspiracy-theory-failed|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-01|website=[[The Week]]|language=en|quote=Over the weekend, D'Souza tried to leverage his eight months in a federal correctional center to lend authority to the bizarre, evidently Trump-endorsed conspiracy theory that the Clintons might be responsible for Jeffrey Epstein's suicide.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812075658/https://theweek.com/speedreads/858426/dinesh-dsouza-tried-use-time-behind-bars-bolster-epstein-conspiracy-theory-failed |archive-date=August 12, 2019 }}</ref> D'Souza has also promoted false claims about businessman and philanthropist [[George Soros]], including that Soros had collaborated with the Nazis as a youth, and that he has sponsored [[Antifa (United States)|antifa]], a left-wing [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] movement.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pink|first=Aiden|date=October 31, 2018|title=4 Times Dinesh D'Souza Should Have Kept Quiet About The Jews|url=https://forward.com/fast-forward/402155/4-times-dinesh-dsouza-should-have-kept-quiet-about-the-jews/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-01|website=[[The Forward]]|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204110615/https://forward.com/fast-forward/402155/4-times-dinesh-dsouza-should-have-kept-quiet-about-the-jews/ |archive-date=December 4, 2018 }}</ref> In an August 2016 interview with ''[[<span class="ltr">GQ</span>]]'', D'Souza denied being a conspiracy theorist, stating: "I have never advanced a conspiracy theory in my life."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-08-22|title=Dinesh D'Souza on His Batshit Hillary Doc, Donald Trump, and Why He Doesn't Think He's a Conspiracy Theorist|url=https://www.gq.com/story/dinesh-dsouza-hillarys-america-interview|access-date=2021-08-01|website=GQ|language=en-US}}</ref>

In August 2017, D'Souza suggested that the [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]] [[Unite the Right rally]] had been [[False flag|staged]].<ref name="NYT20180531">{{Cite news|last=Victor|first=Daniel|date=2018-05-31|title=A Look at Dinesh D'Souza, Pardoned by Trump|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/31/us/politics/dinesh-dsouza-facts-history.html|access-date=2021-08-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726165410/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/31/us/politics/dinesh-dsouza-facts-history.html|archive-date=July 26, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In the same month, D'Souza tweeted that it would be "interesting to see" Soros "extradited to [[Israel]] & tried for his complicity in Nazi atrocities against Jews", and referred to Soros as "[[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]'s collection boy".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Alterman|first=Eric|date=2017-09-07|title=Soros Slander Reveals Anti-Semitism at the Heart of the Far Right|language=en-US|work=[[The Nation]]|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/soros-slander-reveals-anti-semitism-at-the-heart-of-the-far-right/|access-date=2021-08-01|issn=0027-8378}}</ref>

After [[October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts|mail bombing attempts on prominent Democratic politicians]] occurred in October 2018, D'Souza tweeted: "Fake sexual assault victims. Fake refugees. Now fake mail bombs." D'Souza argued that the lack of a cancellation mark on the bomb-containing packages was evidence they were not mailed.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Andrew|first1=Egger|date=26 October 2018|title=Flight of the #FalseFlag Conservatives|language=en|work=[[The Weekly Standard]]|url=https://www.weeklystandard.com/andrew-egger/the-arrest-of-bomber-cesar-sayoc-and-the-false-flag-conservatives|access-date=27 October 2018|archive-date=October 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027030119/https://www.weeklystandard.com/andrew-egger/the-arrest-of-bomber-cesar-sayoc-and-the-false-flag-conservatives}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Shane|first1=Croucher|date=25 October 2018|title=Pro-Trump conservatives are peddling a false flag conspiracy about the mail bombs|language=en|work=[[Newsweek]]|url=https://www.newsweek.com/mail-bombs-are-false-flag-distract-hordes-illegal-aliens-claim-conservative-1186730|access-date=27 October 2018}}</ref>

===Opinions expressed on Twitter===
In November 2013, D'Souza received backlash for referring to Obama as "Grown-Up [[Trayvon Martin|Trayvon]]" in a post. In response to the backlash, D'Souza posted: "Feigned outrage on the left over me calling Obama 'grown up Trayvon' except that Obama likened himself to Trayvon!"<ref>{{Cite web|last=Delreal|first=Jose|date=November 26, 2013|title=D'Souza: Obama 'grown-up Trayvon'|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/dinesh-dsouza-tweet-grown-up-trayvon-100406|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-23|website=[[Politico]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224221122/http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/dinesh-dsouza-tweet-grown-up-trayvon-100406 |archive-date=December 24, 2016 }}</ref> D'Souza later deleted the initial post.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|last=Kristian|first=Bonnie|date=May 31, 2018|title=7 of Dinesh D'Souza's most shameful moments|url=https://theweek.com/articles/776256/7-dinesh-dsouzas-most-shameful-moments|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-23|website=[[The Week]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531210446/http://theweek.com/articles/776256/7-dinesh-dsouzas-most-shameful-moments |archive-date=May 31, 2018 }}</ref>

In February 2015, D'Souza wrote: "You can take the boy out of the [[ghetto]]" in a post criticizing Obama for using a [[selfie stick]].<ref name=":102" /><ref name=":10" /> After the post was criticized as racist, D'Souza posted: "I know Obama wasn't actually raised in a ghetto—I'm using the term metaphorically, to suggest his unpresidential conduct".<ref name=":102" />

In January 2017, after civil rights leader and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] congressman [[John Lewis]] stated that the then-newly elected President [[Donald Trump]] was not a "legitimate president", D'Souza posted: "The left's false narrative inflates minor figures like John Lewis, Democrat, & downplays major ones like [[Frederick Douglass]], Republican".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Shanley|first=Patrick|date=2017-01-14|title='Hillary's America' Filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza Comes Under Fire Following Controversial Rosa Parks Tweet|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/hillarys-america-filmmaker-dinesh-dsouza-comes-under-fire-controversial-rosa-parks-tweet-964417/|access-date=2021-06-20|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|language=en-US}}</ref> D'Souza later posted that civil rights activist [[Rosa Parks]]' contributions to the [[civil rights movement]] were "absurdly inflated"<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> and described her as an "overrated Democrat".<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":10" /><ref name=":4">{{cite web|last=Kirell|first=Andrew|date=February 21, 2018|title=Dinesh D'Souza Mocked Shooting Survivors. Why Is He Still on the 'National Review' Masthead?|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/dinesh-dsouza-national-review-parkland-shooting-survivors-racist-bigot|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222043217/https://www.thedailybeast.com/dinesh-dsouza-national-review-parkland-shooting-survivors-racist-bigot|archive-date=February 22, 2018|access-date=June 21, 2021|website=[[The Daily Beast]]}}</ref> D'Souza received criticism for the posts,<ref name=":2" /> with [[Charles C. W. Cooke]] of ''[[National Review]]'' stating: "Not only {{Sic|is this is}} incorrect, it's an attitude that would never be struck about a soldier on, say, Veterans Day ... [<span class="ltr">E</span>]ven if Parks was a minor player (she wasn't), she'd still deserve to be lionized."<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Cooke|first=Charles C. W.|author-link=Charles C. W. Cooke|date=January 14, 2017|title=Not only is this is incorrect, it's an attitude that would never be struck about a soldier on, say, Veterans Day.|url=https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/820415364387471360|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207191308/https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/820415364387471360|archive-date=December 7, 2018|access-date=June 27, 2021|website=[[Twitter]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Cooke|first=Charles C. W.|date=January 14, 2017|title=Thing is, @DineshDSouza, even if Parks was a minor player (she wasn't), she'd still deserve to be lionized.|url=https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/820415928659755013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207191310/https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/820415928659755013|archive-date=December 7, 2018|access-date=June 27, 2021|website=[[Twitter]]}}</ref>

In November 2017, D'Souza mocked Beverly Young Nelson, one of the women who accused [[Roy Moore]] of [[Roy Moore sexual misconduct allegations|sexual misconduct]],<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> and posted: "I was lukewarm on Roy Moore until the last-minute smear. Now we must elect him to show that the [[The Washington Post|@washingtonpost]] sleaze attack failed".<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Heer|first=Jeet|date=2017-11-13|title=Roy Moore and the New Republican Civil War|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/145785/roy-moore-new-republican-civil-war|access-date=2021-06-20|issn=0028-6583}}</ref> [[David French (political commentator)|David French]], then-senior writer at ''National Review'', posted "What has happened to you?" in response to D'Souza's post about Nelson.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

In February 2018, D'Souza was criticized for a series of posts which mocked the survivors of the [[Stoneman Douglas High School shooting]]. In response to a photo of survivors reacting to Florida lawmakers voting down a proposed ban on assault weapons in the aftermath of the shooting, D'Souza posted "worst news since their parents told them to get summer jobs".<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":4" /> D'Souza also accused the survivors of "politically-orchestrated grief" and said that their grief "[struck him] as phony and inauthentic".<ref name=":6" /> D'Souza's comments were condemned by both liberal and conservative commentators. Journalist [[Jonathan M. Katz]] wrote: "Let it never be said that Dinesh does not actively root for the death of children."<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|last=Nakamura|first=Reid|date=2018-02-21|title=Even Conservatives Denounce Dinesh D'Souza After He Mocks Parkland School Shooting Survivors|url=https://www.thewrap.com/even-conservatives-denounce-dinesh-dsouza-mocks-parkland-school-shooting-survivors/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-28|website=[[TheWrap]]|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221025928/https://www.thewrap.com/even-conservatives-denounce-dinesh-dsouza-mocks-parkland-school-shooting-survivors/ |archive-date=February 21, 2018 }}</ref> Others accused D'Souza of "trolling kids".<ref name=":8" /><ref name="inq">{{cite web|last=Feinstein|first=Amy|date=February 21, 2018|title=#CPAC2018 Cancels #DineshDSouza From Their Event After Offensive Comments About #Parkland Teens|url=https://www.inquisitr.com/4795614/cpac-removes-dinesh-dsouza-from-list-of-speakers-for-offensive-comments-about-parkland-shooting-survivors/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221123301/https://www.inquisitr.com/4795614/cpac-removes-dinesh-dsouza-from-list-of-speakers-for-offensive-comments-about-parkland-shooting-survivors/|archive-date=February 21, 2018|access-date=February 8, 2021|website=[[Inquisitr]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Elliot|last=Hannon|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/right-wing-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-taunts-survivors-of-parkland-shooting-for-losing-florida-weapons-ban-vote.html|title=Right-Wing Pundit Taunts Survivors of Parkland Shooting for Losing Weapons-Ban Vote in Florida Legislature|magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=February 20, 2018|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221025551/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/right-wing-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-taunts-survivors-of-parkland-shooting-for-losing-florida-weapons-ban-vote.html|archive-date=February 21, 2018}}</ref> D'Souza was also denounced by the [[Conservative Political Action Conference]], which removed him from its roster of speakers and stated: "his comments are indefensible".<ref name=":6" /><ref name=inq/> D'Souza subsequently apologized for the initial tweet, saying that it was "aimed at media manipulation" and that he was being "insensitive to students who lost friends in a terrible tragedy."<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Swanson|first=Ian|date=2018-02-21|title=Dinesh D'Souza apologizes for mocking Parkland shooting survivors after massive backlash|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/374819-dinesh-dsouza-apologizes-for-mocking-parkland-shooting-survivors-after-massive/|access-date=2021-06-22|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|language=en}}</ref>

In February 2021, after the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]] took place, D'Souza suggested that the rioters were little more than "a bunch of rowdy people walking through a hallway".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Shepherd|first=Katie|date=February 24, 2021|title=Critics slam Sen. Ron Johnson for unfounded claim that 'fake Trump protesters' led riots: 'It's disgraceful'|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/02/24/ron-johnson-capitol-riot-disinformation/|access-date=2021-09-26|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> In May, D'Souza posted about the attack: "Does this LOOK like an insurrection? A riot? A coup attempt? If it doesn't walk like a duck or talk like a duck then it probably isn't a duck."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Harvey|first=Josephine|date=2021-05-03|title=Right-Wing Pundit's Attempt To Whitewash The Capitol Insurrection Backfires|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dinesh-dsouza-capitol-riot-tweet_n_60908e80e4b02e74d22aad6f|access-date=2021-09-26|website=HuffPost|language=en}}</ref>

===FBI===
''[[The New York Times]]'' quoted D'Souza as saying on Twitter: "The [[FBI]] is the largest criminal gang in the country. It's America's version of the [[KGB]] or the Chinese state police."<ref>{{cite news |author=Adam Goldman |author2=Alan Fruer |date=28 December 2022 |title=Republicans Step Up Attacks on F.B.I. as It Investigates Trump |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/us/politics/fbi-gop-attacks.html |access-date=28 December 2022}}</ref>

==Presidency of The King's College==
In August 2010, D'Souza was named president of [[The King's College (New York)|The King's College]], a Christian liberal arts college then housed in the [[Empire State Building]] in [[Manhattan]].<ref name="tkcpr">{{cite web |url=http://www.tkc.edu/abouttkc/president_pressrelease.html |title=The King's College, ''Press Release'' |publisher=Tkc.edu |date=August 23, 2010 |access-date=November 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100905041508/http://www.tkc.edu/abouttkc/president_pressrelease.html |archive-date=September 5, 2010  }}</ref> In 2012, the college relocated to a larger space next door to the [[New York Stock Exchange]] in Lower Manhattan's financial district.<ref name="tkcpr2">The King's College ''press release'' (July 23, 2012). [http://www.tkc.edu/media/newsrelease.asp?id=335 "The King's College Occupies Wall St."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616171236/http://www.tkc.edu/media/newsrelease.asp?id=335 |date=June 16, 2012 }} Accessed August 29, 2012.</ref> On October 18, 2012, D'Souza resigned his post at The King's College following a press report that he—despite being married—had shared a hotel room at a Christian conference with another woman and introduced her to others as his fiancée. D'Souza acknowledged being separated from his wife and having introduced Denise Odie Joseph II as his fiancée at a Christian conference; however, he denied that the two were engaged in an adulterous affair and that he had shared a room with Joseph at the conference, and described the report as "pure libel" that is "worthy of Christian condemnation."<ref name=filmmaker/><ref>{{cite web|first=David|last=Sessions|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/18/dinesh-d-souza-resigns-presidency-of-the-king-s-college.html|title=Dinesh D'Souza Resigns Presidency of The King's College|website=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=October 18, 2012|access-date=October 18, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018203557/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/18/dinesh-d-souza-resigns-presidency-of-the-king-s-college.html|archive-date=October 18, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Melissa|last=Steffan|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/october-web-only/dinesh-dsouza-resigns-as-president-of-kings-college.html?start=1|title=Dinesh D'Souza Resigns as President of The King's College|magazine=[[Christianity Today]]|date=October 18, 2012|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920172107/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/october-web-only/dinesh-dsouza-resigns-as-president-of-kings-college.html?start=1|archive-date=September 20, 2016}}</ref> After an investigation by officials at The King's College, D'Souza stated that he had suspended his engagement to Joseph.<ref name="nyt-kings"/><ref name="filmmaker">{{cite web|first=Dinesh |last=D'Souza |url=http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/10/17/2016-obama-america-film-maker-am-not-having-affair.html|title='2016: Obama's America' filmmaker – I am not having an affair|publisher=Fox News|date=October 17, 2012|access-date=June 25, 2018}}</ref>

After D'Souza's alleged indiscretion became public, the trustees of The King's College announced on October 17, 2012, that D'Souza had resigned his position as president of the university "to attend to his personal and family needs".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=David|last=Weigel|magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/10/18/dinesh_d_souza_parts_with_his_university_job_over_marriage_scandal.html|title=Dinesh D'Souza Parts With His University |date=October 18, 2012|access-date=December 23, 2016|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801051711/http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/10/18/dinesh_d_souza_parts_with_his_university_job_over_marriage_scandal.html|archive-date=August 1, 2017}}</ref>

==Campaign finance violation, felony guilty plea, conviction, and pardon==
[[File:2018-05-31=Trump-Pardon-Dinesh dsouza warrant 2018 05 31.pdf|thumb|2018 pardon granted by Donald Trump]]
On January 23, 2014, D'Souza was charged with making $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions to the New York Senate campaign of [[Wendy Long]] and causing false statements to be made to the [[Federal Election Commission]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/conservative-author-and-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-charged-in-campaign-finance-case/2014/01/23/69c67ee4-848a-11e3-bbe5-6a2a3141e3a9_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|first1=Tom|last1=Hamburger|first2=Alice|last2=Crites|title=Conservative author and pundit Dinesh D'Souza charged in campaign finance case|date=January 24, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724085522/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/conservative-author-and-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-charged-in-campaign-finance-case/2014/01/23/69c67ee4-848a-11e3-bbe5-6a2a3141e3a9_story.html|archive-date=July 24, 2017}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/January14/DineshDSouzaCharges.php|title=Former College President Indicted In Manhattan Federal Court For Campaign Finance Fraud|publisher=Justice.gov|date=January 23, 2014|access-date=March 20, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416043422/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/January14/DineshDSouzaCharges.php|archive-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Hunter|last=Walker|work=Talking Points Memo|date=January 23, 2014|url=http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dinesh-dsouza-campaign-finance-indictment|title=Conservative Author Dinesh D'Souza Charged with Campaign Finance Fraud|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124065127/http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dinesh-dsouza-campaign-finance-indictment|archive-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref> His attorney responded to the charges by saying his client "did not act with any corrupt or criminal intent whatsoever" and described the incident as "at most ... an act of misguided friendship".<ref name="Stempel">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-dsouza-idUSBREA0M22W20140123|title=Dinesh D'Souza indicted for violating U.S. election law|last=Stempel|first=Jonathan|date=January 23, 2014|newspaper=Reuters|access-date=January 23, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124021540/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/23/us-usa-politics-dsouza-idUSBREA0M22W20140123|archive-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref><ref name="nyt-indictment">{{cite news|work=The New York Times|title=Dinesh D'Souza Is Charged With Using Straw Donors to Give to a Campaign|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/nyregion/dinesh-dsouza-is-charged-with-using-straw-donors-to-give-to-a-campaign.html|date=January 23, 2014|first=Matt|last=Apuzzo|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801050220/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/nyregion/dinesh-dsouza-is-charged-with-using-straw-donors-to-give-to-a-campaign.html|archive-date=August 1, 2017}}</ref>

On May 15, 2014, [[United States district court|United States district judge]] [[Richard M. Berman]] rejected the contention that D'Souza was singled out for prosecution, stating, "The court concludes the defendant has respectfully submitted no evidence he was selectively prosecuted."<ref>{{Citation|first1=Nate|last1=Raymond|first2=Jonathan|last2=Stempel|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-politics-dsouza-idUSL1N0O11WO20140515|title=D'Souza fails to win dismissal of U.S. charges over straw donors|publisher=Reuters|date=May 15, 2014|access-date=May 18, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518223729/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/15/usa-politics-dsouza-idUSL1N0O11WO20140515|archive-date=May 18, 2014}}</ref>

On May 20, 2014, D'Souza pleaded guilty to one [[felony]] count of making illegal contributions [[straw donor|in the names of others]].<ref name="plea">{{Citation|title=Dinesh D'Souza Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Campaign Finance Fraud|publisher=FBI|date=May 20, 2014|url=https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/newyork/news/press-releases/dinesh-dsouza-pleads-guilty-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-campaign-finance-fraud|access-date=November 11, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101014423/https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/newyork/news/press-releases/dinesh-dsouza-pleads-guilty-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-campaign-finance-fraud|archive-date=November 1, 2020}}</ref> On September 23, 2014, the court sentenced D'Souza to five years' probation, eight months incarceration in a [[halfway house]] (referred to as a "community confinement center") and a $30,000 fine.<ref name="Raymond">{{cite news|last1=Raymond|first1=Nate|title=Obama critic D'Souza spared prison for violating election law|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-dsouza-idUSKCN0HI23820140923|work=Reuters|date=September 23, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127230247/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/23/us-usa-politics-dsouza-idUSKCN0HI23820140923|archive-date=November 27, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Mahler">{{cite news|last1=Mahler|first1=Jonathan|title=D'Souza Is Spared Prison Time for Campaign Finance Violations|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/us/dsouza-is-spared-prison-time-for-campaign-finance-violations.html|work=The New York Times|date=September 23, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517223423/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/us/dsouza-is-spared-prison-time-for-campaign-finance-violations.html|archive-date=May 17, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Nate|last=Raymond|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-dsouza/dsouza-gets-community-confinement-for-election-law-violation-idUSKCN0HI23820140923|title=Obama critic D'Souza spared prison for violating election law|work=Reuters|date=September 23, 2014|access-date=February 21, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908080551/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-dsouza/dsouza-gets-community-confinement-for-election-law-violation-idUSKCN0HI23820140923|archive-date=September 8, 2017}}</ref>

On May 31, 2018, President Donald Trump [[Federal pardons in the United States|pardoned]] D'Souza.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-offers-pardon-to-conservative-pundit-dinesh-dsouza-for-campaign-finance-violations/2018/05/31/b4939a08-64d5-11e8-a768-ed043e33f1dc_story.html |title=Trump pardons conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, suggests others also could receive clemency |last1=Rucker |first1=Philip |access-date=2019-11-11 |last2=Dawsey |first2=Josh | last3=Wagner | first3=John |language=en }}</ref><ref name="Himmelman_5/21/2022" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite news|agency=PTI|date=2018-06-01|title=Indian Americans D'Souza, Bharara in Twitter spat|language=en-IN|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/indian-americans-dsouza-bharara-in-twitter-spat/article24054167.ece|access-date=2021-09-27|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Personal life==
D'Souza dated fellow conservatives [[Laura Ingraham]] and [[Ann Coulter]] prior to meeting Dixie Brubaker while working at the White House. D'Souza and Brubaker married in 1992.<ref name=":5" /> They have one daughter, Danielle D'Souza Gill, who is a writer and a member of the [[Women for Trump|Women for Trump Coalition]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Graham|first=Ruth|date=2019-07-30|title=A Dethroned Beauty Queen Signed On to Trump's Reelection Campaign. What Is the "Women for Trump Coalition," Exactly?|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/07/women-for-trump-coalition-board-kathy-zhu.html|access-date=2021-04-06|website=[[Slate Magazine]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hook|first=Janet|date=2020-06-26|title=Working-class White Women are Turning on Trump|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-06-26/behind-trumps-sharp-slump-white-women-who-stuck-with-him-before-are-abandoning-him-now|access-date=2021-04-06|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|language=en-US}}</ref> The couple lived together in California until D'Souza moved to New York as president of [[The King's College (New York)|The King's College]] in 2010.<ref name="crisis">{{cite web|first=Warren Cole|last=Smith|url=http://www.worldmag.com/2012/10/king_s_crisis|title=King's crisis|publisher=World mag|date=October 16, 2012|access-date=December 23, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160608063914/http://www.worldmag.com/2012/10/king_s_crisis|archive-date=June 8, 2016}}</ref> He maintained a residence near [[San Diego]], California, where his wife and daughter remained. D'Souza and Brubaker divorced in 2012.<ref name=":5" />

While D'Souza was being sentenced for campaign finance fraud in 2014, Brubaker wrote a letter to the judge alleging that D'Souza had physically abused her; she claimed that "in April 2012 ... he, using his purple belt [[karate]] skills, kicked me in the head and shoulder, knocking me to the ground and creating injuries that pain me to this day."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Coscarelli|first=Joe|date=September 23, 2014|title=Dinesh D'Souza Avoids Jailtime Despite Letter From Estranged Wife Claiming Abuse|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2014/09/dinesh-dsouza-avoids-prison-in-obamas-america.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-09|website=[[Intelligencer (website)|Intelligencer]]|language=en-us|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119161009/http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2014/09/dinesh-dsouza-avoids-prison-in-obamas-america.html |archive-date=November 19, 2018 }}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web|last=Brown|first=Stephen Rex|date=September 23, 2014|title=Dinesh D'Souza gets 5 years of probation in federal Manhattan court over campaign donations|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/dinesh-souza-5-years-probation-campaign-donations-article-1.1949769|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-09|website=[[New York Daily News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140923191821/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/dinesh-souza-5-years-probation-campaign-donations-article-1.1949769 |archive-date=September 23, 2014 }}</ref>

On March 19, 2016, D'Souza married Deborah Fancher, a conservative political activist and mother of two.<ref>{{cite web|last=D'Souza|first=Dinesh|date=March 20, 2016|title=We're married! @Debber66 #weddingday|url=https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza/status/711340725640626176|access-date=June 23, 2021|website=[[Twitter]]}}</ref> Fancher emigrated from [[Venezuela]] at age 10. The wedding was held near San Diego with [[Rafael Cruz]], father of U.S. Senator [[Ted Cruz]] (R-TX), officiating.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Paul|last=Bond|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouza-marry-ted-cruzs-876817|title=Dinesh D'Souza to Marry, Ted Cruz's Father to Handle the Nuptials|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=March 18, 2016|access-date=April 4, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405143523/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dinesh-dsouza-marry-ted-cruzs-876817|archive-date=April 5, 2016}}</ref>

==Works==
===Books===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year 
! Title
! Notes
|-
| 1984
| ''Falwell, Before the Millennium: A Critical Biography''
| [[Regnery Publishing]] ({{ISBN|0-89526-607-5}})
|-
| 1986
| ''The Catholic Classics''
| ({{ISBN|0-87973-545-7}})
|-
| 1987
| ''My Dear Alex: Letters From The KGB'' (with Gregory Fossedal)
| Regnery Publishing ({{ISBN|0-89526-576-1}})
|-
| 1991
| ''Illiberal education: The politics of race and sex on campus''
| ({{ISBN|0-684-86384-7}})
|-
| 1995
| ''The End of Racism''
| ({{ISBN|0-684-82524-4}})
|-
| 1997
| ''Ronald Reagan: How An Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader''
| ({{ISBN|0-684-84823-6}})
|-
| 2000
| ''The Virtue of Prosperity''
| ({{ISBN|0-684-86815-6}})
|-
| 2002
| ''What's So Great About America''
| Regnery Publishing ({{ISBN|0-89526-153-7}})
|-
| 2002
| ''Letters to a Young Conservative''
| ({{ISBN|0-465-01734-7}})
|-
| 2007
| ''The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11''
| ({{ISBN|0-385-51012-8}})
|-
| 2007
| ''What's So Great About Christianity''
| Regnery Publishing ({{ISBN|1-59698-517-8}})
|-
| 2008
| Foreword to ''Conspiracies and the Cross'' by Timothy Paul Jones
| Frontline Books ({{ISBN|1-59979-205-2}})
|-
| 2009
| ''Life After Death: The Evidence''
| ({{ISBN|978-1-59698-099-0}})
|-
| 2010
| ''The Roots of Obama's Rage''
| Regnery Publishing ({{ISBN|978-1-59698-625-1}})
|-
| 2012
| ''Godforsaken: Bad things happen. Is there a God who cares? YES. Here's proof''
| [[Tyndale House]] ({{ISBN|978-1-4143-2485-2}})
|-
| 2012
| ''Obama's America: Unmaking the American Dream''
| Regnery Publishing ({{ISBN|1-59698-778-2}})
|-
| 2014
| ''America: Imagine a World without Her''
| Regnery Publishing ({{ISBN|978-1-62157-203-9}})
|-
| 2015
| ''What's So Great About America''
| Regnery Publishing ({{ISBN|1-62157-402-4}})
|-
| 2015
| ''Stealing America: What My Experience with Criminal Gangs Taught Me<br/>about Obama, Hillary, and the Democratic Party''
| [[Broadside Books]] ({{ISBN|978-0-06-236671-9}})
|-
| 2017
| ''The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left''
| [[Regnery Publishing]] ({{ISBN| 978-1-62157-348-7}})
|-
| 2018
| ''Death of a Nation: Plantation Politics and the Making of the Democratic Party''
| [[All Points Books]] ({{ISBN| 978-1-250-16377-6}})
|-
| 2020
| ''United States of Socialism: Who's Behind It. Why It's Evil. How to Stop It.''
| All Points Books ({{ISBN| 978-1-250-16378-3}})
|-
| 2022
| ''Freedom Day the Asher Way''
| Brave Books ({{ISBN| 978-1-955550-14-7}})
|}

===Films===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year 
! Title
! Director
! Writer
! Executive Producer 
! Actor
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 2004
| ''[[Michael Moore Hates America]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| rowspan=6|Himself
| 
|-
| 2012
| ''[[2016: Obama's America]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Co-written and co-directed with John Sullivan<br/>Also based on his novel ''Obama's America: Unmaking the American Dream''
|-
| 2014
| ''[[America: Imagine the World Without Her]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Co-directed with John Sulivan and co-written with John Sulivan and Bruce Schooley<br/>Also based on his novel ''America: Imagine a World without Her''
|-
| 2016
| ''[[Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Co-written and co-directed with Bruce Schooley<br/>Also based on his novel ''Stealing America: What My Experience with Criminal Gangs Taught Me about Obama, Hillary, and the Democratic Party''
|-
| 2018
| ''[[Death of a Nation (2018 film)|Death of a Nation]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Co-written and co-directed with John Sulivan<br/>Based on his novel ''Death of a Nation: Plantation Politics and the Making of the Democratic Party''
|-
| 2020
| ''[[Trump Card (2020 film)|Trump Card]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Co-written and co-directed with Debbie D'Souza and Bruce Schooley<br/>Also producer and based on his novel ''The United States of Socialism''
|-
| 2020
| ''[[Infidel (film)|Infidel]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{N/A}}
|
|-
| 2022
|''[[2000 Mules]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Himself
| Released May 2022
|-
| 2023
|''Police State''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Himself
|
|}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{official website}}
* {{C-SPAN}}
* {{IMDb name}}

{{Dinesh D'Souza}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Dinesh D'Souza
|list =
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director}}
}}

{{Portal bar|Biography|India|New York City|California|Politics|Conservatism|Christianity}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Souza, Dinesh}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American criminals]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American Christian writers]]
[[Category:American conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American male writers of Indian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Goan descent]]
[[Category:American people convicted of campaign finance violations]]
[[Category:American political commentators]]
[[Category:Asian conservatism in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian apologists]]
[[Category:Critics of Islamism]]
[[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]]
[[Category:The Heritage Foundation]]
[[Category:Hoover Institution people]]
[[Category:Indian Christians]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:John M. Olin Foundation]]
[[Category:The King's College (New York City) faculty]]
[[Category:Male critics of feminism]]
[[Category:National Review people]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:People from Pacific Beach, San Diego]]
[[Category:Reagan administration personnel]]
[[Category:Recipients of American presidential pardons]]
[[Category:Right-wing politics in the United States]]
[[Category:Writers from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Writers from New York City]]
[[Category:Writers from San Diego]]