Jim Mattis

McMaster and Mattis Are Rare Assets—Not Deep State Liabilities

Leave a Comment / August 7, 2017

By Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness There is a larger context concerning the recent controversies among the architects of Trump’s national security team and agenda, and the criticism of National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster. Recall first that the foreign policy of Barack Obama, Ben Rhodes, Susan Rice, and Hillary Clinton could be best termed “provocative […]

Share This

McMaster and Mattis Are Rare Assets—Not Deep State Liabilities Read More »

Trump — And the Use and Abuse of Madness

Leave a Comment / August 1, 2017

By Victor Davis Hanson National Review Fiery and unpredictable rhetoric can be a powerful strategic tool, but only if it’s not habitual. Occasionally insanity, real or feigned, has its political advantages —largely because of its ancillary traits of unpredictability and an aura of immunity from appeals to reason, sobriety, and moderation. Rogues often try to

Share This

Trump — And the Use and Abuse of Madness Read More »

The Progressive Boomerang

Leave a Comment / July 5, 2017

by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Not only have progressives failed to take down the president, but they also haven’t offered an alternative agenda. The progressive strategy of investigating President Donald Trump nonstop for Russian collusion or obstruction of justice or witness tampering so far has produced no substantial evidence of wrongdoing.

Share This

The Progressive Boomerang Read More »

Trump and His Generals

Leave a Comment / June 22, 2017

By Victor Davis Hanson National Review Trump’s reliance on his generals shows that he values merit over politics. Donald Trump earned respect from the Washington establishment for appointing three of the nation’s most accomplished generals to direct his national-security policy: James Mattis (secretary of defense), H. R. McMaster (national-security adviser), and John Kelly (secretary of

Share This

Trump and His Generals Read More »

Trump… Our Claudius

Leave a Comment / June 2, 2017

By Victor Davis Hanson Defining Ideas The Roman Emperor Claudius, who reigned from 41 to 54 AD, was never supposed to be emperor. He came to office at age 50, an old man in Roman times. Claudius succeeded the charismatic, youthful heartthrob Caligula—son of the beloved Germanicus and the “little boot” who turned out to

Share This

Trump… Our Claudius Read More »

The Nightmares and the Realities of Never Trump

Leave a Comment / May 30, 2017

By Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness Rarely in the last half-century have so many elite conservatives and intellectuals been so estranged both from a Republican administration and from those who voted for it—neither have they become so animated in their antipathy and disgust for a sitting president. During the 2016 election, and the current Trump

Share This

The Nightmares and the Realities of Never Trump Read More »

An Optimistic U.S. Foreign Policy

Leave a Comment / May 19, 2017

by Victor Davis Hanson// Defining Ideas History teaches us that during war and international crises, just when things were looking most grim, they were oftentimes already getting better. Consider the dark days of World War II. Seventy-five years ago, 1942 started out as an awful year. The United States and the British were still

Share This

An Optimistic U.S. Foreign Policy Read More »

Journey to the Center of the Country

Leave a Comment / April 5, 2017

By Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Trump seems radical only to the radicals who aim to take America far, far left. There have been roughly two sorts of Democratic presidents over the last century. A few were revolutionaries who sought to take the country leftward with them. They were masters of “never letting a serious

Share This

Journey to the Center of the Country Read More »

The Metaphysics of Trump

Leave a Comment / March 1, 2017

by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Paradox: How does a supposedly bad man appoint good people eager to advance a conservative agenda that supposedly more moral Republicans failed to realize? We variously read that Trump should be impeached, removed, neutralized — or worse. But until he is, are his appointments, executive orders, and impending legislative

Share This

The Metaphysics of Trump Read More »

Putin, Obama — and Trump

Leave a Comment / January 17, 2017

by Victor Davis Hanson//National Review Let’s hope that the era of ‘lead from behind’ and violated red lines is over. For eight years, the Obama administration misjudged Vladimir Putin’s Russia, as it misjudged most of the Middle East, China, and the rest of the world as well. Obama got wise to Russia only when Putin

Share This

Putin, Obama — and Trump Read More »