Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
As Vice President Kamala Harris slips in the polls, the Democratic National Committee/Harris Campaign/mainstream media fusion talking points become even more absurd.
Claiming that J.D. Vance and Donald Trump were “weird” did not work—especially given the genuinely odd behavior of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and would-be First Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
Nor was the next Harris meme convincing that the frenetic and non-stop Trump was somehow “exhausted,” “senile,” and “confused.” Voters know the workdays of the younger Harris are usually far shorter—or sometimes not workdays at all.
But Harris also falsely claimed the physically and mentally challenged Biden was, in her words, “absolutely authoritative” and “very bold and vibrant.”
Now Harris asserts that Trump is a “fascist,” a “dictator,” and “unfit” for office. But this new talking point will also not stop the Harris campaign’s hemorrhaging—and for a variety of reasons.
First, voters see the election as a conflict of two absolutely antithetical visions.
On the one hand, is the prior Trump 2017-20 concrete record: border security, no major wars abroad, calm in the Middle East, a deterred Russia, Iran, and China, low inflation, low interest rates, lower crime, lower taxes, strong deterrent military—and opposition to mandatory electric vehicle mandates, biological males competing in women’s sports, and the woke/DEI agenda.
On the other hand, is the Biden-Harris 2021-2024 record: the unchecked entry of 12-20 million illegal aliens and a destroyed border. People still struggle under Biden-Harris’s earlier hyperinflation and high interest rates. The horrific regional wars in Ukraine and the Middle East continue. Biden-Harris embraces the unpopular DEI/Woke agenda.
Harris herself knows that the Biden-Harris years were a failure. That is why she has shed almost all of their hard left-wing agendas—policies she has embraced for much of her adult life.
So suddenly, in the last 90 or so days, Harris has completely flipped and flopped.
Now she is for more of, not defunding, the police. She pivots for a secure border, not 20 million illegal aliens pouring across it. Harris brags about fossil fuel energy, not banning fracking, and for increasing, not cutting, defense.
In fact, several endangered incumbent Democrat senators in swing states are claiming more allegiance to Trump’s issues than identifying with Harris and her unpopular record as vice president.
Voters likely conclude that if Trump doubles down on his record, while even Harris and many senators temporarily piggyback on it, then it must be more effective and popular than Harris’s own.
Second, Harris now claims Trump is a fascist and insurrectionist.
But mouthing ad nausaem “January 6th” no longer persuades voters that Trump is a danger to anyone. They recall that Harris bragged of the far more violent demonstrations of 2020—35 killed, $2 billion in damage, 1,500 law enforcement officers injured, 14,000 arrested—that the unrest would not and “should not” stop, while drumming up support to bail out jailed violent protestors.
Nor does the slur that Trump is a fascist resonate. The Obama and Biden-Harris administrations weaponized the CIA and FBI to interfere in the 2016 and 2020 elections by peddling the fake Steele dossier and suppressing all the embarrassing news about Hunter Biden’s incriminating laptop.
Trump certainly did not coordinate, as Biden did, with local, state, and federal prosecutors to wage lawfare prosecutions to destroy his political opponents. He did not use the FBI to partner with social media to suppress the news.
Neither Trump nor his supporters tried to remove Biden from state ballots.
The Republican House majority did not impeach Biden twice despite the Biden family’s corruption and Joe Biden’s unlawful, decades-long removal of classified papers to several insecure private residences.
Trump and the Republicans never coercively removed the party’s primary-winning nominee. They did not nullify the will of 14 million primary voters. And in backroom fashion, they did not anoint a candidate who had never entered a single primary in her life.
Nor did Trump support packing the Supreme Court. He does not seek unconstitutional means of destroying the Electoral College. He is not demanding an end to the Senate filibuster or the creation of two new states to obtain four partisan senate seats.
Third, as for Trump being “unfit” and lacking “decorum,” it depends on what were the Biden-Harris standards?
Having a trans activist reveal his breasts on camera at a White House “pride party?”
Biden’s reportedly calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a f—ing idiot” and “son of a b—ch?” Bragging about locking Trump up, while waging lawfare against him?
Unleashing son Hunter Biden with impunity to shake down foreign governments?
The election will not be decided on these empty talking points or fake media-generated narratives.
Instead, only two criteria matter: Which candidate’s past record and current agenda best appeal to voters? And which candidate seems the most authentic and genuine?
The Harris campaign is playing with fire and inciting even more hate. The threat of danger to Trump, his family members and JD Vance is real. I pray for their safety.
But you see, this approach from the Left won’t go away after the election; it will only intensify.
Will sensible heads in the democrat party finally figure out that their policies are not what the majority of Americans want? Color me skeptical.
Has America had enough of Leftist violence and crime?
It is expected that the Left will riot if Trump becomes president.
Leftist district attorneys allow shoplifting up to $950.
Store employees are instructed not to intervene and lose their jobs if they do.
The police are not called because the criminal will not be prosecuted.
If leftist violence and crime was the only reason to vote for Trump,
then all Democrats should do so. It is a failure of government not to protect its citizens
(Romans 13:1-7).
Democrats should save this country from destruction by voting for Trump.
Make America Sane Again – Vote for Trump
I pray that you are correct about the election results. I fear that the Democrats have brought the illegal immigrants in for one purpose, to vote Democratic. This may be a huge gamble that ultimately fails. Many of the immigrants are given money, phones, housing, and other benefits in return for their promise to vote for Democrat candidates where they are placed. Since many do not speak English and may not be included in the polls, the presidential polls could be inaccurate. Twenty million new Democratic voters not represented in the polls may make this election a slam dunk and result in one-party rule that would be a travesty.
I look at Party agenda when voting, more than the person, although I must consider who is carrying the banner and how. I know the current Party in Power cares little for me and what I think is right for this county and my family. Easy decision!
Yes, easy decision for me as well.
Here’s a “Kamala-esque” response to Victor Davis Hanson’s column:
“Well, let me just say, there are moments when people look at where we are and where we’re going, and they see the pathway forward—because America, you see, is all about possibility, it’s about hope. And that’s what this election is really about: moving forward, not backward. Now, as we talk about challenges, it’s important to remember—democracy is a conversation, and conversations are ongoing. So, you know, we’re focused on results, and that’s where the people are aligned, which means… that’s what really matters!”
When I watch and listen to K speak, I can’t help but create mental linkages between her style and Obama’s act.
Unlike the millions who thought Obama was a gift from above in terms of oratory and verbal persuasion, I found him entirely fake, vacuous, dishonest, and, frankly, downright mendacious. He was the worst kind of silver-tongued evil. Plus, he was a lousy actor. More like a seasoned car salesman (nothing wrong with these people, really) than a genuine human being trying to have an honest connection with his audience.
What he did have was a nice baritone voice, no doubt aided by his tobacco addiction. So we voted for a fake person with a nice baritone delivery with a sugary topping of “hope”.
With Kamala, I see a person who has no originality or particular smarts, but has decided to adopt all of Obama’s mannerisms without delivering an ounce of substance, honesty, wit, or sincerity.
Let me be clear: Kamala is a bad imitation of a dishonest and fake politician who wasn’t very believable in the first place.
That’s what i see when I watch her speak in public.
In two weeks, hopefully she will be trounced and then totally lost and forgotten in American history.
Her best legacy should be a non-legacy that few recall.
250 years ago (October 6, 1774) John Wesley, Fourder of Methodism, wrote in his diary these words:
“I met with those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election and advised them:
– to vote without fee or reward for the person they judged to be most worthy
– to speak no evil of the person they voted against
– to take care their spirits were not sharpened against those on the other side.”
Theron Few
Raleigh NC
10/24/24
VDH, another terrific column. I remain amazed how many citizens will blindly vote for Harris, due to who knows what: abortion “rights”, hatred of Trump, or more….
Hope you’re right re increasing recognition of the inanity. (Am still a little worried, still see a lot of Harris-Walz signs.)
It is Democrats that advocate the fascist means of transforming the system and centralizing power: Packed SCOTUS, weaponized DOJ against political opponents, government oversight of “misinformation,” forcing catholic hospitals to perform abortions because abortion is a “fundamental right,” and seizing firearms in a veiled attempt to make it look democratic by calling it a “buyback.”
Well done! Thx for the summary, Perfect!
Trump and Vance are not the only ones in the ‘crosshairs’ of this election. Should Harris win, the drug cartels will call for open season on our Border Patrol Agents in the same fashion the Venezuelan gangs have granted open season on our local police forces. Voting for Harris/Walz will be putting targets on the backs of our men and women who defend the nation and enforce the laws. State governors should call out their National Guard forces immediately to back up BCP.
On a lighter note, Mr. Jim Reynolds has nailed Kamala Harris’ lack of vocabulary and limited cognitive functions. That was Kamalaesque to a tee; thanks for the humor!
I was impressed with Obama’s oratorical skills. After his speech during the 2004 DNC convention, I was sure that he would move on to higher political roles and make a run for president. I did not think that one year after he won a Senate seat in IL that he would run, but he did and as you described took his “fake, vacuous, dishonest, and, frankly, downright mendacious” persona to the National Stage. Obama never got my vote, at first because of inexperience and later his leftist policies. Unfortunately in both 2008 and 2012 the GOP nominated weak candidates that failed to counter that dishonest persona. Pray we do not fall for such rhetoric in November or ever again.
The election rests on the integrity of who is tabulating the votes.