Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
Recent regional special elections have seen Democratic candidates win a number of special election races.
Now energized left-wing politicos remind the nation daily that every incumbent president, except three over the last century, has suffered substantial midterm losses in Congress.
Polls show Trump suffering an average 11-point negative unfavorability rating.
So Democrats promise to soon stop all new legislation and end Trump and his counterrevolution itself.
But the left will never offer any alternative agenda on the economy, the border, crime, or foreign policy.
Instead, the new Democrat-Socialist Party views the Biden disaster of 2021-2024 not as a result of his puppeteers’ toxic policies of open borders, 21 percent aggregate inflation, dead-end green energy subsidies, DEI mandates, trans fixations, and an appeasing foreign policy that led to wars abroad and emboldened China.
Instead, they now blame those catastrophic years on Biden’s own enfeebled state—as if he were merely a hapless, debilitated messenger for their otherwise superb radical message.
So absent a positive agenda, Democrats will simply run all their state and federal campaigns as if Trump, their Satanic monster, is on every ballot.
Their Trump obsessions result in three now well-worn strategies.
The first, of course, is still more chaos.
The left believes that the unending 2020 riots cost Trump the election.
Ever since, they have sought to concoct a nihilist replay—whether the Tesla hysterias, the perpetual threats of government shutdowns, tough-guy talk of open insurrection against the federal government, or the current, performative-art, anti-ICE violence in Minneapolis.
They concede most Americans still support Trump’s closed borders and legal-only immigration, but hope they want a return to “normalcy” even more.
The more violence, Nazi-invective, and sheer craziness the left can instill—storming church services, ramming ICE vehicles, taking over the streets, or boasting of armed resistance—the more they believe that voters will blame not them, the instigators, but Trump, the target of their insurrectionary madness.
In Democrats’ blinkered reckoning, voters supposedly would prefer 10,000 illegal aliens methodically and daily swarming the border instead of seeing Minneapolis in utter neo-Confederate revolt.
Second, Democrats seize on every Trump art-of-the-deal excess or coarse putdown.
They scream that narcissistic Trump’s new ballroom has wrecked the White House. Or madman Trump was on the verge of fighting our NATO brethren in Greenland. Or cruel Trump wrecked our relationship with the lovable and blameless Canadians.
Democrats grant that voters sincerely like Trump’s secure border, the new trade agreements that correct past asymmetries, a rearming NATO, a defanged Iran, and the end to Maduro’s communist thugocracy—but not Trump’s messy art-of-the-deal means to achieve those desirable ends.
They scream that Trump talked crazily of making Canada a 51st state, not that it was finally shocked into promising to pay what it owed back in NATO contributions, securing its side of the border, and addressing its massive trade surpluses with the US.
So, Trump needs to avoid the very melodramas the left wants to exploit, which detract from his own undeniable accomplishments and the Democrats’ previous disastrous record.
Third, Democrats still rely on their ossified partnerships with the media, academia, and popular culture to mouth the old talking points.
So we are told ad nauseam that Trump caused the “affordability” crisis.
Or Trump is still Putin’s puppet.
Or Trump was an Epstein groupie.
Or Trump’s trade war crashed the economy.
Behind this stale Democrat boilerplate lies a deep fear that the Nietzschean Trump, just as he beat all their lawfare ambushes, will also do the impossible and avoid losing the Congress in November.
And they should fear.
Trump’s catalysts for a booming 2026 economy are already in place.
No one can now stop massive deregulation, new tax cuts and incentives, recalibrated tariffs, unprecedented foreign investment, record energy development, and the new emerging technologies.
All that is needed before the midterms is not controversial new initiatives, but more focus on the current boom in GDP, lower inflation, and increased purchasing power—all in contrast to Biden’s inflation disaster.
Voters still support closed borders and deportations of criminals and the millions who swarmed in under Biden.
But the best way to remind them of a secure border is to concentrate on partnering with red and purple state and local law enforcement for the next few months.
Each week, the thousands of systematically deported criminals in these jurisdictions will contrast with the thousands of violent offenders who are sanctuaried and protected in failed blue states.
And without the smokescreen of the ICE psychodramas, there are a lot of Democrat fears—like the vast Somali fraud in Minnesota, the even greater welfare scandals emerging in California, and the antics and verbiage of the hard left, like Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and the herky-jerky Gavin Newsom, who turned California’s natural paradise into a manmade purgatory.
Thank you Victor! Just a personal note which I feel illustrates the liberal hypocrisy of voting against the SAVE AMERICA ACT. My son tried to renew his non-driving ID which expired. I went with him to help him renew his ID so my family could go on a trip. I brought as much personal information as I could gather but the official I was dealing with stated that the “point value” of my documents was deficient. Compare this to the no ID necessary for federal elections that the liberals insist upon!!!
The importance of passing the SAVE America Act cannot be overstated.
It has never been more clear that the Democrats Party intends to use non-citizens to overcome their terrible intentions for America.
It’s not only essential for a legitimate midterm election, but also a clear message to Republican voters that their vote will not be nullified by illegal vote; that they should turnout to vote.
The Republicans may not recover if they don’t pass the SAVE America Act. It’ll be the “Californication” of America.
I’ve been having withdrawal symptoms; can’t say how much I’ve missed your insight and clever analysis of historical and current events. But it’s not about me; it’s about you and your health and recovery from serious illnesses about which we are all holding our collective breaths and praying for you. God’s grace and peace be with you. Not today Dr.
Well said.
Many years ago when Trump announced his candidacy for the first time I got into a bit of a spat with Charles Krauthammer on the National Review over “is Trump a conservative” back & forth. I didn’t know who he was at that time, just someone on TV entertainment, but I recognised the arrow. I wrote that if conservatism as defined from many quarters would have future relevance what was needed was a Hercules to clean the Augean stables first before conservatism could survive. I was blocked for that bit of commentary. So far, that fifth Labour is almost completed.
Best wishes for your recovery.
Lemnos
As always, you have rendered a clear eyed summation. Welcome back, Mr. Hanson. You are in my wife and my daily prayers. May the good Lord continue to enlighten and strengthen you and the people attending to your health.
Welcome back, Victor!
Eagerly anticipating the fully good-faith comprehensive rebuttal to these points by the Progressive Democratic Left
Thrilled to have you back! Hope you are completely recovered soon!
Jack did an outstanding job in your absence V and I also miss Sami and hope she is ok. Been praying for you and your family daily. Thank God for medical technology and the hyperintelligence of the doctors who diagnosed your cancer. Another clearheaded (devoid in the land of the liberals) summation and sad state of the political arena in our great country. Not a day passes where I just sit in my recliner at 71 and ask myself the following; “how can all these brainwashed pseudo-intellectuals lack the common sense to see the light?” The answer is simple. The deep seated hatred for Trump eclipses anything and everything he has accomplished. I don’t blame the democratic party for being evil as that is what they are, but I do pass judgement on the ‘common folk’ who allow the party to indoctrinate and endorse this evil. Jesus said it best; “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do!” As a Christian, I can forgive/forget much, however, the evil doings perpetrated by these power hungry ingrates is unforgivable.
Well said sir.
Health to you.
So great to hear your thoughts again on our current issues! As always, the calm voice of reason.
Hope you are getting closer to 100% each day, Dr. Hanson.
Welcome back Dr. H.! Good to hear your voice through your prose once again! 🙂
Thank you, Jim Reynolds, for your thoughts. It would be great to add the Save Act to your ledger – an 80/20 issue – which should go a long way to cleaning up our elections. I hope the Senate will pass the bill quickly in spite of Democrat resistance, so that states are compelled to purge their voter rolls.
My big fear on the mid-terms is the Gerrymandering in CA (which the Supreme Court won’t hear) and in VA. An extra 5 Dem seats in CA and 2 or 3 in VA would tilt the house in the Dems favor
You are not forgotten. We are praying for your recovery which means you will be back as good as new. Know this, that you are missed. We miss watching and listening to you and Jack sharing on the YouTube Daily Signal podcast. What is it I miss, you might ask. I found a quote from Aristotle that best describes it. “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” Like this. “Ignorance and arrogance are a lethal combination. Nowhere do we see that more clearly among writers and performers who pontificate as historians when they know nothing about history.”
Blessings to you Victor! Your continous input on all matters relating to the state of affairs of our country is ever so relevant and necessary to assist the rest of your countrymen and the world to gain a true and undeniable perspective on how us everyday Americans can continue to pursue those elements of sanity and prosperity for our country. The rest of the world hopefully will take note of your in depth observation to move quietly and furtively into a better world for ALL and not the few.
Many good points in this discussion. However, if Democrats take back the congress in the fall, there is only one person to blame: Trump and his crude and erratic style of governing, which has turned off many republicans, and they will stay home. Another reason is his siding with Putin in the Russo/Ukrainian war when Russia is at its weakest. His refusal to condemn Putin and blaming Ukraine for the war is reprehensible and morally obscene; it suggests that, indeed, Trump has become “Putin’s puppet.” Worse, it is also making Trump an accomplice to the genocide of Ukrainians and his odious envoys Witkoff and Kushner facilitators of that genocide. My circle of conservative republicans and many sober commentators openly say that concerning Ukraine, Trump has lost his moral compass, a stain that it will take America decades to repair. If there is any doubt about that, I recommend Prof. Alexander Motyl’s piece “Russia Is Committing Genocide in Ukraine.” https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/02/russia-is-committing-genocide-in-ukraine/
God bless you VDH.
Besides turnout and focus on accomplishments (which are undeniable and significant), clear lines of demarcation must be drawn in every house and senate race and every state race to clarify what policies the democrats advocated over the past 4-6 years and what likely scenario would manifest if they had won… and if they win again. In some cases, weak Republican candidates must find an attack line against their opponents that focuses on party platforms and results in the real world. The post-Trump slate of civil servants is forming now and must define its adherence to conservative principles in contrast to the Democrat socialist road.
Thank you VDH for all you do!!
Welcome back Victor,
Just what we all love to read – superb summary please please please dissect the Jacobin intro by Abigail Spanberger – nightmarish stuff and falling all around us without recourse help us all to focus and forget trying to nut out how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The barbarians are at the gate
So good to hear from you Sir. I jumped at your article immediately. I’m praying for you and your family. Best wishes for full recovery.
Bless you Victor, such a pleasure to read your writing. We wish you a strong recovery and continued good health. ❤️
Timely and encouraging article, and that’s why we need you Victor. Godspeed to your recovery!
May hod continue to keep you in the palm of his hand and bring you to full recovery and renewed health.
Please come back soon
Chris Merkel
God speed in your recovery Victor! You are a national treasure!
Thanks for your ticklers to President Trump. Hope he and his administration are listening to you.
A perfectly great analysis Victor . We continue to pray for your recovery. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It’s just very difficult for me to understand how anyone with any common sense would want to stop what Trump has accomplished this year? Yes Trump can be crude but you know what he is doing. The democrats just lie and hide their crimes. I’ve not posted this before but I’m sure others have.
A perfectly great analysis Victor . We continue to pray for your recovery. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It’s just very difficult for me to understand how anyone with any common sense would want to stop what Trump has accomplished this year? Yes Trump can be crude but you know what he is doing. The democrats just lie and hide their crimes.
Welcome back professor. We missed you. Hope you are feeling better.
OMGOSH, how I miss VDH! Another spot on BRILLIANT piece! Praying for continuing recovery and strength! God bless Victor!
Victor, Victor; your star shines very bright. Thank you for your light. May you soon obtain a robust recovery – overjoyed to see another article from you – prayers with you as always.
Dear VDH
Spot on as usual, certainly wishing you to feel Great Again.
Along with State and Federal issues people need to wake up to local city and County spending and fraud. Government Unions are killing local economies.
Our local Police want 20 million dollars more to “continue their level of service”. Well when their level of service is already pathetic what do they need more money for. Can’t make pathetic more pathetic, you just keep paying more for more failure.
And don’t get me started on Local and County Court systems, there is no justice.
CL
Glad you’re back, I hope you’re feeling better. We’ve missed you! Thanks for entrusting Jack with your podcast, the podcasts have been very good!
Looking for the soon daily signal excerpts, that bring the messages to the video world. Blessings for recovery, strength, lower gas to get you to/ from studios.
The Netherlands here. Thank you for this article! I would like to wish you a wholesome and satisfactory recovery!
Much looking forward to your regaining your health enough to return to your post. We all who follow you,day by day,seem to need you as much as we our need bread and water.
“Krya på dig” as we say in Swedish. Glad you’re back, take good care of yourself!
Welcome back, hope the recovery is progressing well! Take care and don’t over extend yourself.
Soooo glad to have Victor back! I’m not saying I didn’t know what to think in his absence, but his presence and writings sure do make clarity of thought take hold.
VDH is right across the board. But if Republicans want to blunt the usual midterm hysteria, the emphasis should stay relentlessly on measurable success, not style or sideshows:
1. The border — secured. Illegal crossings stopped, criminals deported, sovereignty restored.
2. Trade — rebalanced. Fairer agreements, leverage restored, asymmetries corrected.
3. NATO — finally defending itself. Allies paying up instead of freeloading.
4. Drugs — trafficking disrupted and slowed across the hemisphere, saving thousands of American lives.
5. Taxes — real cash back to Americans through major tax cuts and innovative policy, especially for working and lower-wage earners.
6. Crime — down sharply, everywhere law is enforced.
That’s the ledger. Democrats offer noise, chaos, and Trump fixation. Trump offers results. If the focus stays on outcomes, not provocations, the midterm script the Left is counting on may finally fail.
Republicans/conservatives just have to turn out the vote for midterms. The country’s headed in the right direction w/numerous accomplishments by this administration. Meanwhile, there should be zero tolerance for these chaotic protests, though Trump administration should try to avoid conflict.
To me, the greatest concern is continued out-of-control spending. I hope the administration will focus on rooting out the massive fraud, withhold funds, eliminate programs and claw back stolen funds to help balance the budget.
P.S. A friend in Minneapolis says Ilhan Omar is the ringleader there, worth more than $1 billion through Somali kickbacks. He says Mayor Fry is also involved. I didn’t have time to ask about Gov. Walz.
Love to hear your thoughts on things. So happy to have you back!
Great to hear from you. We all miss you.
Is this words from Victor as he told us he might do ?
Energy & election integrity. DJT will mobilize the folks who elected him. Whether the RINOs in the Senate legislate for clean elections remains to be seen and as such the future of the Republic will be determined
Still waiting for the great Trump economy to manifest as lower food prices at the local Walmart here in Hooterville, IN.