Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
Donald Trump won the 2024 election in part because the left’s hysterical style of attacking Trump no longer worked.
After a decade of this unhinged furor, it proved worthless in winning public support—and for two simple reasons.
One, after years of Russian collusion hoaxes, the laptop disinformation farce, and the warped lies about the “suckers” and “fine people on both sides”—the shrill left became predictable.
So, the bored public began tuning them out, switching channels, hitting the mute button, and pulling the plug.
Like the deleterious effects of inflation that eventually render a currency worthless, nonstop hectoring, hysterics, pontification, and distortion finally made all such criticisms of Trump mostly as valueless as 1930s German marks.
Second, the wearied public never heard reasoned counterarguments from the likes of a Rachel Maddow. Instead, on spec, she kept mouthing, “The walls are closing in” on Trump.
Joe Biden did not explain why his open border was a better idea than Trump’s closed one. He preferred mumbling about “semi-fascists!” and “ultra-MAGA!”
The Never Trumpers did not critique the Trump deficits. Instead, they hammered away that Trump was Hitler, or Mussolini, or Putin—or just a dangerous dictator or autocrat.
Angry retired generals never demonstrated why Trump was, in their view, an existential threat to democracy. Instead, they shouted nonstop in op-eds and interviews that he was a fascist, Nazi-like, no different from the guards at Auschwitz, a pathological liar, and should be summarily removed.
Worn-out voters began to understand these psychodramas were substitutes for substantive criticism or occasions for legitimate debate.
Indeed, the exhausted public finally concluded that the hysterics increased in direct proportion to the poverty of the charges.
So, what did ten years of such derangement achieve for the left?
Trump now has control of the White House and both houses of Congress operate under Republican majorities.
The Supreme Court is mostly conservative. Almost all of Trump’s issues—the border, immigration, the economy, foreign policy, and crime—poll well over 50 percent.
No matter, the left is still hammering away at the trivial and irrelevant—and remains paralyzed in furor and hysterics.
When Snoop Dogg performed for the Trump inauguration, Ann Navarro of The View, in racist fashion, called the African-American rapper “a trained seal.”
When Pete Hegseth went before the Senate for confirmation as Secretary of Defense nominee, Democrats asked almost nothing about nuclear strategy, recruitment shortfalls, or a paucity of artillery shells.
Instead, what followed were animated gotcha lectures about Hegseth’s prior adultery.
No sooner had Hegseth finished his successful audit than the left rounded up his former sister-in-law, now divorced from his brother.
A hardcore Democrat, she confessed she wanted his nomination rejected. She further claimed—with no evidence—that she had “heard” from his ex-wife that Hegseth was a wife-beater.
His former wife immediately denied the charges. She pointed to their prior divorce settlement that recorded neither had ever lodged such a complaint against the other.
Next, the left went after Elon Musk. Recently, he had finished an address by touching his heart and then extending his arm out to the crowd.
To the left, that greeting now became proof of a “Nazi salute.”
Yet in no time, the internet cited photos of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Elizabeth Warren all extending their stiff arms out in identical fashion to Musk.
We were next told by critics that Donald Trump was not technically president because he did not place his left hand on the Bible as he swore his presidential oath.
The Constitution, of course, demands no such act. But it does explicitly state that no religious test shall be required to hold public office.
During a National Prayer Service for newly sworn-in President Trump, the Episcopal bishop of Washington D.C., Mariann Budde, hijacked the sermon. She rebuked Trump—sitting right in front of her—because he supposedly had portrayed illegal aliens and transgendered children “in the harshest of lights.”
Budde later bragged that had she used the occasion to sandbag Trump with a “one-on-one conversation.”
She talked grandly of mercy, but not of the thousands of Americans who have been physically assaulted or attacked by illegal aliens, or tens of thousands of deaths due to illegally imported fentanyl, or the unfairness of open borders to legal immigrant applicants, or the suffering of our citizen poor when their social services are overwhelmed by some 12 million illegal entries of the last four years.
In sum, the left wants no debate because they know voters have rejected what they saw and suffered during the last four years of the Biden administration.
Forgetting nothing, learning nothing, like zombies, leftists keep screaming banalities. But like addicts and their feel-good fixes, their hysterics only further turn off the public as they destroy themselves.
It reminds me of a shark feeding frenzy, when blood is in the water the eyes turn up and nothing else matters but cusuming the prey. Such no fact conversation can be had with these individuals who will just yell out slogans or profanities to drown out reason.
Excellent essay as usual offering insight and clarity.
VDH nailed it again!!
It becomes more and more clear why the Founders chose to require voters to be property owners with definite skin in the game.
Let’s first get rid of birthright citizenship which dates back to the abolition of slavery before requiring civics lessons, crime-free record, some personal assets, etc. There seem to be a lot of ill-informed people voting incompetent people into pubic office.
Thanks for the insight, there’s some merit for that. Voting on election day in person at the ballot location may also have helped raise the quality of votes.
For sure, Peter.
Also, there were probably not a lot of mail-in ballots in the late 1700s and 1800s either.
Another wonderful article by the great Victor Hanson – often times to sum up our own unspoken thoughts.
I filed a Title IV complaint against the Bishop.
My otherwise intelligent best friend just casually dropped into a text conversation that Karen Pence’s negative reaction was because she didn’t take kindly to “Trump calling for Pence to be hanged.” Say what?
I told her I checked and found a recent NPR piece about protesters (a few years ago) chanting “Hang Pence,” but Trump didn’t endorse this. She claims he did so indirectly by not preventing this chant.
I can’t IGNORE such comments, but I see she’s determined to prove Trump’s election was a grave mistake no matter what happens. How are we going to deal with friends and family like this?
It would have been a gracious thing for Trump to calm the crowd down as it expressed its displeasure in such hyperbolic terms.
But how does she feel about a bullet striking Trump that was within a fraction of an inch of taking his life? Is she more aghast and repulsed at attempts to murder him than a crowd chanting hang Pence? If not, then her indignation seems to be trivial in comparison.
Comparing the alternative candidate and party with Trump surely should put him ahead if she is open to voting for a conservative. If Trump did not run for office, would she vote for a conservative candidate with Trump’s policies? If not, then her personal criticism of Trump seems to be hollow.
Perhaps we should continue talking with friends and family to discuss the merits of an America First philosophy. Maybe we can inform and persuade more people for the next election in two years.
As long as a majority of blue state Americans is addicted to the Left’s demonstrably failed ideas – eg. illegal immigration, environmental activism, crime and punishment, etc. – we will remain a thoroughly divided country unable to restore the common sense and tried and true values of our grandparents.
Donald Trump is the only man that I believe is capable of leading us out of the morass we have suddenly awoken to. But he will only have about two years to get it all done – ie. reduce inflation, increase energy development, secure the border etc. – before the razor thin Republican majority in the House is gone in the next midterm election.
All you can do is hope and pray.
I believe that we will have 4 years to cure what is wrong with the country because the left is beyond repair!!!
There is something wrong with our country. It is not rational to be unable to define what a female is and let males play on girls’ sports teams. The irrationality of leftist policies goes well beyond gender, but this issue capsulizes the insanity of our people.
The left may be taken aback by the election results, but the people of our country have trouble discerning reality. I believe that it is a spiritual problem rooted in rejecting the God of creation.
Please see Romans 1: 18-32
Yes. Irrational. They took Musk’s common hand gesture and believed it to be a Nazi salute. Subsequent photos of their heroes making the same gesture did not cure them of this stereotyping.
It’s too bad that smearing and slandering are used to denigrate those who disagree with the democrat party. We’d like a fair debate on the issues and actually work together to identify and solve problems.
Thank you for your post; it describes matters exactly as they stand.
We have but two years. I only pray anymore.
It could be just two years; thwarting America First policies the next two years may be the strategy to regain voters for the democrat party.
This quote is attributed to actor Denzel Washington: “Some people will never like you, because your spirit irritates their demons.” Sums up liberal fear of President Trump pretty well.
In regard to accusations of misconduct, there are biblical guidelines to promote procedural due process and receive a fair hearing –
Proverbs 18:17 The one who states his case first seems right until the other comes and examines him.
Deuteronomy 19:15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.”
I no longer have any sympathy or interest in the psychological problems of the left, since functionally, they are all radicals or radical-tolerant. I just want them dis-empowered and marginalized because, for the ages , they have proved that they can never again be trusted with influence over our country and individual lives. I will cheerfully and legally sabotage them whenever I can, going forward, because they have earned my permanent disrespect.
I have to admit I was surprised how quickly they went back to the pre-election modus operandi without missing a beat. As you have so eloquently said, forgot nothing an learned nothing. Lets hop they keep this up through the mid terms and into the 2028 election cycle
Mr. Hanson, as usual, offers up the stark contrast between Common Sense, and a total lack of Rational Thinking.
The Parents, and the Public School System, have abandoned their responsibilities for decades and decades. None of this sickness was visible during the 1950’s.
When I heard about the “sermon” from the woman at the National Cathedral I wasn’t surprised. Approximately 50% of Episcopalians (including me) have stopped attending that church this century, in large part because of deluded behavior of this sort
Catholics as well, look at our deranged Pope. Just a continuance of demonstrating how going woke and going broke applies across the board even to religion.
The Bible teaches that God made human beings male and female. Each sex has its own role to play in the family and in the church.
The Scriptures teach that man was formed first and in need of a helper and none was found suitable for him until woman was formed from the first man’s side (Genesis 2:18-25)
Not only did man have a suitable helper but there would be conflict in the family as a result of sin. The woman would seek to master her husband but he would rule over her and has authority in the family as he was created first and has the role of leadership (Genesis 3:16; 1 Corinthians 11:3-16).
It is also true in the church that men are to have leadership as the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 clearly state that the overseer, bishop (Episkopos in Greek), or elder is to be a man who is dedicated to his wife.
1 Timothy 2:11-13 and 1 Corinthians 14-33-40 differentiate the roles of men and women in the church. Women are to be learners but men are to be the teachers and authorities in the church.
Hence, the roles of men and women are different because of the order of creation and the purpose that God seeks to achieve. Each sex has its distinct function and are equally honorable.
According to the Scriptures listed above, the sermon should not have been given by a woman and that woman should not have been an overseer in her church.
To disregard what God has said in his written word, leads to all kinds of human reasoning and practices.
It is sad and unsurprising that churches that negate the fundamental roles purposed by God for the sexes in the church and family would also ignore the other scriptures and incorporate human wisdom and beliefs to violate other clear teachings of the Bible.
Ahh, a safe place when one needs a respite from the deranged.
And the unions in every area of the workplace love lefties. How will the union power be dissolved? They make it impossible for anyone who wants to express an opinion, they push them out. Let us now reverse this!
Wind blown ribbons seemed to reach out to president Trump while placing a wreath. Almost suggesting that unseen forces are sending their acknowledgment for breaking a new dawn and joining the millions that overcame the woke curse. gates of new possibilities for more hopeful generations are open again. Patriots who persevered to the bring about this great nation miracle, seemed to embrace and join in the celebration with wind powered lovely ribbon salutes. Love you Donald Trump.
Espiscopalianism is a wonderful denomination based upon Scripture, Reason, Faith and Experience.
This four legged stool of the denomination has been denigrated, slashed and burned by Leftism since the Cultural Revolution of the late sixties. The Bishops of the denomination and those who elect them are at fault and that destruction of the faith has continued apace up to today.
It’s all so very sad but the denomination, hopefully, will survive.
There has been a schism in the Epicopalian Church. Twenty years ago about half the congregation in my local Episcopal Church left due to the woke new policies overturning biblical rules. They joined the Anglican community which is very conservative in following the Bible. I believe the same problems are effecting the Methodist Church also.
Leftism has been able to take over Christian churches because the Scriptures do not reign supreme in the thoughts and beliefs of its members.
God’s revelation of his thoughts and beliefs are communicated through His written word to mankind and hence should be the final arbiter of truth.
Human reasoning, faith and experience needs to be subsumed to the Bible and if they supersede the Scriptures then the inevitable result is human reasoning and values influenced by man’s limitations and sin.
Please see 2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Revelation 22:18,19
Peter,
Have you seen the film Bonhoeffer? It’s an extraordinary profile of courage and integrity.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor who spoke out against the Nazis. In one of the scenes Nazi officials come to church demanding that all Lutheran ministers follow the newly rewritten Nazi bible. In it, they had added two extra commandments including “Thou Shalt Respect Thy Fuhrer.”
Bishop Budde isn’t cut from the sme cloth that Bonhoeffer was.
Thanks for the insight. I haven’t seen the movie. Christians need to be careful to rely upon the word of God for their beliefs and practices. The limitations and sin of man make it impossible to follow God without his written revelation and grace.
It cannot survive if it allows and condones anti-biblical preaching and allowing queer bishops. Did they learn nothing from Sodom and Gomorrah?
Good insight, God is patient up to a point.
How does one become so ostentatious about views that are alined with human suffering? Abortion, Illegal immigration, men in women’s sports, child mutilation in the name of transgenderism…all causes suffering either directly or indirectly in some way.
Good insight, thanks for posting.
I so appreciate your well thought out, clear, and concise essays on current events and historical ones as well. I am no intellectual, so when things are made clear without a plethora of seldom used (by us “deplorables” anyway) terms, I truly benefit from your observations, wisdom and knowledge. Thank you. Karen Young
A woman posted on our Next door app that the hair salon she frequents had closed, “adding to the current apocalypse”.
That’s funny, thanks for posting.
All great reasons to pretend they don’t exist in the legislative process. Confirm all nominees asap, run roughshod over any state legislatures impeding execution of new exec orders, pursue doggedly weaponizers of govt that sought election interference.
For a long time I thought TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) was a witty acronym for not taking political hacks seriously. But as time progressed it’s become obvious that TDS is a real affliction. There are people, otherwise fully functional even arguably intelligent, that, at a mention of anything Trump, instantly shed all rational thought and become hysterical. The affliction is so severe that an Episcopal bishop devolves to defending transgender, criminals, lawlessness, all antichristian, in her maniacal TDS states.
Excellent well written article Dr Hanson. Now the activist
“bishop” is making her rounds on the usual left venues(like The View) touting her rhetoric and collecting admiration for putting Trump in his place. Rev Franklin Graham once said “Sanctuary of Satan”, and that’s exactly what the capital cathedral has become.
The entire safe-space Left-world has finally become “the boy who cried wolf!” No adult American has the time to listen to their mentally ill crap ever again. Good riddance.
It would benefit the younger generation to have an elective in their schools like Media Literacy. We seem, as a country, to have failed in educating them on the value of critical thinking when it involves the “news.”
Additionally, current journalism professors need to drop the “activist” mantra in their classrooms.
“What a Difference an Election Day Makes”
“What a Diff’rence a Day Makes”
Grever/Adams sung by (the great) Dinah Washington.
The primary attribute of the Episcopal priestess, is that she is an apostate.
I wish messaging and resistance to propaganda was the main reason, but I’m afraid it’s still working very well. The lesson from 2024 is that Results. Matter.
Unlike the well-known disclaimer required by the SEC, past performance IS the greatest indicator of future performance when it comes to elected leaders. Those voters in the muddy middle, those that don’t really latch onto the ideology of either party or its candidates, tend to vote for the Presidential candidate that they feel provides the most hope for the future. Divisive identity politics is a poor fruit in any electability pie, but given enough charisma and lack thereof on the other side (2008 comes to mind), it can become a mere spice in the overall flavor palate.
The propaganda machine that, in Orwellian fashion, kept telling us that things were great and all the problems we saw around us were either anecdotal, imaginary, the fault of the old SWM (Straight White Male) system, or actually something good and noble in disguise (like open borders), simply did not match the reality that most people could see with their own eyes. DJT had the dual advantage of being both the past performance AND the reform candidate; Harris, of course, could leverage neither with any sort of intellectual honesty.
The left has ~3 years to find that next Barack Hussein Obama, and my bet is that they will.
“The left has ~3 years to find that next Barack Hussein Obama, and my bet is that they will.” And they will. Why?
The election results reflect that there are still nearly 50 percent of all voters in favor of left ideals.
Elections need to provide each individual a secure receipt when they cast their vote. That receipt can then be used to verify and confirm that their vote was recorded exactly how they marked it on their ballot. Until election results can be verified and confirmed by those who vote they simply can not be trusted. Think about it. Once voting is complete the results are added to a spread sheet. That spread sheet can be manipulated in the same way as an email account list is managed. A check mark by an individual email, or vote, can direct the spreadsheet to delete or move, etc. that email, or vote. And is done without a method to verify and confirm the voters ballots. Think about it. Are election results really that close? If swing state results are so important why not show swing state results first. Or perhaps show state voting results in alphabetical order. It appears as though media have convinced politicians that people will not care about elections unless the results are close. Like in sporting events. What would the viewer rather see? A game that is decided in and overtime, or a sudden death playoff, or a tie-breaker, etc.? The technology is here today to give each individual voter a receipt for their ballot. Why not use it?
I would like to have seen him research Census and other sources for political demographics and active drug and alcohol addiction on the left those numbers might surprise him and many of you.
Watched extended family since 2000 decry even marginally centrist proposals by Democrat or Republican. But by 2023 holiday gatherings transitioned into politics light zones. Only big issues discussed and only if actually positive & authored by Democrats. Biden not mentioned at all. By 2024 politics absent from table discussions. After the election, still nothing. Not even recognition that DJT won; it almost felt like embarrassment…maybe. My conclusion is the continually deranged politicians, empty media left, and everything VDH summarizes above finally broke thru. I’m hopeful.
Don’t be surprised when people act in a consistent & predictable manner. What else could you reasonably expect from a life of too much security & freedom, an educational system basically hostage to the teacher’s unions and a media in lockstep with the 1619 Project. This is much worse than the 1960s. There is no draft, no war, there is social media & fast approaching national insolvency. If the Bill Clinton of 1990 was trying to gain D nomination today Warren & the squad & the Obamas & Pelosi would force him to the sidelines. Trump has a fair reservoir of political capital. He will need to spend all of it to restore some sanity.
Indeed!
The empty barrel sounds the loudest.
The “left” is so devoid of any moral base, and this “bishop” included. So very sad and dangerous for so many people. That person “of the cloth” should talk to Chloe Cole, Walter Heyer, etc.
Thank you!! of course the left will never never believe they are wrong as they go to their graves believing in the spew that Democrats say!!
As much as I hate say it…I think the 2020 election steal and subsequent 4 years of Joe Biden actually helped open up many apathetic people’s eyes. It’s astonishing to me that anyone would continue to vote for such an arrogant, corrupt party like the Dems these last four years. The power of this mass hysteria syndrome over Trump has been well played- but ultimately over played to the point of absurdity.
I agree with you Don. Had Trump served another four years directly after his first term, those four years would have been a “repeat” of his first four, during which a (then) politically naive Trump had his every move blocked or fought against. The intervening four years finally awakened people to the crap that was being foisted upon this country by the left-leaning (brainwashed by the legacy media) TDS crowd. Today, a much more politically knowledgeable President Trump is “ready” to do what needs to be done–he has hit the ground running, knows what the people who elected him want, and has demonstrated strong leadership…and we’re only one week into his term.
Agreed.
Romans 8:28…
Fortunately most Americans are not buying the bad product the radical left is selling these past several years. To put it simply these democrats are disgusting.
I was watching the “sermon” on live TV when the deranged queer lady started belaboring her demented views. I told my wife “we are about to hear about the queers being abused”; and at that moment the woman described how some gay, lesbian and trans children were living in fear, or some such. Dr. Hanson is right, the leftists are now boringly predictable and run along in ideological grooves. Alexander Solzhenitsyn said the party apparatchiks in the gulags were like automatons who would spew party talking points as if they had a crank on the side of their head that could be turned to draw forth the spewage. Now I hear it from TDS sufferers who parse lines like “without evidence” or “falsely claim”. It engenders my immediate response of tuning them out.
Well said, Willie! Couldn’t agree more!!
I find it rather depressing that people like her (and there are many others) can’t be cured. Or am I just being a pessimist? I’d love to be proven wrong but from what I’ve seen these people are submerged so deep into the quicksand of ignorance it can’t be fixed.
I’m beginning to think that they cannot be “cured.” They seem to have been brainwashed to the extent that those beliefs have become part of their core identity.
And their destruction cannot come quickly enough.
From memory…….Some recent history on the Episcopal church. Rev Gene Robinson, the gay Bishop was an activist some 20-25 yrs ago. Part of his narrative was that gay was ok for people in his position but also the Bible was not really true and not to be taken literally. Another Bishop named “Spong” endorsed Robinson saying that it was better to compromise than have a split. While I feel that a small % of people may have a genetic predisposition to be gay, this does not mean that the Bible is open to selective interpretation to promote a social agenda. If we don’t stand for something, we wind up standing for nothing. This does not mean being we should fall into the trap of being judgmental but moral relativism is a recipe for chaos.
Thanks for the historical background. Our sin takes all types of forms and without the grace of God we would engage in all that is done.
Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
We have a sin nature since we begin life at conception, and we are born into the world as sinners who naturally sin.
God has reached out through Christ to deliver us from our sin.
Correction: “We have a sin nature beginning at conception…”
Ever notice how when a person quotes the Bible they often are labeled judgmental? I guess God is judgmental, too.