Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
Projectionism
Projection is a Freudian psychological term. It describes a particular defensive mechanism, when people, often unconsciously, attribute their own (usually undesirable) behaviors to others who do not have them.
These mental gymnastics are intended to alleviate one’s own guilt or sense of inadequacy at the expense of another.
Sound familiar?
But in the political sphere, projection involves more overt dissimulation. It is increasingly common for leftist candidates or political parties to falsely accuse their opponents of the very destructive behaviors and unpopular agendas that they themselves embrace, but out of political necessity must deny.
Rather than an unconscious Freudian defense mechanism, political projection is usually a conscious strategy of hiding one’s own negatives by fobbing them off on antagonists.
Projection often proves a quite successful ploy.
After all, the political projectionist knows best his own hazardous or off-putting conduct and policies. And so, he can most skillfully attribute just these liabilities to those who have had no experience with them.
Our Leftist Projectionists
The 2024 Harris-Walz campaign is turning out to be projectionist to the core. How?
First: Kamala Harris and her new running mate Governor Tim Walz have long advanced fringe leftist political agendas. (Her “everyone needs to be woke” and his claim that riots happen because society doesn’t prioritize “equity and inclusion.”)
They have been loud in their fringe cultural commentaries, which are not just unpopular but roundly rejected by the majority of the electorate. And they know that if they become open and honest about what they have done, they will likely be defeated.
Second: On a more personal level, both are attacking the behavior and conduct of their rivals as a way of deflecting attention from their own weaknesses on that score.
Thus, this kind of projection, about both policy and personal behavior, is more common on the left because its ideology is fundamentally far more distant from the views of most voters.
A few examples reveal that 2024 is turning out to be the most projectionist campaign in memory—and logically so, because the Democratic Harris-Walz ticket is unappealingly left-wing and thus vulnerable.
Harris is now barnstorming the country, repeating many times per day a teleprompted narrative that she sought to close the border and stop illegal immigration.
Donald Trump, she claims, did just the opposite, and is thus weak on the border. This idea of an open-borders Trump pitted against a secure-borders Harris is a classic Big Lie—if not utterly unhinged and surreal.
As a senator in 2017-20, Harris repeatedly fought President Trump’s secure border efforts.
Trump battled for a secure border against the likes of Harris (whose record was the most left-wing in the Senate), the administrative state, “anonymous” moles within his own administration, DNC-spawned lawsuits, and liberal justices.
All of them battled to keep the border open and the inflow of illegal aliens as large as possible—given that they felt subsidizing a huge illegal alien population would create loyal voters in the new era of poorly audited early and mail-in balloting.
Innate to the new hard-left Democratic party is a globalist ideology that regards borders as anachronisms. Thus, anyone should be allowed to travel and reside in any country he pleases, while deserving state support to accomplish such migrations.
Those agendas were why the entire leftist consortium tried to halt Trump’s efforts to build a wall. They embraced catch-and-release and allowed illegal aliens to claim “refugee” status once inside the United States. They fought Trump tooth and nail when he tried to beef up ICE and other border security agencies.
Harris went to absurd lengths in her open-borders agenda. She bizarrely even blasted the public at Christmas time for daring to say “Merry Christmas” when, she alleged, young foreign nationals, here illegally, could not enjoy such holidays. When she called for reforming border security, she said of ICE—“And we need to probably think about starting from scratch.”
Harris accused the border patrol falsely of whipping Haitian illegal aliens and compared them to the enforcers of slavery.
As a California attorney general Harris championed sanctuary cities and the state’s neo-Confederate nullification of federal immigration laws.
She and Tim Walz both supported giving free health care to foreigners who arrived illegally in the United States. Harris claimed that illegal entry into the U.S. was not a criminal offense.
Most notoriously, Harris was part and parcel of the Biden-Harris-Alejandro Mayorkas administration that destroyed the border and allowed a record 10 million illegal aliens to enter the U.S. freely and without vetting.
So why is Harris projecting her own politics onto the border-hawk Trump, falsely claiming that he opposed bipartisan “comprehensive border reform”—a tired euphemism for the failed election-era gimmick of legitimizing the unimpeded entrance of millions more illegal aliens?
Because Harris knows that, of all the unpopular Biden-Harris initiatives, the wide-open border and accompanying unchecked influxes of unvetted illegal aliens have proved the most unpopular.
And Harris knows that she supported this nihilist policy and that she will again embrace it after the election in her remaining three months as vice president—and, if elected president, for another four years.
But for the next 80 days, Harris will lie, in utterly cynical fashion, that she is with the voters on enforced borders and regulated immigration and against Trump, the supposed open-border liberal. Note that Harris is still vice president and apparently remains “border czar” for the next five months. Thus, she could stop all illegal immigration right now. And, even if not elected president, she could ensure its end through November and until January 20, 2025.
In the personal domain, Tim Walz, and his supporters are now alleging that his opponent J. D. Vance is not a true veteran of the Iraq War, because he was mostly assigned to a non-combat unit.
Walz and company are projecting in this absurd fashion because Walz himself has lied that he served in a combat zone and implied he was deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan or both when he in fact left the National Guard before it was deployed to a combat theater. On yet another occasion, he claimed to have carried weapons “in war” when he had never been in combat theater his entire life. He also falsely claimed to have retired as a Command Sergeant Major, when he instead demonstrably held a lower rank.
As a way of hiding these untruths, Walz projects lies onto Vance.
But anyone knows who has been to Iraq during the war, and especially during the surge—whether as a journalist embedded with ground troops or on an official military-arranged helicopter and plane visits to outlying American bases and troop installations—Iraq was a combat zone everywhere.
There were no traditional fronts and no safe areas. Troops got killed inside the supposedly safe “green zone.” They were shot and killed or blown up in Humvees while traveling on allegedly secure roads and in purportedly secure bases. Journalists and bureaucrats alike were killed by IEDs, barrages, and sniper fire—anywhere and everywhere.
Vance was in such a 24/7 combat environment when he was deployed to Iraq. Classic projection is clear when the soldier who avoided combat deployments projects his guilt, embarrassment, or fear of criticism onto an antagonist who chose the very opposite conduct and behavior.
In the year of the projectionist, watch how Harris—who obsessively avoids any live, impromptu, or ex tempore talk or interview—blasts Trump—who cannot restrain himself from talking publicly to anyone—for supposedly seeking to escape debating her.
Watch how she rails against voter IDs with accusations that her opponents want to warp balloting—while she has encouraged massive, unaudited mail-in voting and third-party vote harvesting, along with 10 million new potential illegal voters conveniently entering the U.S.
Watch how Harris blasts “radical Republicans,” as she intends (together with a Democratic congress) to pack the court, go after the filibuster, and admit new states to get on the cheap four left-wing senators.
Watch Harris scream that the near-unprecedented Biden-Harris inflation—which saw staples including food, power, gas, rent, cars, and insurance soar by 20-30 percent during her tenure—was supposedly caused by ex-president Trump, who left office three years ago with a 1.2 percent inflation rate.
Watch the projectionist Walz claim that Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy who grew up in an impoverished Appalachia, is actually an elite because he went to law school at Yale, while Walz was a rural Nebraska boy who stayed rural in outlook.
In fact, Vance is the first poor white boy presidential or vice presidential candidate since Bill Clinton (who also went to Yale Law School) ran in 1992. Meanwhile, Walz once scoffed not to take the overwhelmingly conservative map of Minnesota too seriously since there were only “rocks and cows” out there.
Watch Walz scream about “weird” Republicans—as he let Minneapolis burn for days in the awful summer of 2020 before calling in the National Guard, as his wife opened their official residence’s windows to get an authentic whiff of the revolutionary arson, and as his daughter tweeted out assurances to rioters not to worry about being arrested or stopped by the National Guard given her inside knowledge, they would not be sent in.
Watch Biden claim that Trump will attack democracy if he loses. This comes from a president who has unleashed lawfare against his opponent, who was removed from his own reelection candidacy by a backroom cabal, and whose mental disabilities have been hidden from the public by the same dark forces who recently forced him out—but only when his polls dived, and he threatened other Democratic candidates. Note Harris is the first modern presidential candidate who has never won a single delegate in a single primary but was anointed by a fiat of unnamed donors and politicos.
The first cousin of projection is the more familiar vice of hypocrisy, marginally preferable to projection in that here the other side is at least doing what they’re accused of.
Harris’s hypocrisy is stunning and shameless. For example, she has blasted Trump’s demand for voter IDs as racist and voter suppression. Yet Harris demands the very same sort of photo IDs from all who would attend her rallies.
Her logic, apparently, is that verifying the citizenship of voters is not as important as proving you have obtained a ticket to her rally and are not unlawfully seeking to enter her own event. Her message to the public is that the security of American balloting is hardly as important as the security of her own rallies.
The second cousin of projection is simple lying about one’s real intentions, virtually inevitable for the side with the less popular ideology.
Once elected, Vice President Harris felt she could safely push unpopular restrictions on pipelines, existing oil and gas fields, and new federal energy leasing to please her leftist circle and in pursuit of her ‘green new deal’ agendas. Now facing a presidential election, and the need for cheaper gasoline and fracking jobs in swing states, she is pro-fracking and drilling for oil and gas.
As president, she would inevitably revert to her consistent earlier advocacies. And they range from federal gun confiscation and nullifying (“snatching”) private enterprise patents to controlling not only food prices but also wages that she deems not meeting her standards of “gender equity”.
At long last, can’t we take away the projection, the hypocrisy, and the concealment of one’s real positions, not to mention all the past collusion, disinformation, and lawfare, and just let the people decide whether they really want to return to the leftist vision of America as fundamentally flawed, inherently racist, and in desperate need of corrective illiberalism?
Can’t the left be honest that it wants massive government redistributive action in health, education, and welfare, fueled by enormous government spending increases, more taxes, and more administrative-state overseers?
And can’t the left be honest to Americans about their globalist view that America is only exceptional to the degree that any country believes it is exceptional—but demonstrably not exceptional enough to warrant secure borders, a free market economy, legal-only immigration, a strong deterrent military, and a content-of-our-character-not-color-of-our-skin approach to race?
Or to put it another way, if you don’t want what the people want, you have to project.
Kamala H has publically stated that she wants to reduce the global population. This is the dream of Progressives, and they have already begun to engage in their nefarious agenda:
First, they scream that global warming is about to end the world as we know it.
Second, they insist that humans are the root cause of global warming, if not the only cause.
Third, they promote things such as transgenderism to convince people that it’s OK to mutilate children so that they will not be able to reproduce in the future. (Abortion is also a big part of this.)
Fourth, they support wars abroad that kill tens of thousands of people.
Fifth, (and I know this borders on conspiracy theory) they create global pandemics by releasing manufactured viruses that kill massive amounts of people. 
Sixth, they create inflation to try to reach a sweet spot where couples can make it, but they are dissuaded from having children because they can no longer afford them.
Seventh, they embrace and promote globalism, which is their ultimate goal so that they can have centralized power to force the world to accept their anti-Christian agenda.

We must not be naive, there is an evil plan afoot and it is unfolding before our eyes. Yet, God will take what the enemy means for evil and turn it for good.
Mark Edward – Thanks for your thoughts. The Left’s promotion of abortion and homosexuality also contribute to depopulation. Perhaps the establishment of depopulation and environmental measures will be used to establish the global government.
Fifth, (and I know this borders on conspiracy theory) they create global pandemics by releasing manufactured viruses that kill massive amounts of people. <if you still think these things are a conspiracy theory theres no hope for you, kind of GLARINGLY OBVIOUS.
Against the backdrop of everything else you stated (which are all true), a conspiracy to release a global pandemic fits like just another puzzle piece.
“You’re all morons.”
Unfortunately, 40%+ of Americans are bent, bound, and determined to prove them true on that.
Excellent Summary. I was moved by your succinct perspective. I was compelled to develop a Meme out of this to share around the world. Nice work.
I do believe that events generally end up with the good, but sometimes the amount of bad before the good is hard to bear-
Right on the mark VDH…as usual.
Walz is beyond shaming. He knows nothing about the Marines and his attempt to diminish J.D. Vance’s service is reprehensible.
Marines are first and foremost combat troopers. This includes journalists and even Jag Marines.
Medial services are provided by the Navy. Walz should watch “Full Metal Jacket”.
The thought of Harris-Walz serving as head of the military should make all Veterans and the country NAUSEOUS. WE WOULD BE IN A WORLD OF HURT.
The thought of Obama and now Biden have put us in a world of hurt and many of oppose their leadership of the once great US Military!
How the voters do not see the projectionism and hypocrisy of Harris is beyong my comprehension. When race and gender blind people to the facts I guess any ideology will do!
The root cause appears to be … “Narcissism, Greed, and Selfish Pride.”
Ignorant and ambivalent to the social decay and national debt.
We have an opportunity to turn this around in this next election but, is there the insight – wisdom – will power – moral courage to do so?
Our country lacks truth. We need to be educated in reality. If people only knew what conservative commentators were reporting, then they would be more favorably disposed to turning the nation around.
I hope that God has mercy on our nation, but our nation is characterized by moral corruption. We are a people who permit the killing of a million or so innocent lives in the womb or outside of it. We are bent on promoting all kinds of sexual immorality. We are fools in that our leaders cannot identify what a woman is. Will God overlook these sins? Will men turn to God in repentance? Are people more God-honoring now than before Biden’s election?
We need to be educated in reality<not quite sure what this even means, i know of no schools or universities offering any such subject in any schools syllabus……..
Power, Gain, and Authority. You nailed it.
I agree with theme of this article, but take exception with one detail. Bill Clinton did not grow up poor. He claimed to have, but did not. His mother was a Certified Registered Nurse Anthesis. CRNA’s were the most highly remunerated of nurses, often making more that family practice physicians and other of the lower paid physicians. Let’s not forget that young Bill was able to afford his pick up truck with the artificial turf lined bed…
Whether espousing right, left or bipartisan positions, people should honestly represent themselves to the voters. Let’s bring back: ‘Said it, meant it, and I am here to represent it.”
An empty pantsuit and projection is all that the Karma Karma Karma Karmala Chameleon has to offer
Very astute, Dr. Hanson.
Correct analysis, no doubt, but the terrifying fact is that so many don’t care. Their credo is that the end justifies the means. Abortion ‘rights’, gay ‘rights’, welfare ‘entitlements’, destroying Trump … all qualify as worthy ends that ‘justify’ the means. Germans accepted Nazi excesses at the outset because of their end goals.
These next two and half months will be getting “curioser and curioser”. General US economic resilience means that perhaps too many people can comfortably “virtue signal” and vote Harris, without suffering from the after taste. They won’t feel the consequence of their action but will get to relish the psychological tonic from doing so. That number might be big enough to put her over the top – consider single-issue abortion voters, suburban women who find Trump distasteful, and the college educated “bien pensant” left. Sadly, we could get the government that they (not we) deserve.
These facts you have mentioned above are the only facts Trump needs to focus on until November. The nick-names, attacks on someone’s appearance etc are unnecessary. He will have more to worry about when the Dems attempt the next big steal.
Frederick Hayek’s, The Road To Serfdom, coming to America if Harris/Walz are elected. Be prepared to exercise the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.
August 19. Our hearts go out to the strain all this increasing projection, hypocrisy, and concealment must be placing upon the consciences of those in the left-promoting media who still self-identify as honest journalists.
In the end, we will have to become more like the Scotch-Irish: Obstinate For God; Obstinate For Liberty; and Obstinate For Family!
Thank you sir. I always enjoy reading your columns
Terry
If American voters vote in this dim Marxist duo, their nomination engineered by a corrupt Dem Party machine concerned only with getting and holding power by any possible means, they will be opting for increased social disintegration and an economy serving only the wealthiest ten percent. Surely they will not act so stupidly.
Sadly, stupid is the name of the game.
Mr. Hanson: You always say such smart things. Too bad more people wouldn’t listen to you. I’m voting for Trump.
Scathing, but insightful and true. Diabolical campaign by Dems.
I fear three things:
1. The next assassination attempt will be successful, throwing the election and the country into turmoil. Trust in the Secret Service, the FBI, the CIA is justifiably at an all-time low.
2. Illegal votes will be counted ONCE AGAIN, that void out my vote and all of those who vote with me.
3. This twin Marxist duo will somehow, some way find themselves into the seat of power. Truly an awful scenario to even contemplate.
Harris is the single greatest example of how far our education system has fallen! She’s a COMMUNIST NOOB and those who vote and support her lack BASIC HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE of this country’s origin and the death and destruction Communism has wrought on mankind!
VDH,
It all boils down to one constant, the corrupt media.
The never changing radical left wing-main stream media -has control the narrative in this country far longer than is imaginable.
They lack principles, and are the personification of evil, plainly speaking- they are no good.
Unless that changes, the destruction of America as a country is inevitable.
A Republican victory in the November 5th Presidential Election will be the catalyst for that change, but unfortunately the damages already done by the reckless media may be insurmountable.
I keep wondering just WHO/WHAT is behind the MSM ?
It is not easy to coordinate that many outlets.
The Democrats and their RINO counterparts at the state and federal levels advance policies that are detrimental to the welfare of America and the citizens who reside there, to the BENEFIT of global elites who seek to enslave us & rule over the west.
Everything from the Green Energy transition, Open Borders, pro globalization economic policies, forever wars, unsustainable debt and suffocating inflation is foisted upon us, to the benefit of those elites.
That’s why there’s virtually no difference between a Democrat and a majority of our Republicans, they are just two factions within the globalist uniparty state.
The Great Reset is real and ongoing. Marxist Democrats like Kamala Harris serves the interests of those elites in an effort to secure herself a privileged position within their New World Order.
Destruction of the US Constitution, loss of national sovereignty, digital currencies, digital ID’s, social credit scores, loss of all liberty/rights, disarmament, total censorship and the surveillance state are all COMING!
Victor: I am no fan of Walz, but there is one issue where I would like you to cut him some slack; his military retirement. There is nothing to suggest that his overall service was anything other than honorable. Having commanded a deployed Reserve unit, I can say that it is not uncommon for Guard or Reserve personnel to retire or transfer when faced with deployment. In my experience, their reasons are personal, not inconsistent with Army Values, and not criticized by command or comrades. I am negatively critical of Walz on many fronts, but not so this one. I am not suggesting his Guard retirement decision be supported; only that it not be criticized. Go Trump! COL US Army (Retired)
No doubt that we face the test of our life time of whether or not we preserve our constitutional republic or fall into some form of tyranny. Americans have proven over the centuries to pass such test and hold on to our freedoms and the greatest country ever conceived and put into practice. Thank god that we have Victor Davis Hanson today to continue to make the case of the threat that we face and the historical sense to vanquish it!