Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
In less than six months, the entire world has been turned upside down. There is no longer such a thing as conventional wisdom or the status quo.
The unthinkable has become the banal.
Take illegal immigration—remember the 10,000 daily illegal entries under Biden?
Recall the only solution was supposedly “comprehensive immigration reform”—a euphemism for mass amnesties.
Now, there is no such thing as daily new illegal immigration.
It simply disappeared with common-sense enforcement of existing immigration laws—and a new president.
How about the 40,000-50,000 shortfall in military recruitment?
Remember all the causes that the generals cited for their inability to enlist soldiers: generational gangs, obesity, drugs, and stiff competition with private industry?
And now?
In just six months, recruitment targets are already met; the issue is mostly moot.
Why? The new Pentagon flipped the old, canceling its racist DEI programs and assuring the rural, middle-class Americans—especially white males—that they were not systemically racist after all.
Instead, they were reinvited to enlist as the critical combat cohort who died at twice their demographic share in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How about the “end of the NATO crisis,” supposedly brought on by a bullying U.S.?
Now the vast majority of NATO members have met their pledges to spend two percent of GDP on defense, which will soon increase to five percent.
Iconic neutrals like Sweden and Finland have become frontline NATO nations, arming to the teeth. The smiling NATO Secretary-General even called Trump the “daddy” of the alliance.
What about indomitable, all-powerful, theocratic Iran, the scourge of the Middle East for nearly fifty years?
Although it had never won a war in the last half-century, its terrorist surrogates—Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis—were supposedly too dangerous to provoke.
Now?
Most of their expeditionary terrorists are neutered, and their leaders are in hiding or dead.
Iran has no air force, no real navy, no air defenses, and no active nuclear weapons program.
Its safety apparently depends only on the mood of the U.S. or Israel on any given day, not to fly into its airspace and take out its missiles, nuclear sites, generals, or theocrats at will.
What happened to the supposedly inevitable recession, hyperinflation, stock market collapse, unemployment spikes, and global trade war that last spring economists assured us would hit by summer?
Job growth is strong, and April’s inflation rate is the lowest in four years. GDP is still steady. The stock market hit a record high. Trade partners are renegotiating their surpluses with the U.S.
It turns out that staying in the U.S. consumer market is the top priority of our trading partners.
It seems their preexisting and mostly undisclosed profits were large enough to afford reasonable U.S. symmetrical tariffs.
For now, news of tax cuts, deregulation, ‘drill baby, drill’ energy policies displacing Green New Deal strangulation, and $8–10 trillion in potential foreign investment has encouraged—rather than deterred—business.
Then there were our marquee elite universities, whose prestige, riches, and powerful alumni made them answerable to no one.
And now, after the executive and congressional crackdown on their decades of hubris?
Supposedly brilliant university presidents have resigned in shame.
The public has caught on to their grant surcharge gouging.
Campuses have backed off their arrogant defiance of the Supreme Court’s civil rights rulings.
They are panicked about the public exposure of their systemic anti-Semitism.
They are scrambling to explain away their institutionalized ideological bias and their tawdry profit-making schemes and mass recruitment of wealthy foreign students from illiberal regimes.
So, the mighty Ivy League powerhouses are now humbling themselves to cut a deal to save their financial hides and hopefully return to their proper mission of disinterested education.
What happened to the trans juggernaut of sex as a social construct and its bookend gospel that biological men could dominate women’s sports?
People woke up. They were no longer afraid to state that sex is binary and biologically determined. And biological men who dominate women’s sports are bullies, not heroes.
Where are the millionaire scamming architects of BLM now?
Where is the “DEI now, tomorrow, and forever” conventional wisdom?
Where are Professor Kendi and his $30,000 Zoom lessons on how to fight racism by being racist?
They have all been exposed as the race hustlers they always were. Their creed that it is okay for supposed victims to be racist victimizers themselves was exposed as an absurd con.
So, what flipped everything?
We were living in an “emperor has no clothes” make-believe world for the last few years. The people knew establishment narratives were absurd, and our supposed experts were even more ridiculous.
But few—until now—had the guts to scream “the emperor is naked” to dispel the fantasies.
When they finally did, reality returned.
On the Epstein files, could it be possible that during the 4 year stint of Biden as POTUS, that his operatives could have. tossed many of the original files and replaced them with fakes? I think there is merit to this idea. After all, the democrats’ motto is win, at any cost. They are as crooked as a dog’s hind leg, maybe more-so!
Could they have placed Trump on Epstein Island dozens of times in those faked docs, even if he had never been there? I think it’s plausible. I don’t think we are even half way to getting the answers to our questions concerning Epstein, but we may well be getting closer.
Isn’t it funny how quiet the democrats and rino republicans are right now? They aren’t laughing, I think they see something coming that they do not like to think about. I wish I knew what that is.
Why was former congressman Matt Gaetz summoned to the WH over the weekend? He was scheduled to talk at Turning Point USA, or something like that. Pretty important stuff! Could he be the (rumor here) guy who is to be appointed as special counsel to investigate the Epstein debacle?
At this point we have lots of rumors, few facts, a ton of questions, and a MAGA base getting more anxious by the day. Confusion reigns for now, but I think there will be great clarity in the coming days and months ahead. Trump is no fool.
You are correct, VDH, he world hasn’t changed, but it’s people has awoken from it’s slumber. And the people do not like what they see.
All this, and just as our new “morning in America” dawns, just as nearly every ill that was plaguing our nation seemed to be fading away, all anyone can talk about is … Jeffrey Epstein?
Yes, he was a vile predator. And yes, there likely are high-ranking, influential people among his clients, though it seems pretty certain that Donald Trump wasn’t among them. Trump threw Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago years ago when he learned what his proclivities were, and Trump obviously has displayed a preference for grown-up women, not vulnerable teenage girls.
Does no one have a sense of perspective any more?
As you summarize President Trump and his team have been, and are pursuing and achieving much good for the US.
This administration must place a focus on assimilation of and Americanization of non citizens, and unfortunately of some citizens. An example is the steady growth of the Islamic population. This group doesn’t want to be American, and in fact wants to kill or dominate us. Organizations like CAIR, The Muslim Brotherhood and others must be treated as the enemies of American culture they are.
Vast numbers of those who have been indoctrinated by educators and the media over the last 60 years feel it is their ‘normality’ which is being destroyed (by the evil oldsters). They will react accordingly and any belief the ship has been turned around is short-sighted. The battle has only begun …
Until this hour on 17 July 2025 I’d never heard a word about Russia offering to broker a “get the bomb stuff out of Iran” deal which offer was answered by our bombing of Iran. Who’s telling the truth? Don’t ask me. Is anybody in this thread (or Dr. Hanson) more informed than I about this. Here’s where I found the claim:
https://matthewehret.substack.com/p/irans-eurasian-pivot-is-the-key-to
Finally, Huzzah ! Whilst far from perfect, our current administration could well be the best American Administration in 50 years. Comments over the previous 50 included, but not limited to, “We need to take away the money spent on the illegal stupid stuff, maybe we should enforce our laws already on the books, Maybe we should get some of those laws off the books, maybe we should get rid of some of the out of touch old fogeys and have some bright youngsters working, maybe get rid of the ‘boys club’ and hire women, too, maybe we could honor our uniquely American values , accept the conditions of reality, & recognize evil along with corruption is part of the program.” Maybe we can take some steps to put that genie into the bottle.
It appears to me, significant efforts are being pursued to make honest and positive change. What matters now is, disciplined, focused follow through. With out that, the Grand Experiment could well be over. Regan reminded us, freedom can be lost in a single generation. We cannot honestly repair in 4 years, that which took many more to shape. Remember, greed along with corruption are always there, and Islam wants a new Caliphate.
Yes! There is good news, but we might not all be aware because of a press business model built on outrage. Outrage about Epstein and poor starving immigrants, Israel, Ukraine and Elon! One can always aim a camera at another problem by finding cracks in the foundation of agreement while praying for more rain and ratings. As a fellow Californian, I suggest the TDS afflicted fix our backyard first. VDH is the sensible source for said backyard solutions.
Leaving judges, legislators and educators in place who don’t agree with American civic values means we risk going through this insanity again in only a couple of years . If we don’t change the practice of tolerating our attackers, vulnerable minorities better have a refuge in mind
It is important that the presnt counter revoution has made the progress described without violence. I’m not at all sure that leaving judges and legislators in place who do not believe in the American system doesn’t mean we’ll only have to fight this again in a couple of years..
So understand, vulnerable Americans, you need to see the possibility of wild swings in American society. Tolerance and civil rights are not divinely guaranteed
Prof Hanson, there is nothing rarer than Common Sense….
You’re right to praise Trump’s domestic accomplishments. You also give him credit for strengthening NATO, (Now the vast majority of NATO members have met their pledges . . . soon increase to five percent.) However, when you write that iconic neutrals like Sweden and Finland have become frontline NATO nations, arming to the teeth, that has nothing to do with Trump. That is due entirely to Russia’s aggression, which brings me to the main point. You studiously avoid saying anything about Trump’s failure to deal with Russia and stop its genocidal war on Ukraine, even after Putin has mocked and humiliated him over and over.
You also do note that he put Iran in its place, but that was the easy part. By far, the greatest threat to world peace today is Russia’s belligerence, and yet you have zero to say about that elephant in the room, and that is puzzling. Worse, Trump is trying to dilute the Graham sanctions bill, which 85 senators support, and giving Russia 50 more days to continue killing Ukrainians. That is incomprehensible. I would appreciate hearing from you on this subject.
We have a lot for which to be thankful. Professor Hanson puts it together in his profound style. The easy answer is that Trump did this. He certainly became the focal point for speaking openly about the wrong done to everything we hold dear.
I will always appreciate his courage, but, honestly I see inconsistencies in his ideas that suggest he has yet to plumb the depths of his principles. That’s not a criticism, it’s an honest assessment. There was something more behind the scenes.
I suggest the good that took place in these few short months was also the culmination of a massive effort of a collective consciousness (Jung) using reason and honesty to unmask the chaos for what it was. Ideas have power.
Carl Jung also gave us the concept of synchronicity or many minds thinking collectively about a problem and arriving at a reasoned conclusion. And since there is One Truth, it is reasonable to consider that many people looking for answers would arrive at the same conclusion.
This collective enlightenment is grand when it lights the way. But the forces of chaos are ever present. Therefore eternal vigilance through seeking truth in all things is warranted. And the eternal struggle goes on.
Spot on as usual. Thank you VDH.
There is so much good news, rightly cited by VDH, that it’s tempting to become complacent.
But the biggest threat, the titanic iceberg in all our paths, is our exploding national debt – approximately $37 Trillion and growing. Watch for weak or failed US treasury auctions, followed by the Fed’s emergency purchase of unsold bond offerings, followed by panicky inflation. It’s a familiar pattern.
Growth will delay the pending runaway, but without spending cuts, we’ll eventually go over the fiscal cliff. Today, our Senate cannot even agree on a 0.1% targeted reduction in spending.
We the People must demand across-the-board cuts of three to six percent in every line of every spending bill. Success will be measured month-by-month in the paydown of our debt.
Thank you VDH and The Best President of our Lifetime. I feel like the USA is Healing! God Bless America!
Praise God🙏🎉
If only Canada could return to common sense, I would be content!
Sanity has at last come to the administration of our current government. Thank you, Donald Trump, for your actions, and Victor Hanson for your articulation of these amazing events. We have been blessed in many ways. We are once again proud to be Americans.
All of those twisted ideologies were born from the warped minds of Barack Obama, the radicals who have taken over the Democrat Party and the Globalist Elites. These ideologies constituted the “fundamental transformation” these sick individuals sought to impose on America. The dregs of this collective continue to nip away to lesser offices in places like NYC, but they appear to be in a race against time as the effectiveness of their media channels to the public are in free fall.
It’s far too soon to declare victory, but to get this far in six months without the need for violence is a remarkable accomplishment for America. Undoing the damage to a generation of propagandized young people will take much longer. It’s still a close run thing.
I agree with everything you said. However, there’s one thing that’s really troubling me — the capture and treatment of non citizens. Why look at Alligator Alcatraz when there’s Pine Prairie ,LA. It’s a classic case of gaslighting!!
Wonderful.
The words of folks like Mr. Hanson and Mr. Sowell are words of truth that all should respect.
Thank you, sir for your consistent and historical context. I am a daily viewer of your short commentaries on YouTube.
Thank you, Dr. Hanson for stark reality revealed. Thank you, President Trump for accomplishing all this in six months.
But most of all—thank you America for being the greatest, most vibrant nation EVER!
Love your writing, as always. Some of us, including you, were saying all along that the emperor had no clothes, but our voices were dismissed. It took the landslide election of Trump for us to be heard. As he famously said, “all we needed was a new president!”
I can only hope all these improvements – movements in the right direction – can be sustained over many administrations and Congresses. Sadly, many of these long-needed policies are being blocked by leftist (what else?) supremacist marionette judges, whose strings are pulled at the behest of highly-organized and well-funded Soros-like puppet masters.
Trump’s ability to plan and execute all these important matters from the get go,, tells us something about his political philosophy and executive abilities. As well, his choice of JD Vance as VP may prove to be an essential element of his legacy. Having a young, articulate President like him to follow Trump would be a blessing. In his policies, Vance may well act as forcefully, sensibly and rationally as Trump, but minus the bombast.
Beware the “by any means necessary” democrats and their MSM accomplices will be about nothing but damaging Trump (as by overplaying the insignificant Epstein business) and regaining power – to re-implement all the insanity currently being dismantled.. Remember, too, that a state which has the power to tell you that a man can become pregnant, can tell you anything. For where we were headed – just look at today’s UK. There, the previous sentence would garner me a penitentiary residence. Just search the non-MSM news any day to learn that every natural right – like freedom of speech – no longer exist in England. Pitiful. Inhuman.
The journeyman carpenter hit the nail on the head, again.
So true, so obvious! One can only wonder, as we worked hard in our lifetime, how could these absurd ideas (agendas) become acceptable. Who’s behind this destruction? Thank God for a man of courage Donald Trump.
Wonderful summary of our journey back to common sense!
Amen Roger! I, too, enjoyed every word. Every so often, it is therapeutic to have a review of what is going right with the country, and the world.
Total agreement with previous comment – loved every word and could not have said it better. The few liberal friends that I have will not read commentaires like yours – affraid to admit they are wrong. – I would even pay for their subcription.
I loved reading every word!
Military recruitment is up because the Nation is once again something to die for.
So true