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Amid the 2026 California gubernatorial race and the Los Angeles mayoral election, Democratic candidates seem determined to talk about anything except the problems facing the Golden State—an inadequate government response to the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, the highest income and gas taxes in the nation, and record-breaking homelessness. Why? For nearly two decades, Democrats have controlled almost every major center of power in California: the governor's office, the state Legislature, and the state Supreme Court. There is no one else to blame but themselves, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

Antisemitism is on the rise not just global but also here in the United States. Why? DEI instruction, open borders, and a less democratic Democrat Party. All told, President Donald Trump remains the final bulwark against a rising tide of globalist and anti-Western sentiment, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

Tehran is currently banking on the hope that the United States will buckle under economic pressure, yet their strategy ignores the reality of a commander-in-chief focused on decisive negotiation rather than retreat. While the Iranian regime attempts to shield itself behind threats to Gulf oil and water supplies, internal power struggles between the IRGC and a fractured military suggest a government in total disarray, argues Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

Los Angeles has become a symbol of political dysfunction: rising homelessness, crime concerns, failed leadership, and endless excuses from the people running the city. Into that chaos steps Spencer Pratt, the reality TV outsider now running for mayor with a campaign style that resembles the rise of Donald Trump: another outsider with eyes clear enough to see the corrupt machine and willing to call it out directly.After losing his home in the Palisades fire, Pratt has turned his frustration into a full-blown political movement targeting LA's political establishment, Democratic socialists, and what many see as the culture of managed decline destroying California's largest city.From viral Batman-style campaign videos to direct attacks on Karen Bass and Nithya Raman, Pratt's campaign is tapping into growing anger from voters who feel abandoned by the people in power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The traditional Democrat Party of the last century has been systematically replaced by a radical Jacobin movement that seeks the fundamental transformation of Western civilization. This new faction mirrors the French Revolution's extremists by toppling statues, weaponizing race through DEI, and showing open disdain for national borders. From billionaire socialists to the rejection of law and order, the modern Left has abandoned the working class in favor of a revolutionary agenda that endangers the very foundations of the American Republic, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

The Democratic Party is facing a significant electoral crisis as population shifts from blue to red states fundamentally alter the balance of power in the House of Representatives. Recent legal rulings against racial gerrymandering and declining fertility rates in progressive hubs further threaten the long-term viability of the current liberal coalition. As their traditional platform fails to secure a majority, leadership has turned toward radical structural changes to the American governing system to maintain influence.“ There were some recent studies by various pollsters about what would happen if all of the states decided to engage in redistricting, gerrymandering, based on the relative control of the state legislatures. “And it came up with a very surprising result: If the Republican red states, or purple states that have Republican majorities, decided to redistrict and Democrats did the same, an all-out war, there would be about 262 Republicans and only 173 Democratic seats,” points out Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” 

The standoff with Iran has reached a critical tipping point, and the regime's desperate stall tactics are proving no match for America's crippling economic blockades. While radical Democrats cross their fingers for a domestic recession or a midterm-wrecking oil crisis, Donald Trump holds the ultimate trump card in the Strait of Hormuz. The clock is ticking on Tehran's revolutionary theatrics, and the United States military is perfectly positioned to shut down their terror subsidies once and for all, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words:” 

Former FBI Director James Comey is under the microscope again, this time hiding behind a ridiculous "seashell" defense after allegedly posting a veiled threat against Donald Trump. While the legacy media rushes to dismiss the "86/47" beach message as a harmless coincidence, Comey's long record of selective amnesia and partisan leaks tells a much darker story. From orchestrating the Russia collusion hoax to shielding Hillary Clinton's illegal homebrew servers, this latest stunt highlights the sheer arrogance of a thoroughly weaponized justice system.  It is past time to hold the architects of the Deep State accountable for years of lying to Congress and betraying the American people, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

Recorded live inside the Virginia General Assembly Joe Thomas gets perspective on what happened and what needs to happen next for the states' redistricting battle from one of the newest voices in the General Assembly, Delegate Andrew Rice of Virginia Beach and one of the most seasoned, Delegate Tom Garrett of Louisa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite claims the war is failing, Iran is facing massive economic losses, dwindling oil capacity, and a military that's effectively been neutralized. “It's not a military problem… the military problem has been solved.” What remains is a political decision about how far to go. But the bigger story is the ripple effect. From a potential breakdown of OPEC and falling oil prices, to China being deterred and Russia stretched thin, the global balance is already shifting. Even Europe's response is called into question as the U.S. continues to demonstrate overwhelming strategic leverage. In his words, “Iran is broke,” and the consequences are already spreading far beyond the region, argues Victor Davis Hanson.

Eight weeks into the Iran war, the regime is seriously fractured. Power is divided, internal factions are competing, and the pressure from economic and military constraints is beginning to take its toll. With sanctions, blockades, and internal instability mounting, the question is no longer if Iran is weakening, but how long it can hold together before an inevitable collapse. As the situation develops, decisions made now could determine whether this conflict ends decisively or drags on, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words:”

In a chaotic Pomona College debate marked by constant interruptions and deep voter frustration, Steve Hilton delivered the strongest performance by confronting Sacramento's failures head-on, Matt Mahan stood out as the most pragmatic Democrat, while Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer turned in the weakest, most disconnected showings as 64% of Californians now believe the California Dream is no longer attainable, Drew Allen, The Daily Signal's California Contributor, argues on today's edition commentary.

Tech billionaire Sergey Brin fled socialism in the Soviet Union as a child—only to spend years funding its modern version in California. For over a decade, he funneled millions into Democrat candidates and progressive policies that reshaped the state, while ordinary Californians dealt with the consequences. Only now, as those same policies come back to hit his own fortune in the form of a proposed billionaire tax, has Brin changed his tune.  With the tax man knocking on his door (and his new MAGA-aligned influencer girlfriend in the picture) he's suddenly pouring money into the RNC and backing candidates like Steve Hilton, dropping tens of millions to stop the very system he helped build. The lesson is the same as it's always been: “Socialism fails every single time it's tried, everywhere It's been tried. And the Golden State, California, is proving it again right now, in real time,” Drew Allen, Daily Signal Califonira Contributor, on today's video commentary.

The unhinged manifesto of the recent would-be White House Correspondents' Dinner assassin is nothing more than a regurgitated checklist of the radical Left's favorite lies and dangerous conspiracy theories. From thoroughly debunked Russia collusion hoaxes to entirely fabricated accusations regarding the border, the shooter's twisted justifications prove exactly how poisonous mainstream media rhetoric has become. This violent escalation is the terrifying, direct result of Marxist influencers championing "social murder" and turning actual criminals into woke folk heroes. Unless the Left finally abandons its relentless campaign of Trump Derangement Syndrome and stops glorifying political violence, this lethal echo chamber will only continue to radicalize the unstable, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words:” “Obviously, Cole Thomas Allen is unhinged. He's crazy. He may be bright by graduating from Caltech, but he didn't seem to be very bright in his manifesto. But what he wrote as an exegesis of why he was doing it is an encapsulation of ideology that's promulgated by today's Left.” 

No president in U.S. history has been the target of three assassination attempts in which shots were fired by either law enforcement or the shooter himself. And yet this is Trump's third time. Political violence doesn't happen overnight. For almost a decade now, the Left has reified the idea that 1. Trump is “literally Hitler” and 2. that harming him is justified—Gavin Newsom and Robert De Niro talked about hitting Trump in the mouth. Shakespeare in the Park substituted Caesar for a Trump look-alike. Anthony Bourdain said he'd poison him. And that lowers the bar. And that means people like Cole Tomas Allen come out of the woodwork, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

There are not enough homes for every foster child, yet under the Biden administration, children were put in the system because of their parents' beliefs about gender, according to Assistant Secretary of Health Alex Adams. Adams, who oversees the Administration of Children and Families, is working to stop Child Protective Services from taking kids away from their families because the parents won't affirm the child's transgender identity. “When a child is removed from a family, you are inflicting permanent, irreversible harm on both the child as well as the parents,” Adams told The Daily Signal. “That's not a decision that should be made lightly, and it should be reserved to the most significant cases of abuse or neglect as judged by a court.” 

The California gubernatorial debate went exactly how you would expect. Democrats deflecting blame and re-running the same tired talking points instead of offering real solutions to California's mounting list of problems. Climate sermons from private jet flyers, tax the rich rhetoric from billionaires, and homelessness solutions from leaders of failed cities who still think more government is the answer, all while blaming Donald Trump for nearly everything. And not a SINGLE mention of the rampant fraud in the state from the Democrats.  Yet another reminder of why so many voters feel frustrated with the direction of the state.

We're 60 days into the conflict, and President Donald Trump has left the Iranian regime with three options: The non-hard-liners could agree to the United States' terms and surrender. The regime could continue to try and win token victories—send out small PT boats and drones to attack freighters in the Strait of Hormuz. Delay negotiations in the hopes that a more friendly Democratic administration comes to power in 2028, offering the theocrats more favorable terms, predicts Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, the nation's unmatched economic, cultural, and military dominance remains clear on the global stage. The enduring strength of the Constitution, a merit-based society, and a tradition of innovation have fueled a level of success few nations have ever achieved. But growing debt, declining birth rates, and shifting cultural values raise serious questions about long-term stability. The future of American greatness may depend on whether the country can preserve the principles that made it exceptional in the first place, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

Will the 360-degree pressures that surround President Donald Trump force him to stop short of dealing the final death blow to the Iranian regime? I hope not. Why, after Iran has been militarily destroyed and has a restive population that could rebel any minute now, does Iran keep saying that it's winning, and why do people put pressure on Donald Trump as if he's losing? The answer is that war is not necessarily just about military affairs alone—it's politics, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” (00:00) War Status and Blockade (01:48) Midterms and War Powers Pressure (03:35) Europe and Fringe Opposition (05:59) Weapons Shortages and Strategy (06:35) Politics Decide the Endgame 

Within a matter of weeks, Iran's ability to wage war has been rendered inert by American and Israeli forces. Over the course of seven U.S. presidencies, Iran—the most populous Middle Eastern country—developed a self-inflated view of itself. But why? Whether through the Biden-backed Iran nuclear deal or Barack Obama's “creative tension” approach to Middle East conflicts, numerous U.S. administrations gave the Iranian regime the impression that the Western world was afraid of them. Then Trump called their bluff, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” (00:00) Iran War Status Check (01:12) How Tehran Misread Obama Biden (03:23) Myth of Iranian Invincibility (05:12) October 7 Changed Israel (06:37) Negotiations and Endgame

We spent a year as the Commonwealth of Virginia birthing 94,000 babies and taking the lives of 38,000. That means we are aborting about a quarter of our next generation. We've gotten to the point where there's a volume of Virginians that have decided they don't care about the unborn. They're fine with late term abortions, argues Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia on today's Daily Signal podcast with host Joe Thomas.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The legacy media, the so-called anti-MAGA Right, and the Democrat grandees in Congress have two things in common: They never wanted the U.S.-Iran war to go in America's favor. Many of the critiques of Operation Epic Fury were not historically empirical, meaning they didn't compare the ongoing conflict with Iran to past U.S. wars, such as the bombing campaign in Serbia or even the war in Afghanistan. But the evidence—in five weeks alone, the United States, with the Israeli Air Force, wiped out most of the top echelon of the four ruling cliques in the Iranian nation—was there, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words”: “We've never taken on a country of 93 million people that had the most fearsome, terrible reputation of being dangerous and unpredictable, and running the Middle East with a ring-of-fire proxies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Gaza, Lebanon—indomitable. They had terrified seven presidents. And yet, in five weeks, we destroyed its ability to make war.”(00:00) Media and Right-Wing Doom (01:09) Demanding Data, Not Spin (02:18) Iran Leadership in Chaos (05:52) Three-Phase War Strategy (07:29) Hormuz Gambit Backfires (10:27) Endgame and Final Warning 

Operation Epic Fury was never the pretext for a larger, endless war, and the so-called anti-MAGA right—Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, or Marjorie Taylor Greene—should know better than to label it as such, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” The whole subtext of the Iran campaign is this: While regime change is not the primary agenda, America's weakening of the regime may spur people to rise up and overthrow the government. (00:00) Anti MAGA Critics (01:34) Iran Strikes Backlash (02:34) Not a Forever War (04:10) Trump Rhetoric and Restraint (06:15) Betrayal or Bigger Agenda

We don't know what the ultimate prognosis of this war is, but if we take the long view, it's far more favorable to our interests than it is to our enemies. The media's 24-hour ragebait cycle can't explain what's actually unfolding in Iran. While critics swing wildly between calling Trump a “warmonger” and “weak,” the reality points to a regime that's been militarily and strategically crippled. Meanwhile, adversaries like Russia and China are feeling the ripple effects, and NATO's cracks are on full display. The long view tells a very different story—and it's one the headlines won't admit, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

Eric Swalwell's forced exit from the California governor's race, and later U.S. House of Representatives, exposes the Democrat machine's rank hypocrisy: It discards him not out of genuine concern for victims, but for political self-preservation, while ignoring similar character flaws in other candidates and the far greater trail of victims left by decades of one-party rule that has made life miserable for ordinary Californians. (00:00) Swalwell Suspended (02:00) Party Machine Purge (03:24) Other Democrats Baggage (05:41) California Policy Victims (09:18) Accountability And Closing

The Democrat Party, which brags that it doesn't let democracy die in darkness, has a bad habit of culling candidates it feels are politically antithetical to its agenda. Take Eric Swalwell, for example. Swalwell joined an already crowded field for California governor in November 2025.  He threatened to break up the Democrat field, as there are more viable Democrat candidates than Republicans. Make no mistake: Had Swalwell been enjoying a healthy lead in the polls going into last Friday, he'd still be running for governor, and these allegations would've never seen the light of day. Like Joe Biden's failed reelection bid in 2024, the Democrat establishment made the strategic decision to no longer cloak Swalwell's sex harassment allegations and instead threw its weight behind a more viable candidate. “But my point is, if Eric Swalwell had been way ahead in the gubernatorial race, I don't think that any of this would've surfaced. It would've been analogous to Joe Biden. He would've been a useful vessel, and he would've won the governorship, and the Republicans wouldn't have had a chance.” (00:00) California Jungle Primary (00:47) Who Is Eric Swalwell (03:00) Swalwell Scandal Allegations (04:31) Why It Surfaced Now (07:32) Democrats and Backroom Politics  

Add up a corrupt admissions system, a corrupt DEI industry, a corrupt therapeutic curriculum, a corrupt method of grading and a corrupt, politicized faculty, and it's no wonder the Ivy League is in crisis and higher education is in panic. Harvard, with the help of the state of Massachusetts, whose Democrat governor is an alumnus, hopes to issue $675 million in tax-exempt bonds as applications took a 21% dive for the 2025-26 academic year, according to the Washington Free Beacon. This, coupled with rising. “grade inflation”—more and more professors giving out A's to unqualified students—has many asking right now: Are America's preeminent institutions of higher learning still worth their salt? Probably not, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” By that I mean, I went to a rural high school. It wasn't that competitive, Selma High School. They would just say, “If Victor Hanson applies to Harvard, and he has an A, it's the same A as somebody from Sacred Heart Prep School in Palo Alto, where the curriculum was much more difficult.” And they did that, and the result was they had students who could not do the work, and the faculty was confronted with the dilemma. They either had to water down the curriculum. Or they had to introduce new therapeutic courses, or they had to give 60% or 70% of the people A's, and they could do all three at the same time, which they did.

Following the Democrats' crushing defeat at the ballot box in 2024, the DNC launched a postmortem to answer a very simple yet surprisingly elusive question: What went wrong? Their findings? On 70-30 issues, Democrats landed on the 30 side. Their solution? Democrats aren't changing their message—they're just rebranding the mess. From Pete Buttigieg in flannel to Tim Walz playing hunter, the “working-class pivot” looks more like political cosplay. Meanwhile, Donald Trump continues to connect on issues that actually matter to voters. The bottom line: You can't fake authenticity—and voters aren't buying it.

Most NATO members were unwilling to directly assist the United States and Israel in their fight to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying, “This isn't our war.” The United Kingdom's mission to retake the Falkland Islands from Argentina in 1982 wasn't the United States' war, yet President Ronald Reagan still gave them the supplies necessary to retake the islands. Germany's invasion of France wasn't our war, yet Franklin D. Roosevelt still sent military equipment, and later soldiers, to retake Western Europe. However, Europe's cold shoulder may not be out of spite, but an inability to help at all, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words”: “They have dreamed of utopia and a good life, and the result is that their fertility rate is 1.3. They are shrinking. They are aging. They're not competitive. So they don't have the manpower, even though they have a 450 million-person population. Europe is larger than us by 100 million. “And even though they have a $22 trillion GDP, which is the third-largest, apparently they don't want to invest that in their own defense, or they haven't so far. They don't want us to use it when we need it.” (00:00) NATO Crisis Returns (00:26) Iran Strikes And Allied Refusals (02:44) Why Europe Cannot Contribute (05:26) Moral Posturing And Base Politics (06:08) Let NATO Fade New Alliances

President Donald Trump recently outlined the endgame for Iran. How does it end? There are three scenarios:

Within the first 30 days of the conflict in Iran, the United States and Israel have achieved military successes not previously seen in modern warfare: a country, with the population of Texas, has had its entire navy and air force decimated within a month. Battlefield wins mean nothing if you can't sell the war back home. Here's how President Donald Trump can make the political reality equal to the military reality, which is a near success. 00:00 30-Day Air Supremacy 02:32 Iran Under Pressure 03:47 Cutting Off Resupply 04:31 Counting the True Cost 06:04 Messaging the War 08:23 Regime Change and No Ground War

Like the Wild West hero who rides back into town just as the community is in peril, former Gov. George Allen has rejoined a fight he helped win in 2020, establishing a nonpartisan way to draw Virginia's congressional districts. Now critics want to undo all that effort, and Allen sits down with Joe Thomas—whom he calls “Set 'Em Up Joe,” after the Vern Gosdin song—to take us inside the story.

Victor Davis Hanson breaks down the media hysteria over Iran, anti-Trump protests, and the stakes for 2026. After everything Donald Trump has taken on, will division hand Democrats the win?

President Donald Trump endured years of the most vicious, coordinated lawfare this nation has ever seen.  We overcame that unprecedented assault together in one of the greatest political comebacks in American history. But right now,  a lot of people in MAGA are losing perspective. Frustrations bubble up over pace or one decision that we find disagreeable, and suddenly we are nitpicking the man who stood in the arena while most people just watched.Are our temporary disagreements worth handing victory to the very people who weaponize the government against him? No, argues Drew Allen, Daily Signal California correspondent, on this week's video commentary.

There are two wars being fought right now in Iran: a military one, which the United States is dominating on all fronts, and a political one, which is proving more difficult than the former. Why? President Donald Trump has a lot to contend with right now: the MAGA base, the crazy Democrat opposition, the midterms, the economy, the charge that he's too influenced by Israel, and the general repulsion of the American people for anything to do with the Middle East, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words:” (00:00) Two Wars Framework (01:19) Why Not Decimate Iran (02:43) MAGA Base and Deterrence (04:30) Economy, Midterms, Israel (07:14) No Boots on Ground

The Left has spent every waking moment the last month trying to convince the public that the Trump administration's so-called “war” in Iran isn't legal. But they keep running into the same problem: Historically, they did the same thing, and on a much larger scale, argues Victor Davis Hanson on part 1 of his examination of the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words:” “The war is legal, and the hysteria about it is media-driven, as a part of the left's ability to weaken the presidency.” (00:00) Is the War Legal? (02:00) Libya and Afghanistan Comparisons (04:40) Trump's War Aims (06:36) Regime Change Debate (07:52) Military Wins vs Politics

While California Democrats thought they could swarm the gubernatorial general election ballot with Democrats and win, Republicans had other ideas.  As of now, Republican candidates Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton are leading the jungle primary neck and neck, with Bianco at 16% and Hilton at 17% approval rating, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”(00:00) California Recall Shock (02:04) Jungle Primary Backfires (03:02) Newsom Record Under Fire (04:55) Wildfires And Rebuilding (05:40) Outmigration And Taxes (07:54) Fraud Exposé Smear (09:09) Boondoggles And Green Failures (09:59) Energy Refineries Gas Prices

The only consistent part of the Democrat Party agenda over the last decade is Trump Derangement Syndrome. Their inconsistent nihilism is at all time high: Within the same breath Democrats both mock Trump, saying that he “always chickens out” (TACO) of a fight but decry the U.S. operation to capture Nicolás Maduro and military strikes against the Iranian regime. Presumptive Democrat presidential primary nominee Gavin Newsom says he wants to punch Trump in the mouth.Sen. Cory Booker yells at ICE agents in airports as passengers waiting in line smile in the background. For the first time ever in U.S. history they took a former president to trial. What I'm getting at is there's no consistent message amongst the party of Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words” (00:00) Democratic Nihilism Explained (01:29) Iran and Policy Whiplash (02:20) TDS and Unhinged Leaders (05:06) Collusion Hoax to Lawfare (07:39) Why the Party Changed

For all practical purposes, there is no longer a Democratic Party, at least as we've known it for 50 to 100 years. It is a full‑blown socialist revolutionary party. The players of that party who are running things are not even Chuck Schumer or Hakeem Jeffries. They're people like Rep. Jasmine Crockett, James Talarico in Texas, Zohran Mamdani and Elizabeth Warren. What happened to Clinton‑era Democrats? Globalization and open borders would be a good place to start looking, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

By all traditional methodology and criteria, Iran is now inert: naval and air forces eviscerated, missile defenses offline, and an army rendered largely useless, as no one is fighting on the ground. However, tactical success is not necessarily equivalent to strategic victory. It is hard to think of a single battle lost in Iraq or Afghanistan, yet the United States lacked a plan for strategic resolution in either theater. With this in mind, Iran's current strategy is as follows: The mullahs can afford to lose their military because, ultimately, without U.S. troops on the ground, the regime will remain intact. This, and many other factors, begs the question: Where does Trump go from here? asks Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “In other words, they're saying as long as we have oil, Kharg Island, and as long as we have these huge oil fields, when you get tired of pounding us into rubble, you're going go back to the United States. Israel's going go back and be quiet, and we're going get all of our oil revenues and we're going have them. “And we are going to buy from Russia, North Korea and China missiles, drones, recreate our own drone industry, and we probably have enough fissile material that you didn't get, and nobody could get. It's hidden deep in the mountains, that we will make bombs. And this time we're going to use them because we understand what you will do next time.” (00:00) Standoff And Attrition (02:08) Remaining Threats And Civilians  (03:09) Tactical Wins Strategic Traps  (04:30) Iran Strategy: Outlast Trump  (06:49) Trump Agenda Endgame Risks

Recent legislative actions by some Virginia Democrats threaten to undermine the reform Brian Cannon helped pass five years ago.   It was rare moment where both parties aligned to protect democracy in passing a bipartisan constitutional amendment in Virginia that aimed to remove politicians' control over drawing district maps, explains the head of NoGerrymanderingVA.org, when he joined Joe Thomas, The Daily Signal's Virginia correspondent, today.   “ I'm a democrat, and you and I probably don't vote the same way 90% of the time when we go into the voting booth, but I believe in your right to cast a meaningful vote in a free and fair election.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is a state that God clearly favored. It has towering mountains, endless ocean coastlines, fertile valleys that feed half the country, tech trillions pouring out of Silicon Valley, Hollywood glamor that still captivates the world, and some of the richest farmland anywhere on earth. This place could literally print money if it wanted to. Instead, it has become the world's most expensive homeless encampment that increasingly resembles a third world country with better Instagram filters. In California, local officials poured $37 billion into the largest open-air drug market in America, built the most expensive train set that never left the toy store, turned the fifth-largest economy in the world into a foreign oil–dependent, price-gouged, blackout-prone laughingstock, and lit the state on fire, quite literally. Yet, if you only listened to Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Sacramento Democrats over the past decade, you'd believe it's all Donald Trump's fault, argues Drew Allen on this special video commentary.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump has been the catalyst for a lot of the world's current upheaval—Iranian threat decimated, Donroe Doctrine enforced in Latin America—and both members of his base and his opponents are making sure we know he's to blame. Three quarters of these conflicts, however, are reaching a resolution, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”  “There is a good chance they could turn out with the United States in a preeminent position that we haven't seen since at least World War II.”

Europe is deathly afraid of a nuclear Iran, but it does not want to do anything about it. What explains this European schizophrenia? President Donald Trump has a simple, straightforward request of America's so‑called European allies: While the U.S. uses all of its assets to disarm a common threat to the West, could they send a few ships to help patrol the Strait of Hormuz? By and large, the answer has been a resounding “no.” That is notable, Victor Davis Hanson points out on today's edition of Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words, considering it was not too long ago that the United States set aside its own diplomatic interests to help Britain in its mission retake the Falkland Islands from Argentina. (01:16) Bases and Allied Reluctance (03:06) Missile Defense and NATO Burden (04:21) Why Europe Hesitates (08:25) The Final Irony

Immigration used to be the U.S.' great strength but now that's changing.  What's new is illegal immigrants and naturalized citizens, who hate America but don't want to leave, are going around and violently killing Americans, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “But how did we create it where we're getting people killing us and yelling Islamic sloganeering and championing Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran at the same time we're at war with them?… The answer is: Dr. Frankenstein created the Frankensteinian monster.” (00:00) Immigrants as Strength (00:39) The Ungrateful Immigrant (02:34) Recent Attacks and Radicalism (04:23) Why Assimilation Fails (08:06) Frankenstein of Immigration

A confidential FBI alert about a possible, unverified Iranian drone attack on California quickly faded after officials downplayed it. But the episode exposed far greater risks from embedded terrorists shielded by Gov. Gavin Newsom's sanctuary policies, lax border enforcement and reflexive anti-Trump posturing—threats that recent incidents and historical precedents show are already here and growing. The real danger is not from some far-off drone. It is from adversaries already here, protected by sanctuary policies and years of weak borders. California's own history is a warning: 2015, San Bernardino: Fourteen people were murdered by a radicalized immigrant couple inspired by Islamist extremism. 2001, San Diego: 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar lived openly in the Golden State for months, receiving guidance at local mosques and planning their attack right under authorities' noses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the second week of the so-called Iran war, and we're told that it's dragging on, we're losing, and the Trump administration has no real success plan, or clear end in sight.    How is it then that Iran has no military, navy or leaders left, asks Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”   “When you look at Iran… it has no military left… All of these special contingents are under enormous assault: The command and control is destroyed, the missile defense is destroyed. And yet people say that it's unconquerable. It doesn't make any sense... So what's going on?” (00:00) Surreal Iran War Setup (02:17) Why Coverage Feels Missing (03:52) War Unity Then vs Now (05:06) Partisan Narratives and Protests (07:24) Outcomes and Alternate Reality

A PAC headed up by former Delegate AC Cordoza is under fire for sending mailers out last weekend with imagery of the civil rights movement of the 1960's.  Virginia State Speaker of the House Don Scott said, "The Civil Rights Movement should not be used as a political prop" (even as U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer called the SAVE Act "Jim Crow, 2.0").  A video ad put together by a group of Black Community leaders in the group "GateKeepersVA" has also been burning up social media and is driving more contributions to attempt to catch the Eric Holder backed pro-redistricting campaign's $20 million warchest. Virginia congressional candidate, and one of the people that put the ad together, Waverly Washington joins Joe Thomas, Daily Signal Virginia correspondent, to explain how a kid who once visited his father in prison became a West Point graduate, Army officer, and now a pro-Trump fighter for Virginia's 7th Congressional District.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following the initiation of Operation Epic Fury, there has been a lot of talk about a supposed MAGA split among Trump supporters. After all, the America First credo was no optional wars in the Middle East following disgust with the 20-year misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. But Iran is not Afghanistan or Iraq. This is a top-down, air-only military conflict whose stated mission objectives do not necessitate ground forces, and the MAGA base understands this, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.” “But nobody has ever seen a war in which one side destroyed the entire air force of the enemy, the entire navy of the enemy, and has got pretty much 90% of its ballistic missile arsenal nullified and probably 85% of the drones and decapitated the entire command and control of the military.”

Former President Barack Obama has a tendency to turn funeral eulogies into political messages. It's not just Obama either. The Democrat party as a whole tends to attack President Donald Trump and promote Democratic policy positions whenever there's an opportunity, explains Victor Davis Hanson in today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.” “The Democrats have a long history of using the venue of the funeral memorial service to hijack it and use it for political purposes… In 2002, they did that with the late Sen. Paul Wellstone. What should have been a memorial service turned into a four-hour campaign harangue.”(00:00) Funerals as Politics (02:12) McCain Funeral Flashback (03:38) John Lewis and Voting Agenda (05:24) Jesse Jackson and Hypocrisy Claims (09:47) Bigger Picture and Sign Off