Daily Signal News

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

It's rare for the U.S. to have a capable ally, but Israel is just that.   While the so-called big powers of NATO don't have the air capability or the will to cooperate with its allies, Israel does, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”   “We have a very strong ally in Israel.  We have some unreliable allies in our formal alliance. We should remember that before we start making accusations that the Jews or the Israelis are pulling the strings of American diplomacy and military decision making.”

Coinciding with the release of his autobiography, California Gov. Gavin Newsom just had the worst February of any major want-to-be presidential candidate in modern memory. Newsom tries posing as someone who grew up poor and dyslexic in order to connect with minority voters better and to “dispel” his true image of being “a nepo baby,” explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words. “So when he talked about he just ate white bread or he had all of these problems growing up—he said he had dyslexia—but the idea that Gavin Newsom was somehow parallel to Abraham Lincoln in a log cabin or JD Vance just doesn't work.”

Critics have hounded the Trump administration for supposedly not clearly stating to the American public their most favorable outcome in the ongoing conflict with Iran. With the midterms less than eight months away, the pressure is on this administration to get the job done.  And it can happen in one of three ways, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words:” The Optimal Choice: What's left of the Iranian military and Revolutionary Guard will capitulate, opening the doors for a Western-supplied transitory government made up of exiles to lead the nation until elections can be held. The Impalpable Solution: The “Venezuela solution,” i.e., appoint a lower-tier, secular, dissident member of the former regime, like a general. The Worst Choice: Allow the mullahs to “stew in their own juices.” Bomb their nuclear and military capabilities off the face of the earth and then leave.

Why attack Iran? Why reaffirm America's dominance in Panama? Why capture Nicolás Maduro? Trump has scores to settle.  There's a general pattern in the preemptive actions President Trump's taken in both his terms in office.   A central theme to all his actions is that they're geostrategic and top-down, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”   “Pressuring the Panamanians to divorce themselves from China. Making sure the Venezuelan oil does not go to Russia or China by changing the government and capturing Maduro. Things like that suggest that the current Iranian operation has targeted China. … You're starting to see a pattern. These are wars of reckoning.” (00:00) Trump Way of War (02:12) Wars of Reckoning (03:37) Negotiations and Decapitation (04:57) No Nation Building (09:26) Results and Wrap Up

President Donald Trump's State of the Union address “was more of a variety show” than an address. By highlighting various “tragic cases,” Trump showed Americans two things: “We're a wonderful patriotic country,” and Democrats' policies caused some of the tragedies, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “They [Democrats] wouldn't stand for any applause, no matter what the topic was, or no matter whether they agreed with it. …  They were all a disaster, to be quite frank.”

Less than one week since the initiation of Operation Epic Fury, and nearly everyone is wondering: What will be the domestic reaction to America's war in Iran?  With this being the second time the U.S. has gone into Iran, something needs to change so a third time never happens. “It would behoove Donald Trump to find a magical solution” and remove Iran's “theocratic government,” replacing it with “a benevolent government,” explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “ If we get stuck in a quagmire where we have to have ground troops and we get into the hundreds of American dead, it'll be a disaster for the Republican Party in the midterms.”

Susan Rice, former U.N. ambassador and national security advisor under Obama, made some very threatening statements directed toward Republicans and business elites on a recent podcast episode.    On “Stay Tuned with Preet Bharara,” Rice said she wanted Trump supporters to know that the Left won't forget if they've allowed Donald Trump “to bully” them in their respective academic, corporate, or institutional worlds.   Victor Davis Hanson breaks down Rice's comments on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words” and explains why nothing she, and her fellow Democrats, say can hurt the U.S. president and his supporters at this point.   “Your entire career of the Democratic Party—your career, Hillary Clinton's career, Barack Obama—has been to destroy Donald Trump. So we don't need lectures on retribution. You've already tried to practice retribution against Trump. And I don't think you're going to be in a position of power necessarily in the Congress in 2026, and I have a pretty good idea you won't come back to power in 2028.”

As President Donald Trump positions “the largest naval and air forces” off Iran's coast that the U.S. has “seen since the invasion of Iraq in 2003,” he has some pros and cons to weigh about striking the Middle Eastern country.  The U.S. isn't in a war with Iran right now, so Trump's positioning of forces could be for “either a preventive war, long-term threat, or a preemptive war,” explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “It's very controversial, and we don't know whether he's going to pull the trigger or not ... He'll have to make the decision pretty quickly because you can't just take those many naval assets and stick them halfway across the world ... The window is probably about another six weeks.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thursday, Feb. 19, Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. granted a restraining order sought by the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee along with Congressmen Ben Cline (VA-06) and Morgan Griffith (VA-09). The order prohibits any voting to take place before March 18.  In order to comply with Virginia law, voting of the April 21 deadline needed to begin on March 6.   The request for a restraining order is based on the contention that the Democrat majority in the General Assembly were ramming redistricting-related bills through the legislature.  Hurley ruled in favor of the plaintiffs because he found merit in the argument concerning the ballot question's language. The judge further sided with Republicans in ruling that the referendum violates the timing requirements set out in the state constitution.

From preserving parental vaccine rights to the inner workings within the Gold State's capitol, Darrlene Alquiza and Jessica Cabrera with Informed Policy Advocates join Elaine Culotti, Daily Signal California contributor for a special interview to discuss their work. NOTE : This interview was recorded prior to Elaine Culotti's 2026 California governor announcement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are Democrats really ready for a comeback—or are we about to revisit the graveyard of their own failed experiments? The so-called “new paradigms” of the Obama-Biden years—open borders, DEI mandates, deficit socialism, disarmament, and radical gender ideology—didn't just falter… they collapsed under their own weight, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words:”

President Trump is reversing the Biden administration's years of damage to American “family finances” and “federal finances.” When Biden left office in Jan. 2025, “the private sector wasn't adding any jobs at all, but losing them,” explains E.J. Antoni, Ph.D., The Heritage Foundation's chief economist. One year later and Trump is righting the ship: Last month was the best January ever for employment among native-born Americans.  The private sector added 172,000 jobs while government jobs declined by 42,000. All told, Donald Trump has reduced the federal bureaucracy by 323,000 in just one year.

President Trump is reversing the Biden administration's years of damage to American “family finances” and “federal finances.” When Biden left office in Jan. 2025, “the private sector wasn't adding any jobs at all, but losing them,” explains E.J. Antoni, Ph.D., The Heritage Foundation's chief economist.   One year later and Trump is righting the ship: Last month was the best January ever for employment among native-born Americans.  The private sector added 172,000 jobs while government jobs declined by 42,000. All told, Donald Trump has reduced the federal bureaucracy by 323,000 in just one year. Follow us on Instagram for EXCLUSIVE bonus content and the chance to be featured in our episodes: https://www.instagram.com/problematicwomen/   Connect with our hosts on socials!   Elise McCue X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=EliseMcCue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisemccueofficial/   Virginia Allen: X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=Virginia_Allen5 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virginiaallenofficial/   Check out Top News in 10, hosted by The Daily Signal's Tony Kinnett: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjMHBev3NsoUpc2Pzfk0n89cXWBqQltHY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When there's a problem, call Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's “fireman.” Last week, Marco Rubio, in keeping with the tradition started by Vice President JD Vance last year, painted a sobering picture of Europe's future. But with a twist. Rubio did not gloat or talk down to his fellow world leaders. Instead, he glorified America's European heritage—a very controversial statement amongst leftists who try to distance themselves from Western norms and cultures—saying that Europe is poised to make the same mistakes America has already made:  letting in 10 million illegal aliens, replacing meritocracy with DEI, failing to maintain military superiority, and forgoing energy independence. Europe is currently backsliding because it, unlike America, does not have a continent full of Donald Trumps to bring about a counterrevolution, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words:” “It really enhanced the position of Marco Rubio because he's sort of become Trump's fireman. When there's a problem that seems unsolvable or that people, whether it's in Panama or whether it's in the Middle East or whether it's in the Western Hemisphere, people call on Rubio. “And I think we should watch that very carefully because I think we're going to enter into the 2028 race, not with a Vance-Rubio vice president, but with two strong candidates.”

California's unfunded mandates “are exactly what they sound like:” a mandate “with no money behind it.”   A solution like deannexation, however, could really “change the culture of what Sacramento” has been been doing of forcing cities to follow mandates and pay for them, explains Elaine Culotti, The Daily Signal's California contributor.   “It starts to direct tax dollars directly back to the cities in which have been deannexed. It's an interesting business model, and for a state like California, is really important.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With only nine months until the midterm elections, Democrats will scrutinize every move President Donald Trump takes as they fight to reclaim control of the House and the Senate. Victor Davis Hanson lays out the narrow road ahead to victory for Trump and the GOP during the 2026 midterm elections. History is not on the incumbent's side. Messaging mistakes and unforced errors could shift key voters and hand Congress back to Democrats. Hanson explains what it will take to hold a Republican majority—and why the stakes for these midterm elections could not be higher—on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words." “There's another advantage that Trump has. They've raised, I think, $90 to $100 million. They've out-raised the Left by three or four times. And the billionaire class of Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, not to mention Marc Andreessen or Elon Musk, they have defected and it's really hurting the Democrats. “What they're looking at in California with this billionaire's tax, you can be a billionaire and have property and investments, homes, but you might only have, I don't know, $100 million. They're gonna take $50 million from you on your aggregate worth. That's not gonna go over well with the billionaire class. And there, that's just a foretaste of what Kamala Harris will do if she has a Democratic Congress.” (0:00) Midterms Ahead (2:04) Unforced Errors (4:34) Incumbents Usually Lose Seats (5:35) What's Working (9:11) Outraging Democrats (10:08) Known Unknowns (10:55) Final Playbook

Are we prepared for the Cold War we're actually in? Communist China is deeply embedded in every facet of American life—our economy, academics, and cultural life. For that reason, Victor Davis Hanson warns that we are already in a Cold War against it.  The Soviet Union had thousands of nuclear weapons. But China, Hanson argues, presents a different kind of challenge—one rooted in infiltration, influence, and integration rather than isolation. Do Americans recognize the scope of the challenge we're up against? And are we prepared to stand strong? Victor Davis Hanson answers all this and more on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “There's an insidious idea that China's not really an enemy because of the massive amount of money that has been invested there. And that means put the Chinese students, the Chinese residents, the foreign investment, and our history of empathy with China; it's very, very hard to tell people that China is an existential enemy in the way that Russia was. And we all know that they played the DEI woke propaganda card. Especially we saw that with COVID. “Can you imagine if the Russians bought farmland next to us, high-security military bases? We would have never allowed that to happen. We would have never funded a Russian lab. So there are so many different ways that China has infiltrated the cultural, social, economic, political life, the military life of the United States, that they are much more insidious, much more powerful.” (0:00) Introduction (0:15) Comparing the Cold Wars: Russia vs. China (0:40) The Russian Cold War: Isolation and Espionage (2:14) China's Unique Position (3:20) The Cultural and Economic Infiltration by China (5:34) DEI Propaganda and COVID-19 (6:38) China's Strategic Infiltration and Conclusion

It's been five weeks since the U.S. removed former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power. But the question on everyone's mind is what comes next now that Maduro is no longer in power.  State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott joined “The Signal Sitdown” this week to discuss the plan to stabilize, recover, and transition power in Venezuela. Pigott explained the administration's phased approach to Venezuela.  "First, the stability of Venezuela. Second, the recovery, where you might see the beginnings of investment, in oil infrastructure, for example. Then the third phase being that transition to a longer-term situation where hopefully you have a reliable partner in the region." Follow us on Instagram for EXCLUSIVE bonus content and the chance to be featured in our episodes: https://www.instagram.com/problematicwomen/   Connect with our hosts on socials!   Elise McCue X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=EliseMcCue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisemccueofficial/   Virginia Allen: X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=Virginia_Allen5 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virginiaallenofficial/   Check out Top News in 10, hosted by The Daily Signal's Tony Kinnett: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjMHBev3NsoUpc2Pzfk0n89cXWBqQltHY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jerome Powell's tenure at the Federal Reserve “has been an unmitigated disaster” as his Fed “created a novel monetary framework in 2020 that is proving very difficult to manage and maintain.” The good news, however, is that Powell's time at the Fed will be up in May, and his replacement, “inflation hawk Kevin Warsh,” looks much more promising, says E.J. Antoni, Ph.D, The Heritage Foundation's chief economist. "If Warsh is confirmed and can clean up the Fed, it will reassure financial markets and help deliver a Main Street boom without inflation or another financial crisis."  Follow us on Instagram for EXCLUSIVE bonus content and the chance to be featured in our episodes: https://www.instagram.com/problematicwomen/   Connect with our hosts on socials!   Elise McCue X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=EliseMcCue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisemccueofficial/   Virginia Allen: X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=Virginia_Allen5 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virginiaallenofficial/   Check out Top News in 10, hosted by The Daily Signal's Tony Kinnett: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjMHBev3NsoUpc2Pzfk0n89cXWBqQltHY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jerome Powell's tenure at the Federal Reserve “has been an unmitigated disaster” as his Fed “created a novel monetary framework in 2020 that is proving very difficult to manage and maintain.” The good news, however, is that Powell's time at the Fed will be up in May, and his replacement, “inflation hawk Kevin Warsh,” looks much more promising, says E.J. Antoni, Ph.D, The Heritage Foundation's chief economist. "If Warsh is confirmed and can clean up the Fed, it will reassure financial markets and help deliver a Main Street boom without inflation or another financial crisis."  Follow us on Instagram for EXCLUSIVE bonus content and the chance to be featured in our episodes: https://www.instagram.com/problematicwomen/   Connect with our hosts on socials!   Elise McCue X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=EliseMcCue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisemccueofficial/   Virginia Allen: X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=Virginia_Allen5 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virginiaallenofficial/   Check out Top News in 10, hosted by The Daily Signal's Tony Kinnett: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjMHBev3NsoUpc2Pzfk0n89cXWBqQltHY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Virginia's recent winter storm brought with it the usual state of emergency announcements along with “the inevitable swooping in” of some politicians going “after anyone who's price gouging.” Price gouging laws basically mean things like “batteries,” “tree removal services,” food and water can't be sold at “unconscionably higher” prices than they were “10 days prior to the storm,” explains Scott Goodman, a defense attorney at The Goodman Law Firm in Charlottesville, Virginia. “The business or the supplier that can open its books and show that this is what it costs them to get the water [for example] and that the percentage of the profit that they're adding on top of that when they sell it to a customer is basically the same as it was prior to the state of emergency, that would again, speak to the fact that they're not price gouging. They're simply passing along a higher cost that they have to the customer.” Follow us on Instagram for EXCLUSIVE bonus content and the chance to be featured in our episodes: https://www.instagram.com/problematicwomen/   Connect with our hosts on socials!   Elise McCue X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=EliseMcCue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisemccueofficial/   Virginia Allen: X: https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=Virginia_Allen5 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virginiaallenofficial/   Check out Top News in 10, hosted by The Daily Signal's Tony Kinnett: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjMHBev3NsoUpc2Pzfk0n89cXWBqQltHY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Minnesota's top officials are fanning the flames of unrest in their state. When are we going to call it like we see it? This is an insurrection. From Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, state and city leaders have repeatedly excused, enabled, and emboldened disorder. They're only the latest links in a long Democrat chain of political indulgence toward radicalism, tracing back to the civil rights era. Victor Davis Hanson warns of the fractures this mindset brings on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “ What we're seeing is a complete failure of the blue state model. And the failure is ironic because it's neo-Confederate. Just like the old Confederacy and the Antebellum South, these blue states are obsessed with race. This is where DEI comes from. This is where, if you're one-sixteenth of this, or you have DNA of that, you identify, primarily, by your ethnic or racial background and not your common humanity or your common American citizenship. Very similar to the South. “This is something that's disturbing, that it's a trademark of over 150 years that the Democratic Party has, maybe it feels that it's more a people's party, but they feel they can defy federal law at their own volition.” 00:00 Introduction 00:10 Minnesota's Insurrectionary Rhetoric 00:29 Impact on ICE and Law Enforcement 03:43 Historical Context of Defiance 05:53 Blue State Model and Neo-Confederate Comparison 08:45 Conclusion: The Future of Blue State Defiance

Last week, Virginia Democrats unveiled a new congressional map that could flip four of the five Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections. However, the Virginia Supreme Court will now determine whether the Democrats' redistricting plan can proceed after a lower court blocked their efforts, ruling “that the Democrat-led Legislature had wrongly approved a constitutional amendment that would allow for mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts ahead of the midterms this fall,” Politico reported. Virginia state Del. Thomas Garrett Jr., R-Va., joins The Daily Signal's Virginia correspondent, Joe Thomas, to discuss the implications the proposed congressional map could have on the state's political makeup heading into the 2026 midterms.

A product of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” Trump Accounts give American children — sorry, illegal aliens, this one is for us — a “tremendous” financial head start on life, providing the means to pay for college or put a down payment on a home, along with exposure to equities, something roughly 1 in 3 Americans currently do not have. If you make the maximum annual contribution of $5,000 to a Trump Account, it could be worth: At age 18: $300,000 At age 28: $800,000 At age 55: $10 million All courtesy of the power of compounding returns, argues Heritage Foundation Chief Economist E.J. Antoni in this special video commentary.