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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 comm

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 wo

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:”