The Victor Davis Hanson Show

Episode: “Rewarding Terror, Political Violence, & Disney’s Downward Spiral”
Date: September 23, 2025
Hosts: Victor Davis Hanson & Jack Fowler

Episode Overview

This episode delves into major contemporary political and cultural flashpoints: the international push to recognize a Palestinian state amid ongoing terrorism, the politics and social context surrounding escalating political violence in the West, and the ideological decline at legacy American institutions like Disney. Victor Davis Hanson and Jack Fowler assess the motivations behind recent moves by Western governments, the poll numbers reflecting public resistance to leftist policies, and discuss the increasing polarization and breakdown of social trust—both politically and culturally.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recognition of a Palestinian State by Western Governments (08:22–15:46)

• Context: The UK, Canada, Australia, and France announce plans to recognize Palestine as a state, despite ongoing hostage crises and terrorist actions from Hamas.
• Victor’s Analysis:
  • All these countries have left-wing governments and are catering to growing Muslim electorates due to immigration ("They're captives to the Muslim voters" – Victor, 09:18).
  • Recognition happens while Hamas publicly refuses to release hostages taken during acts of terror: "How many countries do you recognize where the government takes hostages? … Because that's what they're doing." (Victor, 09:52)
  • Contrasts with hypothetical reactions if similar actions occurred on UK or Canadian soil, emphasizing Western double standards.
  • Trump’s clear moral compass on such matters is cited as a reason for his poll resilience.

Notable Quote

• Victor Davis Hanson (09:52):
  "If somebody did that to the UK or Canada, came into their country, murdered 1,200 people and then stuck their tongue out and wagged their finger at them and said, ‘We’ve got hostages, what are you going to do about it?’ I think they’d be very upset.”

Key Timestamps

• [08:22] – News of recognition; Victor’s reaction and context
• [11:36] – Carter, hostages, and lessons unlearned

2. International & Diaspora Politics: Lessons from Iran (11:48–15:46)

• Iranian Revolution Parallel: Victor draws a historical line from the West’s misreading of revolutionary movements during the fall of the Shah and rise of Khomeini, to current naive engagement with terrorist states.

Notable Quote

• Victor Davis Hanson (11:58):
  “All of the people around [Carter] were infatuated with this Michel Foucault kind of narrative that Khomeini was a revolutionary… and he could be valuable in Iran.”

3. Public Opinion and Backlash against Leftist Policies (15:46–23:42)

• Jack reads poll numbers: Overwhelming majorities in the UK and France oppose recognizing Palestine while Hamas holds hostages.

  • Only 13% of Britons, and even fewer Labour voters, back unconditional recognition.
  • 71% of French oppose recognition before hostages are freed.

• Victor on Immigration, Multiculturalism, and DEI:

  • Critiques DEI and multicultural policies as corrosive to civic trust; describes a growing backlash in both the US and Europe.
  • Frustration with “special exemptions” for favored groups: “We are not going to enforce norms, customs, laws to a particular group of people who are self-declared historical victims…”
  • Calls out the double standards in legal and political treatment for different groups.

Notable Quote

• Victor Davis Hanson (18:52):
  “We are a force for good. You look at the world outside of the West—it's a mess. Everybody wants to come to the West. They're not flocking to China, they're not trying to get into Russia…”

Key Timestamps

• [15:46] – The public’s rejection of elite policies in Europe
• [18:52] – On immigration and the West’s unique appeal

4. Political Violence and Leftist Intolerance in America (26:08–30:03)

• YouGov Poll results: 24% of self-described very liberal Americans find it acceptable to celebrate a political enemy’s death, compared to just 3% of conservatives.

  • Among liberals 18–44, 22% endorse such celebrations.

• Victor’s Analysis:

  • Sees rising leftist violence as a symptom of political impotence: “They have a message now that nobody wants… so they feel they can cause so much chaos.”
  • Claims that Biden’s administration gave the left authority, and now that mass public support is gone, violence fills the vacuum.

Notable Quote

• Victor Davis Hanson (26:08):
  “It is. It's going to get worse, Jack, because it also reflects the political impotence of the left and the frustration.”

Key Timestamps

• [26:08] – Dissection of poll on celebration of political violence
• [30:00] – Trump as unexpected voice for peace in Ukraine

5. Elites, Corruption, and Institutional Decay (33:01–42:01)

• Discussion on British Elites (e.g., ambassador Mandelson and Epstein connections): Jack and Victor riff on the “creepiness” and isolation of Western elites—especially in the UK.

• Trump, Pam Bondi, and DOJ Frustrations: (44:33–53:08)

  • Victor explains why it’s so hard to prosecute Deep State corruption—entrenched left-wing bureaucracies, legal venue problems, pervasive media bias, and more.
  • Warns that widespread legal reckoning for elites is logistically near-impossible.

Notable Quote

• Victor Davis Hanson (45:28):
  “It actually works out in a weird way, good for Trump, because it shows you that he's not controlling the DOJ… It was all coordinated… so that's it. I don't know. I mean, I think it was just overwhelming for the American people.”

6. Disney’s Downward Spiral and Conservative Boycotts (60:27–66:14)

• Peachy Keenan’s Observation: Disney’s internal political culture is extremely hostile to conservatives (“Everyone there hates you as much as they hate Charlie Kirk” – 60:36).
• Victor’s Reflection: Mourns the transformation of a once-iconic American institution: “The radical left has this reverse Midas touch. Everything they touch turns to dregs.”
• Bud Light Boycott: Seen as watershed, proving conservatives can hit back culturally.

Notable Quotes

• Victor Davis Hanson (60:27):
  “When you think of the career of Walt Disney and what he built… and to see that whole company taken over. It's true that the radical left has this reverse Midas touch... They destroy it.”

Key Timestamps

• [60:27] – Analysis of Disney’s ideological transformation
• [66:03] – Cultural backlash and conservative boycotts

7. Extreme Political Polarization and Social Alienation (68:14–74:54)

• Victor’s Personal Reflection: Describes the loneliness and estrangement from family and friends over political differences post-2016.
• On “Karen” Stereotypes: Notes that the gatekeepers of social exclusion are often older, affluent liberal women.

Notable Quote

• Victor Davis Hanson (68:14):
  “I walk early in the morning, late at night… and I just think about all the close friends I had… I guess you would say, hate my guts now. They don’t talk to me… And it doesn’t come from the right. The right doesn’t call up and say, ‘Did you vote for Hillary, Hitler or Communist? I’m not going to talk to you.'”

8. Notable Cultural Moments, Violence, and Hypocrisy (73:58–77:44)

• Charlie Kirk’s Assassination: Victor is deeply affected by left-wing celebrations of Kirk’s death and contrasts reactions to the killing with national responses to the death of George Floyd.
• Moral Crisis: The approval and mockery surrounding these killings reflect a broken public morality, says Victor.

Notable Quotes

• Victor Davis Hanson (74:06):
  “Imagine if someone had mocked George Floyd’s death a few days after it happened.”

• Listener Comment (75:46):
  “I feel a deep grief about the death of Charlie Kirk, more than I would expect. I know a lot of people who are having the same response. It’s not political. Don’t underestimate this response people are having because I don’t think I’m alone.”
  (– Gail Peyton, YouTube comment)

Additional Memorable Quotes

• Jack Fowler (35:31):
  “He’s a colossus… Like him or not, he’s a colossus."

• Victor Davis Hanson (36:09):
  “It's not that they're necessarily pro-Trump, but they see him as a voice of sanity in a wilderness of insanity.”

• Victor Davis Hanson (63:33):
  “It's one thing that at least is becoming introspective by needs. And these other institutions, they've just grown.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 08:22 – The movement to recognize Palestine as a state; Victor’s critique
• 15:46 – European/US backlash against elite multicultural policies
• 26:08 – YouGov poll: Leftist approval of violence
• 33:01 – Elites and moral rot in Western leadership
• 44:33 – Trump, DOJ, and why elite corruption persists
• 60:27 – Disney’s ideological transformation; conservative boycotts
• 68:14 – Personal and national consequences of polarization
• 73:58 – Charlie Kirk, George Floyd, and the breakdown of moral consensus

Episode Tone and Takeaways

• The tone is urgent, somber, and deeply critical of elite institutions, multiculturalism, and leftist ideologies.
• Victor’s language is direct, unsparing, but also reflective, especially when talking about violence and lost friendships.
• The cultural, political, and moral fabric of the West is under strain; audiences are warned that these divisions are only deepening and calls for a reassertion of common sense and basic civic trust.

This summary provides a roadmap of the episode for listeners seeking to understand the main topics, arguments, and memorable moments without having to listen in full.