The Victor Davis Hanson Show

Episode: The Last Line of Defense: Victor's Conversation with Senator Eric Schmidt

Date: August 22, 2025

Brief Overview

In this episode, Victor Davis Hanson sits down with Senator Eric Schmidt of Missouri to discuss Schmidt’s new book, Last Line of Defense: How to Beat the Left in Court. They explore the political transformation of Missouri into a solidly red state, the shifting coalitions in American politics, legal battles fought during the Biden administration (from vaccine mandates to censorship and student loan forgiveness), and what it means for the future of the Republican Party and the Trump administration. The conversation is frank, fast-paced, and rich in firsthand insight into the legal and political strategies shaping current American governance.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Missouri's Political Shift and Its National Echoes

[05:23–08:12]

• Missouri is now a solidly Republican state: Every statewide office, including both U.S. Senators and the Governor, is held by Republicans—unprecedented in its history.
• "Missouri's always been this place... it's kind of skeptical of a federal government telling us what to do from a thousand miles away. That's in the DNA." —Senator Eric Schmidt [05:54]
• The fall of "old-style" Democrats in rural Missouri; urban enclaves in St. Louis and Kansas City are now the Democratic strongholds.
• Parallels with shifts in Iowa, Ohio, and Indiana.

2. Demographic Realignment and Republican Coalition

[09:06–16:35]

• Republican growth among working class, multi-ethnic voters:
  • Trump’s coalition now contains more lower-propensity voters who traditionally felt left behind by globalism and elite-driven policies.
  • Remarkable surge in Hispanic and Black male support for Trump. "Class is starting to replace race... a black truck driver or a white electrician or a Hispanic roofer have more in common, at least politically, than they do with their elites." —Victor Davis Hanson [13:10]
  • Democrats’ progressive cultural agenda alienated traditional working-class voters; Trump’s focus on economic and cultural populism has been the "accelerant."
  • Immigration policy and dissatisfaction with open borders dramatically impacted Latino communities, leading to political boomerang.

3. Legal ‘Last Lines of Defense’—The Courts as Battleground

[18:14–27:42]

• Eric Schmidt describes the major lawsuits he initiated as Missouri Attorney General:
  • Vaccine mandate challenge (Supreme Court win)
  • Student loan debt forgiveness case (Supreme Court win)
  • Missouri vs. Biden censorship case
  • Lawsuits against school districts enforcing COVID masking mandates
• The left’s strategy of using activist district judges to impede Republican policies, with eventual overturning at higher levels.
• "We really need people of courage who are going to stand up and fight back on all fronts." —Senator Eric Schmidt [21:42]
• The evolution of Republican legal expertise: Not traditionally the 'lawyers’ party,' conservatives are building their own field of legal warriors, inspired by constitutional originalists like Scalia and Thomas.

4. The Supreme Court, Precedents, and 'Lawfare'

[24:58–29:09]

• Supreme Court’s crackdown on universal nationwide injunctions has blunted Democrat lawfare designed to disrupt Trump’s agenda.
• "We’ve seen this abuse. You don't get to do that anymore. That's going to kind of slow down the train wreck that the Democrats wanted to cause to derail President Trump’s agenda." —Senator Eric Schmidt [21:42]
• Chief Justice Roberts, while criticized as incrementalist, sided with limits when the judiciary itself was threatened.

5. Policy, Challenges, and the Trump Administration’s Future

[29:09–36:36]

• Rapid policy execution in the Trump administration’s first seven months: border wall, ICE, military funding, tax cuts, and defunding entities like NPR, PBS, and questionable USAID projects.
• The rise of an "American realist" foreign policy. Senator Schmidt underscores that Trump can broker peace in Ukraine, unlike predecessors focused on endless aid without clear objectives.
• Tensions within the GOP, especially regarding immigration enforcement and how to deal with long-term undocumented immigrants with ties to the community.
• "There’s just not an appetite for condoning illegal activity... I think the Overton window has shifted on this." —Senator Eric Schmidt [38:21]
• Technological and economic change is likely to reshape future labor markets, reducing reliance on low-wage immigration.

6. Immigration—Complex Political and Social Realities

[36:44–45:53]

• The practical challenges of mass deportations, especially for longstanding community members who have otherwise assimilated and contributed.
• Widespread support for deporting recent arrivals and those with criminal records, but public uncertainty about long-resident, law-abiding undocumented individuals.
• Real-world examples from Hanson’s own California community highlight complexities.

7. Censorship, COVID, and the Role of Legal Accountability

[53:16–64:28]

• Schmidt recounts depositions of Anthony Fauci and tech–government collusion in censorship exposed in Missouri vs. Biden.
• Fauci’s legal exposure and ongoing Senate investigations into the use of "auto-pen" presidential pardons.
• "I think there’s actually an avenue for this Russia gate for their indictments. And it would probably center around a conspiracy... ongoing, that doesn’t run the clock." —Senator Eric Schmidt [60:48]
• Reflection on the intense legal and media campaign against Trump, with every attack seemingly boosting his support.
• "Everything they tried to do to kill him made him stronger." —Victor Davis Hanson [56:58]

8. The Future of GOP Strategy—Fighting to Win

[63:31–68:07]

• "One of the great gifts and legacies President Trump has given all of us... is the courage to stand up and fight." —Senator Eric Schmidt [63:43]
• The GOP’s new resolve, a departure from a history of ‘noble loser’ mentality, to a willingness to fight and win in rough political combat.
• Schmidt encourages conservatives to “fight on every battlefield,” including legal ones, and commends Trump for permanently shifting the party’s approach.

Notable Quotes and Moments

• On Missouri’s DNA:
  "It was always kind of skeptical of a federal government telling us what to do with our lives a thousand miles away. That's always been the DNA of our state, the Show Me State." —Senator Eric Schmidt [05:54]

• On Working Class Realignment:
  "I refer to it as a multi-ethnic working class party. That’s what it is." —Senator Eric Schmidt [13:33]

• On Legal Battles and Courage:
  "What we need more than anything in this fight in the courts is courage." —Senator Eric Schmidt [21:42]

• On Trump’s Influence:
  "President Trump has been the accelerant, which is a good thing." —Senator Eric Schmidt [12:37]

• On Lawfare Tactics:
  "If we really want to save this country... we’ve got to be willing to fight in court, too." —Senator Eric Schmidt [23:49]

• On the End of ‘Noble Losing’:
  "Trump came along and said, no, we’re going to win, and we’re going to win. We might have to win ugly in your interpretation, but we’re going to win." —Victor Davis Hanson [65:13]

• On Standing up for the Base:
  "People want to know you’re authentically fighting for them. And people can spot a phony." —Senator Eric Schmidt [64:28]

• On Lawfare’s Backfire:
  "Everything they tried to do to kill him made him stronger." —Victor Davis Hanson [56:58] "The American people, thankfully, sat in their own jury box... and they rendered their own verdict." —Senator Eric Schmidt [62:38]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:23] – Missouri’s political shift explained
• [13:10] – Analysis of Trump’s coalition and class v. race
• [18:14] – How the left used the courts, and GOP response
• [21:42] – The need for courage in legal battles
• [24:58] – Lawfare, universal injunctions, and the Roberts court
• [29:09] – Policy victories in the Trump administration
• [38:21] – Immigration, labor, and the Overton window
• [53:16] – Censorship, Fauci deposition, and legal investigations
• [63:31] – The future of GOP, the end of noble losing, and fighting to win

Conclusion

This episode is an in-depth look at how the political and legal landscape is shifting in America—from the transformation of electoral strongholds, through innovations in Republican legal strategy, to the inner workings of the Trump administration’s approach to court battles and policy. Senator Schmidt’s book emerges as both a chronicle of legal fights and a call to action for conservatives determined to challenge the left across all fronts. The episode is packed with firsthand stories, spice, hard-headed political analysis, and a clear sense of the ongoing stakes in America’s culture war.