Episode Overview

Podcast: Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words
Episode Title: We've Had Enough of the Fraud and Failure to Assimilate
Date: December 12, 2025
Host: Victor Davis Hanson (VDH), with Sammy Wink
Produced by: The Daily Signal

In this episode, Victor Davis Hanson delivers his signature blend of historical context and cultural critique, focusing on newly announced U.S. policy strategies under Trump, international reactions—especially from Europe—fraud in social programs, assimilation challenges with immigration, technological leadership, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the state of American political discourse.

Key Topics & Insights

1. The Trump National Strategy & the Monroe Doctrine Corollary

[02:36 – 08:54]

• Hanson contextualizes Trump’s new “corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine as a reaction to previous Democratic administrations “abandoning” U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.
• Main concern: Increasing influence of China, Russia, and narco-terrorist actors (like Maduro in Venezuela, Cuban and Mexican cartels) in Latin America.
• Argues the Trump policy’s focus is stopping drug flows into the U.S., which have resulted in nearly a million American deaths since 1990, outnumbering casualties from every major U.S. war since World War I.
• Notable comparison: Contrasts media outrage over Trump’s aggressive anti-cartel stance with what he sees as a muted response to Obama’s use of drone strikes abroad.

Quote:
“These people have killed more [Americans]...if you represent the drug importers, since 1990 they've killed 900,000 Americans. They've killed more than all the Americans lost in World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Korea and the Gulf Wars.” — Victor Davis Hanson [05:40]

2. Indo-Pacific Strategy and European Pushback

[06:39 – 13:54]

• Trump's strategy also extends to the Indo-Pacific: protecting sea lanes and supply chains. Hanson draws parallels to Wilson’s 14 Points post-WWI.
• He explains China’s attempt to “create vulnerabilities” for the U.S. in Latin America, while the U.S. seeks to shore up alliances and maintain open trade routes.
• Europe (especially Germany) responds negatively, with leaders insisting on autonomy but also paradoxically seeking U.S. support and funding, particularly through NATO.
• Hanson accuses European elites of hypocrisy—censoring dissent while demanding U.S. military and financial support.

Quote:
"All Trump is saying is...we both suffer from the Western disease and there's two remedies. There's your remedy and it makes it worse. There's our remedy and our remedy makes it better. So why don't you use our remedy? And they're saying, don't tell us what to do." — Victor Davis Hanson [11:07]

3. Middle East Policy & Energy/Technology Leadership

[13:54 – 18:33]

• Trump administration's approach is to focus on economic strength as the foundation of security, avoiding “optional wars” in the Middle East.
• Emphasizes the plans for energy independence/boom: increased oil/gas output, nuclear power development, revitalized domestic industries.
• Asserts that economic growth, deregulation, and energy exports will provide resources for national defense and technological leadership in fields like AI and quantum computing.

Quote:
"If you have a strong economy, you can do anything. If you don't, you can't do anything." — Victor Davis Hanson [14:59]

4. Fraud in Welfare and Healthcare Systems

[21:41 – 24:52]

• Discusses widespread fraud in programs like Obamacare and EBT (electronic benefit transfer). Highlights a large-scale Somali fraud case in Minnesota involving potentially billions in stolen funds.
• Hanson argues the welfare state has become “vestigial, ossified, calcified,” and is now widely viewed as obsolete and open to abuse.
• Critiques the “Democratic mind” for seeing stolen government funds as harmless, since it gets redistributed, and for a general lack of accountability in public programs.

Quote:
"All over the 340 million people United States, there's been one too many Minnesota frauds. One too many stories about these thefts in Obamacare. One too many stories about semi trucks killing people with fraudulent driver's license. One too many stories..." — Victor Davis Hanson [22:58]

5. Immigration, Assimilation & Cultural Compatibility

[24:32 – 35:38]

• VDH describes a “failure to assimilate,” with emphasis on cultural incompatibility brought by some immigrants from Third World nations, arguing that successful immigration requires disavowal of old-country norms and a rigorous adoption of American ones.
• Cites high-profile cases (e.g., Rep. Ilhan Omar) as representative of broader assimilation issues and laments reluctance to discuss cultural differences openly.
• Argues for a merit-based immigration system, expressing strong skepticism about the current status quo and foreshadowing a push for tighter controls and higher standards for future immigrants.

Quote:
"It requires two things. It's called the. A brutal bargain, and that is the immigrant must disown his primary allegiance to his homeland...And the host must say, welcome. You want to be an American? Here's what you have to do. Check, check, check..." — Victor Davis Hanson [26:49]

6. On Zoran Mondami & Progressive Local Politics

[38:41 – 41:24]

• Critiques local officials like Zoran Mondami for appointing disproportionately Islamic boards, and supporting “defund the police” and “homeless anarcho-urbanism” policies.
• Predicts that such progressive policies will harm cities and have unintended consequences.

Quote:
"He's basically saying...I'm going to make it Medieval Europe. It's going to be Paris or London around 1100 A.D. people are going to sit out here and...expose themselves to you...Because I like anarchy." — Victor Davis Hanson [40:13]

7. Ukraine War & Western Policy Double Standards

[42:24 – 53:07]

• Hanson skewers media and politicians for only belatedly acknowledging Ukrainian government corruption after years of portraying Zelensky as a hero.
• Argues for consistency: compares media treatment of Ukraine and Israel (Netanyahu), and points to double standards regarding U.S. support and critique of each.
• Critiques the ongoing strategy and lack of a plan for Ukrainian victory, questions continual aid, and explores both leaders’ (Zelensky and Putin) motivations in prolonging the conflict.

Quote:
"The worst thing in a war is when you send young people or anybody to go fight it with no idea how to win. And it's just going to go on and on and on..." — Victor Davis Hanson [50:46]

8. Is Trump “Authoritarian”?

[58:45 – 67:39]

• Responds to accusations that Trump is an authoritarian/tyrant by distinguishing between inflammatory rhetoric and actual acts.
• Asserts that Trump followed legal injunctions, did not actually target political opponents in extralegal ways, and points to more substantive abuses of power by Democratic presidents (Biden, Obama).
• Calls for factual, not rhetorical, evidence when alleging dictatorship.
• Highlights media hypocrisy and selective outrage.

Quote:
"Please give me an example. Not what he said, what he actually did. Now, then, then let me ask you, did you provide the same level of criticism to, I don't know, Joe Biden, Barack Obama?" — Victor Davis Hanson [61:20]

9. AI Deepfakes & Personal Attacks

[69:35 – 71:35]

• VDH warns listeners about AI-generated content impersonating him, using foul language and attacking political allies. Encourages audience to report fake content and verify sources.

10. On Contemporary Political Theatre

[72:00 – 74:35]

• Commentary on odd media moments (e.g., Gavin Newsom's body language, Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s advertisements) as emblematic of style-over-substance in today’s politics.

Quote:
"If somebody says, Victor is low IQ and I say, I'm going to have a thing here. Victor is low IQ. Victor is low IQ...Giving free time to the guy who says he's low IQ." — Victor Davis Hanson [73:28]

11. On Progressive Overreach and Future Prospects

[74:35 – End]

• Hanson concludes with reflections on the “position of weakness and paranoia” he sees among progressives, predicting that voters will reject the radical turn in American and European politics.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “These people have killed more [Americans]... since 1990 they've killed 900,000 Americans. They've killed more than all the Americans lost in World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Korea and the Gulf Wars.”
  — Victor Davis Hanson [05:40]

• “If you have a strong economy, you can do anything. If you don't, you can't do anything.”
  — Victor Davis Hanson [14:59]

• “It requires two things. It's called the. A brutal bargain, and that is the immigrant must disown his primary allegiance to his homeland...And the host must say, welcome. You want to be an American? Here's what you have to do. Check, check, check...”
  — Victor Davis Hanson [26:49]

• “The worst thing in a war is when you send young people or anybody to go fight it with no idea how to win. And it's just going to go on and on and on...”
  — Victor Davis Hanson [50:46]

• "Please give me an example. Not what he said, what he actually did. Now, then, then let me ask you, did you provide the same level of criticism to, I don't know, Joe Biden, Barack Obama?"
  — Victor Davis Hanson [61:20]

Summary Table of Important Segments

| Time | Topic | |------------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 02:36-06:39| Trump’s Western Hemisphere/Monroe Doctrine Corollary | | 06:39-13:54| Indo-Pacific approach, European criticism | | 13:54-18:33| Middle East, tech and energy leadership | | 21:41-24:52| Fraud in welfare/Obamacare | | 24:32-35:38| Immigration, assimilation, cultural compatibility | | 38:41-41:24| Zoran Mondami, local progressive politics | | 42:24-53:07| Ukraine war, U.S. foreign aid, Western hypocrisy | | 58:45-67:39| Is Trump authoritarian? Legal comparisons and rhetoric | | 69:35-71:35| AI deepfakes and reporting impersonation | | 72:00-74:35| Modern media spectacle—Newsom, Crockett, audience Q&A |

Takeaways

• Hanson delivers sharp criticism of both U.S. and European policy, often through pointed historical comparison.
• There is a clear focus on the necessity of assimilation, accountability in government, and the dangers of bureaucratic ossification.
• Foreign policy, in Hanson’s view, should be grounded in economic strength and realism rather than ideology or military adventurism.
• He challenges the rhetorical excesses of Trump critics, insists on accountability for all parties, and repeatedly calls out double standards in media and political class discourse.
• Throughout the episode, Hanson maintains a skeptical, sometimes acerbic tone, blending personal anecdotes with historical analysis.

For full analysis and direct quotes, listeners are encouraged to refer to the show segments noted above and visit Victor Hanson's website for additional content.