The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Charlie Kirk’s Fight to Break the Youth Out of ‘Prolonged Adolescence’

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

Charlie Kirk knew the key to winning a generation to conservatism meant addressing the root cause of America’s political problems: a cultural decay that has trapped young people in “prolonged adolescence.”   His solution was to champion cultural and economic values that are congruent with the founding principles of this nation and a flourishing society. On today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” Hanson explains how Kirk urged a generation to grow out of “prolonged adolescence,” rediscover marriage and family, and demand policies that make owning a home and raising children possible again—and why his legacy will be felt for years to come. “ We turned to common sense in half the country, but he was going as an emissary into hostile territory and telling people: ‘There is a reason why you're leaving in the millions. … We have to champion the idea that a two-parent family is not aberrant. It was the historical norm for 2,500 years. It's a good thing to have two or three children. It's a good thing to be a young person and wanna buy a house in your 20s and not in your 40s, or to have a child in your 20s and not in your late 30s.’ Nothing wrong with the latter, but he was trying to offer a different paradigm that had proved successful.” 👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1    👉If you can’t get enough of Victor Davis Hanson from The Daily Signal, subscribe to his official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@victordavishanson7273    👉He’s also the host of “The Victor Davis Hanson Show,” available wherever you prefer to watch or listen. Links to the show and exclusive content are available on his website: https://victorhanson.com  (0:00) Charlie Kirk's Legacy (1:27) Economic and Social Challenges (3:02) Swing States and Blue States Strategy (3:45) Promoting Traditional Family Values (4:12) Charlie Kirk's Methodology (5:05) Final Thoughts on Charlie Kirk's Impact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We'd love to talk. Business. I'd like to comment on the legacy of the late Charlie Kirk. There's been a lot of encomia about him, but I think one of the most unusual things that he did was he changed politics, but he didn't address political issues first. In other words, he saw politics as a reflection of deeper social, economic, and cultural issues. What he was intent on was trying to tell a new generation of Americans that they were suffering from prolonged adolescence. Part of that wasn't their fault.

Hello, this is Victor Davis-Hansson to the Daily Signal. I'd like to comment on the legacy of the late Charlie Kirk and why he is going to be remembered and what he accomplished. There's been a lot of encomia about him, but I think one of the most unusual things that he did was he changed politics, but he didn't address political issues. issues first. In other words, he saw politics as a reflection of deeper social, economic, and cultural issues. I talked to him in late August, and what he was intent on was trying to tell

a new generation of Americans that they were suffering from prolonged adolescence. And part of that wasn't their fault. He was arguing that the Republican Party cannot empower people like Mondami and the socialist left who have no solutions and will make things worse, but they have to address why they are popular. Some of it, of course, is ignorance. But what he was trying to say is that people who cannot afford a home, they cannot afford energy, they cannot afford gasoline, they can't afford to buy a car,

they prolong their adolescents. They do not get married, or they've been indoctrinated in college that the nuclear family is taught, or they don't understand the beauty of child raising or raising children. And in a larger sense, these personal decisions they're making are not only making them unhappy, but they're hurting the country. In other words, we're suffering from 1.6 fertility, a radical drop in the last quarter century from 2.0 at the turn of the millennium.

And what he was also trying to say is that there were solutions to these problems in sort of the red state paradigm in places like Florida and places like Texas, in places like Arizona, in places somewhat like Nevada, where people were moving to for six million people a year, and they felt they could afford insurance, they could buy a car, it was safe, homes were affordable, they could get married at an earlier age, they could rediscovered traditional norms of their grandparents. he was concentrated not in those areas, but in the swing states, especially in the 2024 election, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, not Minnesota so much, but Michigan,

somewhat missing Minnesota, and then blue states, because he thought the battle had been won to return to common sense and half the country, but he was going as an emissary into hostile territory and telling people there is a reason why you're leaving in the millions. There is a reason why you're not buying houses. We have to look at zoning laws. We have to look at energy production. We have to unleash people's individual talent to produce more goods and services at an affordable price. We have to champion the idea that a two-parent family is not Aberron. It was the historical norm for 2,500 years. It's a good thing to have two or three children. It's a good thing to be a young person and want to buy a house in your 20s and not in your 40s, or to have a

child in your 20s and not in your late 30s. Nothing wrong with the latter, but he was trying to offer a different paradigm that had proved successful. The second thing very quickly about him is his methodology was as varied as his message. In other words, to get that message across that there were cultural, social, economic factors that reflected one's political outview, view. And if you're going to win people over to the conservative politics, you have to explain socially, culturally, and economically why they're not receptive at first and what can be done about it. But he also was a good orator. He spoke extemporaneously. He had one year of college and he waited into Oxford and Cambridge and took on people that's supposedly the most prestigious

universities in English-speaking world. He could write. He created this huge organization, a $100 million budget. We don't do that in America without an MBA or a BA. So he was a multi-talented figure. And then finally, as Aristotle said, courage is the most important of all virtues. And he was not afraid of his person. He was not afraid of getting in arguments with people.

He was not intimidated by PhDs, J.Ds, MBAs. So he was a rare individual, and I don't think we're going to see anybody like him. I can't think of anybody on the conservative or the left that has that many skills and that many talents and that much energy. And more importantly, saw that the problem with America is not whether you're conservative or liberal per se, not necessarily, but why you are, why you are. And people who have some faith and some vision of being economically viable and they can marry an age in which they want to, they can. have as many children as they please, they can buy a home. They are happier people. And the Republican Party in the past has not always ensured that they have that opportunity,

and he was trying to address it. Thank you very much. This is Victor Davis-Hansson for the Daily Signal. Thank you for tuning in to the Daily Signal. Please like, share, and subscribe to be notified for more content like this. You can also check out my own website at victorhansan.com and subscribe for exclusive features in addition.