The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Republicans’ Midterm Strategy Is Right in Front of Them, Use It

Episode Date: August 19, 2026

Republicans cannot rely solely on Democrats’ extremism and a SCOTUS radical gerrymandering win to carry them through the midterms. They need a clear record of accomplishments, Operation Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful, pacification of a China- and Russia-aligned Venezuela, and a concrete agenda for the next two years. They need a new "Contract with America," argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “Our opponents are not the party of workers. They're the party of the downwardly mobile, college-educated, formerly upper-middle class, and a new phenomenon of first- and second-generation immigrants coming from failed states, mostly because of socialism, that are attacking the United States.” Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit http://www.JoinADF.com/HANSON or text HANSON to 83848 and for a limited time your first gift to ADF will be DOUBLED by a special matching grant—while funds last. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Daily Signal podcast, where we provide intelligence for the intelligent. Now, without further ado, here's today's take. The anticipation of the November midterms is mounting every day. The Democrats are ecstatic. They look at the statistics and historical context and say 39 out of the last 41 midterm elections, the in-party lost seats. The Republicans counter, well, maybe it'll be different. Who can predict what Donald Trump will do or say?

I think they're missing something because we haven't heard from the Republicans any strategy and the time is getting close. Hello, this is Victor Davis-Hanson for the Daily Signal. The anticipation of the November midterms is mounting every day. and the polls show that typically of mid-term elections that the end party in the White House, i.e. the Republicans and Donald Trump are going to lose seats. And because the House is so close anyway with a five or six-seat Republican margin, it might be even easier.

And so the Democrats are ecstatic. They look at the statistics. and historical context and say 39 out of the last 41 midterm elections, the in-party lost seats in the midterms. And this will be no exception because Donald Trump is polling around 40 percent, and the Democratic generic poll is 5 to 6 percent ahead of the Republicans. The Republicans counter, well, maybe it'll be different. Who can predict what Donald Trump will do or say?

who can predict what will happen in Iran in the next 60 days. There might be a revolution. Gas prices could drop. There are seats that will accrue to the Republicans because of the Supreme Court ruling on racial gerrymandering and the preponderance of red states, maybe five or six more red states, will gerrymander than blue states.

And, of course, the Republicans were given a gift by this radical Democratic Socialist of America takeover of the Democratic Party and the crazy things that these candidates up for election in the midterms have said in their past. And then finally the Republicans say, well, we have more money, at least in the PACs and the Trump funds. But I think they're missing something because we haven't heard from the Republicans any strategy in the time is getting close. What do I mean by that? It seems to me that it doesn't work just to trash the socialists.

They should be trash, but there has to be more than that. So I would start first with a contract with America and say, we are going to do this, accomplish this in the White House and in the Congress over the next two years. And I would say we are going to complete the work of the border, and we're going to continue to deport people who are not here legally, especially criminals. And then we are going to hold the bureaucracy and the university accountable for the racial prejudice and bias that's intrinsic to DEI. We've already said to our countries that receive massive U.S. remittances that are sent from people here, often illegally, and subsidized by the federal government,

that they will have a tax on them. We've started with a 1% that may climb. We are now going, we're now pumping the most natural gas and oil in the history of any nation in civilization since the onset of fossil fuel. We're going to continue and increase that. One thing we are going to do that no one has really done for the last 30 years. are going to address the debt. We are going to put a hold on federal spending, and we're going to take a look at entitlements, because we are now not just $31 to $32 trillion in debt, but the debt

is increasing geometrically, not arithmetically, and we can envision if something is not done, it will be up to $40 trillion. Already, the interest is over a billion dollars a day, and it's larger per annum than the defense budget. A second thing that we're going to do, it's not just that we're going to have a contract for America, we're going to tell you what we've done. And first of all, crime is at a 70 percent. It's dropped 70 percent. It is at a historic low. Washington, D.C. is a political capital of the world. It was not safe. Its monuments were decrepit. The streets were dirty. We sent in federal troops working with local police, and we can say now that Washington, believe it or not,

is one of the safest large cities in America given crime statistics, and its monuments are in a process of being refurbished, cleanse, and they're sparkling. And we have even bigger projects at the White House, the reflecting pool to make people proud of their national capital. We all talk about affordability, but we forget something. Even with the war in Iran and even with a temporary spike in oil prices, this administration has an annual inflation rate during its first term of 1.9%. It's about 2.5 and it may climb to 3, but we are still way below the average 5 to 5.1 each year on average of the prior administration. We talk about affordability in terms of housing. Typically in America, 62 to 67 percent of the population owns their own home. It's 65 percent right now.

The problem is not that people cannot buy homes. The problem is they can't buy homes in blue states and urban environments. We're going to work on that, but let's be clear. There has not been a sudden drop in home ownership. The border is closed. It's not just closed. Illegal immigration ceased to exist. Ninety-nine percent of the crossings are legal. There is no illegal immigration. We're controversially, but lawfully and humanely sending people back of that influx. Ten, twelve million that came in under Joe Biden, without any audit, without vaccinations, without any knowledge who they were at a time, we would never treat, allow American citizens to do that. We were, after all, expelling 8,500 soldiers, some of them combat veterans from our military by the Biden decrees that they had to have a COVID vaccination and MRNA experimental vaccinations,

where we didn't even require that of the people who fled from countries across. the border into the United States. We should also say that South America, Latin America, the Caribbean are not going communists. It is not a pink tide during the Obama administration. About 75% of those countries were heading left. John Kerry, the Secretary of State under Barack Obama, said that there is no more Monroe Doctrine. There is a Monroe Doctrine now. and almost all of South America and Latin America, and the Caribbean is pro-American and conservative, except three or four countries.

And the Chinese are not controlling the entries and exit of the Panama Canal, and there's not a communist-client state doing the work of China and also Russia in Venezuela, exporting terror and drugs to North America. Finally, we often say something. They need to say something about the, dangers of socialism. It's not just that we have a contract for America of what we're going to do that brings normality back to the country, and it's not just that we can tell you what we have done that has improved lives. We're also going to tell you about this socialism. Start off with the

idea there really isn't a socialist system that is democratic and liberal. The USSR during the Cold War was called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Nazi Germany, the Nazi term was an acronym for the National Socialist German Workers Party. So socialism is a euphemism for totalitarianism. Every time a socialist is elected, the first thing that happens to them is they bump into resistance. And when they bump into resistance, they've been. become authoritarian. One last thing to remember about our opponents. They are not the party of workers. They're the party of the downwardly mobile, college-educated, formerly upper middle class,

and a new phenomenon of first and second generation immigrants coming from failed states, mostly because of socialism, that upon arrival are attacking the United States. And finally, Zoran Mondami, Roe Kana, Ilyan Omar, Dr. Saeed in Michigan. They're not poor. They're not middle class. They're very, very wealthy, just like all socialist architects throughout history. Mondami comes from the 1% in Uganda as an immigrant. Hassan Parker is a multi-millionaire who drives a Porsche.

Ro Khanna's children have trust funds with ownership of golf courses in their name. They drive a $200,000 range rover. Ilya and Omar says she's worth $30 million. This is an elite group of people who are using us as their lab rats. Again,

if the Republicans can talk about what they did, what they plan to do, and what the alternatives they can still win. Thank you very much, Victor Davis-Hanson, for the Daily Signal. Female athletes are being forced to compete against biological males, sometimes without their consent or even their knowledge. In Washington, high school sophomore, Callie Keeler was sexually assaulted on the wrestling mat during a tournament. Only afterward did she learn her opponent was a boy who identifies as a girl.

With the help of Alliance defending freedom, Callie is bravely suing the state over a policy that not only allows males to compete in girls high school sports but doesn't require schools to disclose that information to female athletes or their parents. Don't let schools put gender ideology over the safety of girls in sports. Your support today can help fight for Cali and other athletes like her. And for a limited time, your first gift to ADF will be doubled by a special matching grant, well funds last. Text Hanson to 83848 or go to join ADF.com slash Hansen to have your gift doubled. Thank you for tuning in to the Daily Signal. Please like, share, and subscribe to be notified for more content like this.

And also check out my own website at victorhansen.com and subscribe for exclusive features in addition.