Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words
Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words

Victor Davis Hanson: The Left Is Rebranding Ahead of the Midterms

September 26, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Victor Davis Hanson opened his Saturday edition with a blunt assessment of the 2024 campaign landscape, arguing that Democrats are actively rebranding their candidates and policies ahead of the midterms while Republicans are failing to make a coherent case. The episode covered a wide range of developments—from a UN walkout on Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to California’s demographic transformation, the state of the "woke" agenda in courts and corporations, and the peculiar Senate races in Texas and Michigan.

The UN General Assembly: Netanyahu’s walkout and Javier Milei’s blast

Hanson focused on the walkout during Netanyahu’s address, calling it farcical given that the Iranian regime—which just killed tens of thousands of its own people—did not receive a similar rebuke. Netanyahu, in Hanson’s telling, turned the moment into a pointed critique: he reminded European delegations that they were the great colonizers of the Middle East, not Israel, and he challenged the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor for targeting Israel while ignoring China and Iran.

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

What you'll learn

  • 1 (03:04) **Steve Hilton Event & California's Demographic Crisis** - Hanson describes introducing Steve Hilton at a Fresno political event and analyzes California's decline.
  • 2 (08:10) **Netanyahu's UN Speech & Hypocrisy of Walkouts** - Hanson analyzes the walkout during Netanyahu's address and the broader UN dysfunction.
  • 3 (13:03) **Tucker Carlson's Israel Critique Refuted** - Hanson pushes back on Carlson's claim that Israel is not a democracy.
  • 4 (16:34) **The Persistence of Woke: DEI Retrenchment** - Hanson argues that the "woke" agenda has not been defeated but has merely retrenched to survive.
  • 5 (27:12) **Allred and Alsobrooks: The Left's Rebranding Strategy** - Hanson explains why candidates like Colin Allred and Angela Alsobrooks are polling well despite their radical pasts.
  • 6 (33:24) **Texas as Constantinople: The Left's Prize** - Hanson compares the left's fixation on flipping Texas to the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople.
  • 7 (37:00) **Historical Parallels: James Buchanan and Harry Truman** - Hanson contrasts the failed presidency of Buchanan with the unexpectedly successful presidency of Truman.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Victor Davis Hanson

Show Notes

Victor Davis Hanson examines whether woke politics has truly faded or whether Democrats are simply changing their message ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Hanson discusses the rise of Democratic candidates James Talarico in Texas and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, and why Republicans cannot afford to dismiss their opponents or assume traditionally favorable races are already won.

Victor and Sami Winc also react to Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations and the walkout by delegates during his remarks, before continuing their series on American presidents with a look at Harry Truman and James Buchanan.


NEW FILM by the Heritage Foundation: “Preventable: The System That Failed My Daughter.” Available now.  

https://youtu.be/HxiwOSSRT6s?si=r9k6BFD-iMmvnvpn


Pure Health Research - Visit http://purehealthresearch.com and use coupon code VICTOR to save 35% on your order today. 


PragerU- Please support PragerU with a tax-deductible donation today. Go to http://PragerU.com/VDH and give generously today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words

More from this podcast

Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words →