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

Victor Davis Hanson: Why Europe Is Turning Against Mass Immigration

September 10, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In September 2026, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party pulled 44% of the vote in a Saxony state election. The British port of Dover was blockaded by hundreds of men in balaclavas protesting the Channel migrant crossings. These are not isolated events, Victor Davis Hanson argues, but symptoms of a Western crisis in which established political classes have lost control of immigration and are now losing the voters who have had enough.

The Mechanism: Suppression Breeds Strength

Hanson’s central framework is counter-intuitive but, he claims, empirically proven. The more the political and media establishment tries to suppress a populist backlash, the stronger that backlash becomes. He draws a direct parallel to Donald Trump’s political resurrection. “The more you said Trump was Hitler, the more you tried to get him off the ballot, the more you wage five courtroom law fairs against him… each at each increment his popularity increased.” The same dynamic, he says, is now playing out in Europe. The “firewall” parties that refuse to coalition with the AfD or similar movements are not containing them; they are radicalizing the electorate. The people see a ruling class that refuses to listen, so they turn to movements that promise to tear the whole system down, including, in the AfD’s case, exit from the European Union itself.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **Trump's Resilience & the German Election** - Hanson opens by connecting the German election results to the U.S. pattern: attacks on Trump boosted his popularity, a dynamic he argues is now playing out in Europe.
  • 2 (01:02) **Introduction & Book Launch** - Host Jack Fowler introduces Victor Davis Hanson and his new book, *Counter Revolution*, which is already a #2 bestseller on Amazon.
  • 3 (04:53) **The "Counter Revolution" Thesis** - Hanson explains his book's core argument: Trump is not a revolutionary but a counter-revolutionary, aiming to roll back the entire progressive project.
  • 4 (08:52) **The Value of Work & Labor Day** - Hanson and Fowler discuss a survey ranking states by work ethic, finding a stark red-state/blue-state divide that reflects a deeper cultural problem.
  • 5 (13:55) **The Stigma Against Skilled Trades** - Hanson laments the loss of vocational education and the social stigma against working with one's hands, despite the high pay for skilled trades.
  • 6 (17:06) **Lost Social Compartment & Civics Education** - Hanson contrasts the formal instruction in comportment, civics, and public health he received in school with today's permissive environment.
  • 7 (26:41) **The AfD Victory & European Backlash** - Hanson analyzes the AfD's electoral success as a direct result of the left's suppression tactics, which only strengthens the opposition.

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Guests on this episode

Victor Davis Hanson

Show Notes

Europe’s growing backlash against mass immigration, Germany’s recent elections, and anti-migrant protests in Britain highlight mounting tensions over immigration, assimilation, and the continent’s changing demographics.

Victor Davis Hanson and Jack Fowler examine the cultural and political consequences of those shifts, along with Colin Kaepernick’s return to the spotlight and his controversial political views.

They also look at the declining cultural status of blue-collar work in America, the growing shortage of skilled tradespeople, and the strong wages available in many of those professions.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani faces controversy surrounding the upcoming 9/11 remembrance ceremony and his decision to hand a ceremonial pen to his chief counsel after signing two 9/11-related executive orders.


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Pre-order “The Counterrevolution: The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement” NOW: https://www.amazon.com/Counterrevolution-Fall-Donald-Trump-Movement-ebook/dp/B0GF1K43WM 

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Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words

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