Victor Davis Hanson: Beware of These Political Land Mines, President Trump

Nov 18, 2025

The discussion highlights significant achievements of the Trump administration on border security, energy, and crime reduction. Victor Davis Hanson emphasizes that elections are won on economic performance, not foreign policy. He raises concerns about plans to double Chinese students in the U.S. and warns against increasing H-1B visa limits, fearing they jeopardize American jobs. The importance of effective public messaging around current policies to ensure economic growth leading into 2026 is also a key takeaway.

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INSIGHT

Economics, Not Foreign Policy, Win Elections

Victor Davis Hanson argues elections are won on economics, not foreign policy, despite strong foreign-policy achievements.
He urges shifting messaging to highlight energy, GDP, deregulation, tax reform, and 2026 economic gains.

ADVICE

Compare Past And Present Economic Records

Victor Davis Hanson advises Trump to compare current administration economic performance with Biden and his prior term when communicating to voters.
He recommends starting now to emphasize how policies will boost the economy in 2026.

INSIGHT

Risks Of Doubling Chinese Student Numbers

Hanson warns against doubling Chinese student numbers from ~300,000 to 600,000 as a political and security risk.
He links high foreign student enrollment to affordability pressures and potential espionage concerns.

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The Trump administration has delivered significant achievements on border security, energy production, crime reduction, and foreign policy in its first 10 months, but several overlooked issues could become serious vulnerabilities if not addressed before the midterms.

Victor Davis Hanson breaks down the major political challenges that could quietly undermine the Trump administration’s momentum heading into 2026 and why the administration must shift its public messaging toward the economy on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

“ Donald Trump has naturally talked about achieving peace with Ethiopia and Egypt, or Pakistan or India, or what we accomplish by taking out the nuclear facilities in Iran, etc. But the elections are not won on foreign policy, unfortunately, or maybe fortunate. They're won on economics. And the Left, in that vacuum, and that lack of praise for the accomplishments of the Trump administration on energy, on GDP, on the stock market, on deregulation, on tax reform, and what will happen in 2026 when, I think, foreign investment and these new technologies will help, in addition, spur the economy and relieve our worries about inflation and affordability—we have to talk about that. Specifically, he has to talk about the comparison of the Biden administration with both his first term, but more importantly, with what he's done the first 10 to 11 months, and what will ensue in 2026 for the things he's doing now.”

00:00 Introduction

00:58 Achievements and Comparisons

04:20 HB-1 Visas Controversy

05:50 Final Thoughts

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