Victor Davis Hanson, a renowned historian and columnists, delves into the shift from affirmative action to the broader concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion during the Obama years. He argues that this change aimed to expand the definition of marginalized groups, enabling a more extensive woke agenda. Hanson discusses the complexities of identity politics and systemic racism, emphasizing the importance of a unified perspective on humanity that goes beyond rigid racial classifications. His insights provoke thought on the evolution of these critical social concepts.

President Trump stirs controversy by proposing to eliminate FEMA, citing inefficiencies within the agency. Meanwhile, Steve Bannon pleads guilty to fraud related to border wall funds. In a surprising move, Trump signs an order to bring back plastic straws, reversing previous policies. Discussions also highlight alarming claims about USAID funding extremist groups, and the shifting political tides around international appointments and Palestinian resettlement plans.

Is the Left taking the bait? While many in the legacy media continue to berate Elon Musk for his role in defunding bloated federal programs and agencies, Donald Trump remains largely unscathed. Is this part of a larger strategy by the president, wonders Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”“He's more legitimate—or he has more statutory legitimacy—than earlier presidential advisors, like Harry Hopkins, who moved into the White House under the FDR administration, or Bernard Baruch, who basically ran two world wars, in terms of domestic production, under Woodrow Wilson and FDR. So, let's just dispel the idea that he's doing anything unusual. ...“As far as the executive orders that created the DOGE program and eliminated USAID—that was perfectly legal in itself—USAID was created by John F. Kennedy in 1961 by an executive order. There was a statutory direction for the president to disperse foreign aid into a comprehensive body, but it didn't say USAID—he could do whatever he wanted. ..."And so, Donald Trump has decided to end an autonomous USAID and fold it into the State Department for disaster relief or poverty relief or famine relief. ... “All Donald Trump is doing is saying, ‘I don't believe the impoundment act is legal. We'll see what the Supreme Court says—but I'm just following the precedent that Joe Biden did.’ But now, the shoe's on the other foot." For Victor’s latest thoughts, go to: https://victorhanson.com/  Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new video drops: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHqkXbgqrDrDVInBMSoGQgQThe Daily Signal cannot continue to tell stories like this one without the support of our viewers: https://secured.dailysignal.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Top News in 10, we cover:   President Trump is imposing more tariffs on goods coming into the U.S.  The president is imposing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum coming into the U.S. Hamas has accused Israel of violating its current ceasefire agreement, and becasue of this, Hamas says it will postpone the hostage release that was scheduled for this coming Saturday.  A third judge has blocked President Trump’s executive action to end automatic birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens.  Also on today’s show:  President Trump says that under his plan to revitalize Gaza, Palestinians would not return until the rebuilding was complete.  A new CBS News YouGov poll shows that Americans have a favorable view of President Trump just a few weeks into his second term.  Keep Up With The Daily SignalSign up for our email newsletters: https://www.dailysignal.com/email   Subscribe to our other shows: The Tony Kinnett Cast: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-tony-kinnett-cast Problematic Women: https://www.dailysignal.com/problematic-women The Signal Sitdown: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-signal-sitdown  Follow The Daily Signal: X: https://x.com/DailySignal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedailysignal/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDailySignalNews/ Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@DailySignal YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DailySignal Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TheDailySignal  Thanks for making The Daily Signal Podcast your trusted source for the day’s top news. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pat Harrigan, Congressman from North Carolina, and former Green Beret, shares his insights on military readiness and national security. He discusses the devastating implications of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, believing it has 'condemned' future generations to conflict. Harrigan emphasizes the need for strategic shifts in defense spending, highlights the importance of securing the southern border, and advocates for restoring benefits to military personnel affected by vaccine mandates. His passion for strengthening U.S. defense stems from years of service and a deep concern for future conflicts.

Victor Davis Hanson, a renowned historian and columnist, dives deep into the contentious U.S.-Mexico relationship. He dissects the troubling trade deficit exceeding $100 billion and the implications of Trump's past military deportation orders. Hanson raises concerns about cartel violence affecting American citizens and questions Mexico's role as a potential ally or adversary. He even suggests implementing a 20% tax on remittances to curb economic imbalances, calling for a reevaluation of NAFTA’s impact on both nations.

On today’s Top News in 10, we cover:   The White House issues a memo calling for the review of all the federal funds the U.S. sends to NGOs. The Prime Minister of Japan Ishiba was in Washington D.C. today and met with President Trump. The January jobs report is out. The U.S. added 143,000 jobs to the economy in January. The Labor Department also reports that the unemployment rate fell to 4%.  Also on today’s Show:  A search is underway for a small airplane in Alaska that has vanished. The Daily Signal’s Elizzabeth Mitchell reported today that Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy has introduced a bill to prevent passports from being used to promote “radical gender ideology.” Trump announced today that he is doing away with the paper straw push. Trump will be at the Superbowl on Sunday.  Links From Today’s Show:Keep Up With The Daily SignalSign up for our email newsletters: https://www.dailysignal.com/email   Subscribe to our other shows: The Tony Kinnett Cast: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-tony-kinnett-cast Problematic Women: https://www.dailysignal.com/problematic-women The Signal Sitdown: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-signal-sitdown  Follow The Daily Signal: X: https://x.com/DailySignal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedailysignal/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDailySignalNews/ Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@DailySignal YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DailySignal Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TheDailySignal  Thanks for making The Daily Signal Podcast your trusted source for the day’s top news. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump is not using tariffs for their historical purpose, which is to protect and promote domestic industry. Instead, Trump, as Victor Davis Hanson argues, is using tariffs to hold countries, like Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and China, accountable. And it’s working. On this edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” Hanson dispels the Left’s hysteria over President Trump’s tariff policies: “So, if you take Venezuela and Colombia, he's saying that ‘you people deliberately emptied your jails and you sent them to the United States—sent them being felons—violent felons. And you're not going to do that anymore’ And they said, ‘we're not taking them back’. He said, ‘you're going to take them back, or I'm going to put a tariff’. So, it was a lever of diplomacy, and it worked. They backed down completely.” For Victor’s latest thoughts, go to: https://victorhanson.com/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/channel/UCHqkXbgqrDrDVInBMSoGQgQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Top News in 10, we cover:  President Donald Trump’s speech to members of Congress and faith leaders at the National Prayer Breakfast. He promised to make America faithful again and signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to create a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias.”  Players from the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles who are speaking openly about their faith. Each team’s star quarterback—Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs and Jalen Hurts of the Eagles—spoke about the role of Jesus Christ in their own lives during Super Bowl media day.  The NCAA’s decision to comply with Trump’s executive order banning men from women and girls’ sports is already having an impact. The NCAA was ground zero for many of these controversies, sparking outrage from student athletes like swimmer Riley Gaines.  Plus, our quick hits:  Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers targeted multiple apartment complexes across Aurora, Colorado, but the operation netted only one member of the dangerous Tren de Aragua gang due to a suspected leak.  Democrats successfully delayed FBI director nominee Kash Patel’s confirmation until next week.  The Trump administration ousted members of the board that would hire Kari Lake to head up the Voice of America, potentially easing her appointment to the long-troubled international broadcasting agency.  Federal workers have a few more days to decide if they want to take the Trump administration’s buyout offer thanks to a judge’s ruling Thursday.  Keep Up With The Daily Signal  Sign up for our email newsletters: https://www.dailysignal.com/email  Subscribe to our other shows:  The Tony Kinnett Cast: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-tony-kinnett-cast Problematic Women: https://www.dailysignal.com/problematic-women The Signal Sitdown: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-signal-sitdown  Follow The Daily Signal:  X: https://x.com/DailySignal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedailysignal/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDailySignalNews/ Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@DailySignal YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DailySignal Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TheDailySignal  Thanks for making The Daily Signal Podcast your trusted source for the day’s top news. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“If you live by executive order, you can be canceled by executive order,” says Victor Davis Hanson on this edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” when talking about the Trump administration’s decision to restructure the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), originally created by President John F. Kennedy via executive order in 1961.“It's been released that they were subsidizing everything from trans festivities overseas to gay comic books. But what was very interesting was there was a $40 million-plus grant to the Wuhan virology lab and channeled, apparently, through EcoHealth, Peter Daszak’s organization. This is important because under testimony, we were under the impression that Anthony Fauci only had his hands on $600,000.” “At the very time the Democratic Party is polling, according to Quinnipiac—a very liberal polling organization—just 31% approval, a historical low—they all know what they have to do. And that is move to the center. But Donald Trump has moved so fast, and in so many untraditional ways, that their natural hysteria has overcome their sense of reality.” For Victor’s latest thoughts, go to: https://victorhanson.com/ 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/channel/UCHqkXbgqrDrDVInBMSoGQgQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices