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Why attack Iran? Why reaffirm America’s dominance in Panama? Why capture Nicolás Maduro? Trump has scores to settle. 

There’s a general pattern in the preemptive actions President Trump’s taken in both his terms in office.

 

A central theme to all his actions is that they’re geostrategic and top-down, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

 

“Pressuring the Panamanians to divorce themselves from China. Making sure the Venezuelan oil does not go to Russia or China by changing the government and capturing Maduro. Things like that suggest that the current Iranian operation has targeted China. … You're starting to see a pattern. These are wars of reckoning.”

(00:00) Trump Way of War

(02:12) Wars of Reckoning

(03:37) Negotiations and Decapitation

(04:57) No Nation Building

(09:26) Results and Wrap Up

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President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address “was more of a variety show” than an address.

By highlighting various “tragic cases,” Trump showed Americans two things: “We’re a wonderful patriotic country,” and Democrats’ policies caused some of the tragedies, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

“They [Democrats] wouldn't stand for any applause, no matter what the topic was, or no matter whether they agreed with it. …  They were all a disaster, to be quite frank.”

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00:00 SOTU Or Variety Show

01:30 Economy Bullet Points

03:24 Democrats Boycott Backfires

05:49 Polls And Party Optics07:26 Closing Takeaways And 2026
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Less than one week since the initiation of Operation Epic Fury, and nearly everyone is wondering: What will be the domestic reaction to America’s war in Iran? 

With this being the second time the U.S. has gone into Iran, something needs to change so a third time never happens.

“It would behoove Donald Trump to find a magical solution” and remove Iran’s “theocratic government,” replacing it with “a benevolent government,” explains Victor Davis Hanson on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

“ If we get stuck in a quagmire where we have to have ground troops and we get into the hundreds of American dead, it'll be a disaster for the Republican Party in the midterms.”

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00:00 War Day Four Update

01:08 Ideal Endgame for Iran

02:47 Iran’s Limits and U.S. Leverage

05:54 Global Reactions and Great Powers

09:07 U.S. Politics and Who Governs Next
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Susan Rice, former U.N. ambassador and national security advisor under Obama, made some very threatening statements directed toward Republicans and business elites on a recent podcast episode. 

 

On “Stay Tuned with Preet Bharara,” Rice said she wanted Trump supporters to know that the Left won’t forget if they’ve allowed Donald Trump “to bully” them in their respective academic, corporate, or institutional worlds.

 

Victor Davis Hanson breaks down Rice’s comments on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words” and explains why nothing she, and her fellow Democrats, say can hurt the U.S. president and his supporters at this point.

 

“Your entire career of the Democratic Party—your career, Hillary Clinton's career, Barack Obama—has been to destroy Donald Trump. So we don't need lectures on retribution. You've already tried to practice retribution against Trump. And I don't think you're going to be in a position of power necessarily in the Congress in 2026, and I have a pretty good idea you won't come back to power in 2028.”



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As President Donald Trump positions “the largest naval and air forces” off Iran’s coast that the U.S. has “seen since the invasion of Iraq in 2003,” he has some pros and cons to weigh about striking the Middle Eastern country. 



The U.S. isn’t in a war with Iran right now, so Trump’s positioning of forces could be for “either a preventive war, long-term threat, or a preemptive war,” explains Victor Davis Hanson on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”



“It’s very controversial, and we don’t know whether he’s going to pull the trigger or not ... He’ll have to make the decision pretty quickly because you can’t just take those many naval assets and stick them halfway across the world ... The window is probably about another six weeks.”
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