Episode
In the Age of Trump and Biden, Victor Davis Hanson Is Wrong About Third Parties
- Published
- Aug 28, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 7527
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Summary
Victor Davis Hanson is one of my favorite historians and commentators. I have read and listened to his words for years. He is also wrong about third parties when he said they do harm. In this episode, I will explain in detail why that is. On August 11, 2026, Victor Davis Hanson sat down with Jack Fowler and made two arguments about the ten-point platform that came out of the gathering at Tucker Carlson’s home in Maine. The first was that third parties never win and only harm the party closest to them. The second was that the people behind this one are acting out of personal injury rather than principle. He is a better writer and a better storyteller than almost anyone working in this line, and he is an advocate of liberty, which is precisely why this episode exists. An argument from someone whose commitments I largely share is the kind worth two hours of work and I reason I step out of my comfort zone and record a what is a very rare occurrence on this podcast, a reaction video.I believe strongly in the value of minor parties and ensuring the coalitions built have a representation of your ideas and ideals. This message is missed in the episode I am responding to so I want to fill in the gaps and let users also understand the math of what it really means to “waste your vote” because it is not what you think. We also go through the record the rule promised: the debt at forty trillion dollars, crossed on August 18. A tax bill scored against a baseline that made permanence free by assumption. A tariff program the Supreme Court held in Learning Resources v. Trump that the statute did not authorize, rebuilt the same afternoon on a different delegation. A war powers resolution that advanced 52 to 47 and was then kept off the floor on a point of order broken by the vice presid…