DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Victor Davis Hanson said Monday on Fox News that former President Donald Trump “terrifies” the “out-of-touch wealthy elite” because they lack compassion and understanding of the average American’s concerns.
Hanson argued that Trump has redefined the Republican Party by recasting it as a coalition of upper-middle and lower-middle class citizens, leaving both traditional Republicans and Democrats scrambling to respond.
Hanson reflected on Trump’s ability to energize his base by shifting the GOP’s focus from the elite class to a broad cross-section of American workers.
“Trump is really saying you’re right about FDR. He said the only thing you have to fear is fear itself. There’s no limitation on what we can do. We can secure the border. Don’t worry about being ostracized or doxed or criticized or called all these names,” Hanson told Fox host Laura Ingraham. “We can reduce crime. We can refashion our foreign policy. And everything’s possible. And we’re no longer just going to be stereotyped as an elitist party of wealthy white people and the Republicans that play golf.”
While the GOP has long been painted as the party of “wealthy white people” and golf-playing elites, Hanson says, Trump has inverted that image by replacing race with a focus on class.
“That wasn’t a fair stereotype, but that’s what it was. He’s replaced race with class. And he said we’re an upper-middle and lower-middle class party, and everybody’s invited, and that’s why it terrifies the old, never-Trump elite on the Republican side,” Hanson continued. “They don’t like that. Neither does the Left. And more importantly, when he created this new movement, this new Republican Party, he showed what the Left has become in their anger and their fury and their frenzy.”
Hanson suggested that Trump’s populist coalition reveals the cracks in the Democratic establishment, which he characterizes as increasingly out of touch with middle-class America.
“They’re really a party of the out-of-touch wealthy elite. That’s who the Obamas are, the Clintons are, the Harrises are, the Silicon Valley people. They’re really furious about this, because they’ve been shown to be emperors without any clothes,” Hanson added. “They really only care about themselves and these esoteric, elite agendas that destroy the middle class, of which they have no compassion.”
Reflecting on the intense political attacks against Trump, Hanson sees this as an indication of deep-seated panic among the political elite.
“So, we’re at the end of a decadelong story. The Russian collusion, Russian disinformation, lawfare, get him off the ballot, two assassination attempts,” Hanson concluded. “And what are they left with? All they’re left with is he’s Hitler. He’s a fascist, he’s a Nazi.”
Vice President Kamala Harris called Trump a fascist on Oct. 23 at a CNN town hall, citing warnings from Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, about the dangers of a potential second term. The Trump campaign has denied the claims.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that President Joe Biden concurs with Kelly’s assessment that Trump is a fascist, as reported by The New York Times.
Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation
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