Coming off the heels of an already highly partisan, controversial ballot initiative season, Golden State voters are again being presented a choice that will have ramifications for generations to come: The Billionaire Tax Act.

During the upcoming general election this fall, California voters will choose whether to impose a one-time 5% tax on residents with net worths over $1 billion, with the goal of raising over $100 billion. 

California Representative Ro Khanna, a purported 2028 presidential hopeful whose district includes the corporate headquarters of Silicon Valley’s elites, like Apple and Intel, has already endorsed the wealth tax.

Makes sense? No, not really. California’s roughly 200 billionaires,  “pay 47% of the taxes that go into the general fund.  And what we're doing here in California is we have decided that we need to make a hundred billion dollars, right? And the way to get to it is to create this tax on things that have not been sold yet. So the way to get to it is to do a one time 5% charge on the 200 earners in the state that pay the most in taxes already,” argues Daily Signal California Commentator Elaine Culotti.

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In war, dependable access to oil is as important as dependable access to kinetic arms. Access to ample reliable flows of oil represents a key strategic interest to the United States. 

Western Canada sends over 4 million barrels a day of heavy crude to American refiners. 

But now with access to the massive flows of Venezuelan crude following the Trump-led ousting of Nicolas Maduro last week, the U.S. may soon no longer need to rely on Canada for this vital strategic resource. 

For months, Canada used its vast reserve of natural resources as leverage in its tariff negotiations with the U.S.

Not anymore. 

“If the Monroe Doctrine warned Europeans to stay out of the Western Hemisphere and the Roosevelt Corollary established American intervention therein, then the ‘Trump Corollary’ has put a finer, and more economic point on the matter that’s best summed up in two words: America first,” argues Chief Heritage Foundation Economist E.J. Antoni for The Daily Signal on this special video commentary.

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**This episode was recorded before Victor Davis Hanson's December 30 medical operation**

Whether it’s some within the Minneapolis Somali community racking in millions of dollars from government grants for fraudulent businesses or severely unqualified illegal aliens obtaining commercial truck driving licenses, these groups were “categorized by officials as on the victimized, oppressed side of the lecture. And therefore, they were not completely audited. Because, if they had been audited, the cries of racism, nativism, etc., prejudice, bias would’ve been voiced. And people didn’t want to be exposed to that,” argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”

These non-meritocratic DEI recipients are thrown into a self-perpetuating system that encourages them to continuously engage in illegal activity as they will never face consequences for their actions.

When audits stop, deterrence dies—and corruption thrives.

(00:00) Introduction to DEI Issues

(00:56) Fraud and Exemptions in DEI

(02:39) The Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Victimization

(04:29) The Downfall of Meritocracy

(05:23) The Future of DEI

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Economic booms are usually defined by  “greater productivity,” increased foreign investment, “reasonable” interest rates, “energy production,” and “plentiful deregulation and tax cuts.” But will any of this happen in 2026?

Hanson predicts we’ll “see an economic bonanza” in 2026 as “there's going to be more oil,”  “ new technologies,” and “all sorts of tax cuts” and “more deregulation than we've ever seen” in the Big Beautiful Bill on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” 

“ Add it all up: We've had an unexpectedly—unexpectedly, unexpectedly—good third quarter. I imagine the fourth quarter might be just as good if it were not for the government shutdown—the longest in history—that occurred in the fourth quarter, but we'll see.  But more importantly: more foreign investment, more tax cuts, more deregulation, more energy development, lower interest, and I think you're gonna see an economic bonanza.”

00:34 Unexpected Economic Trends

01:18 Analyzing Trump’s Third Quarter Growth

02:56 Future Economic Predictions for 2026

04:43 Conclusion: Preparing for the Unexpected

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While Congress argues over whether it was “overreaching by the Trump administration” to capture Venezuela’s dictator Nicolás Maduro, it’s important to remember that Venezuela was “ not a free and open society” for the past two decades, reminds Daily Signal California Commentator Elaine Culotti.    

Culotti urges Californians to see Venezuela as a reminder to take their civic duty of voting seriously in the state’s upcoming elections.

“ If we don't vote differently, we can't change things. And the fact that we have the power to vote is such a miracle. It's such a freedom. It's such an honor to have the power to choose the people that you want to run your country, your state, your town, your school, your insurance, everything… We should be celebrating it every day, and we should be taking advantage of it.”

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Almost one year into his second term one thing is clear: President Donald Trump is neither an interventionist, nation-builder or an isolationist. Instead, Trump has seemingly adopted the foreign policy of President Andrew Jackson, guided by principles like “No better friend, no worse enemy.” 

However, Trump’s Jacksonian approach to the world stage comes with a slight twist, a “vise,” so to say, argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words”: 

“If Maduro cannot put embargoed oil on sanctioned tankers and get to Cuba, then Cuba's going to have no ability to distill gasoline, nor will it have energy. And that's exactly what is happening. The Cuban economy is in a Trump vise. Are we going to bomb Cuba? No. Are we going to have a Bay of Pigs standoff or invasion? No. Are we going to have a Cuban Missile Crisis with China? No. We're going to have a Trump vise. And it's going to squeeze.” 

00:00 Introduction to Trump's Foreign Policy

00:49 The Vise Policy Explained

01:57 Case Study: Iran and Venezuela

04:37 Impact on Cuba and the Monroe Doctrine

05:46 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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As the fifth anniversary of January 6 approaches, the Left’s carefully constructed narrative is starting to crack. 

On today’s episode of "Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words," Hanson explains how branding January 6 an “insurrection” drove impeachment efforts, investigations, and years of specifically framed media coverage. He also examines the arrest and confession of Brian Cole Jr., the alleged January 6 pipe bomber, and why the delayed investigation and lingering questions surrounding his background cast doubt on many of the conclusions Americans were first told to accept.

“To sum up everything we've been told about January 6th from the congressional committee to Kamala Harris' description of it, to comparisons with the four-month, $2 billion, 35 dead, 1,500 police officers, prior riots, arson attacks on courthouses, police precincts that was never really mentioned as a comparable crisis in the republic, all of these things, a number of FBI informants, a number of FBI agents, any effort to find the pipe bomber, the treatment of the January—it was all never transparent. We never got the honest story. So, that begs the question, why? Why didn't they just come out and say, "Here's all the information"? And the reason is, they wanted to cement a narrative in everybody's mind that a reckless demonstration that turned into a riot was a pre-planned insurrection by Donald Trump, who ordered it, and therefore, should forfeit his political career, and he should never be allowed to run for office.”

(0:00) The January 6th Narrative

(1:40) Inconsistencies in the Investigation

(2:20) The Mysterious Pipe Bomber

(3:49) Media and Political Reactions

(5:05) FBI Informants and Undercover Agents

(7:02) Summarizing the January 6th Events

(8:47) Conclusion

👉 This episode is sponsored by the Pepperdine School of Public Policy. Learn more: ⁠https://go.pepperdine.edu/dailysignal⁠

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*This content was recorded by Victor Davis Hanson prior to his Dec. 30 medical operation.

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It’s been one year since California’s Pacific Palisades fires, and “not enough has happened” to rebuild communities. “Mayors and towns are struggling” to get Sacramento to help rebuild these communities as was promised.

Elaine Culotti, known as the “Lipstick Farmer,” discusses the aftermath of the Pacific Palisades fires in her first podcast episode for The Daily Signal.

“These are real people that lost everything and have absolutely no one to turn to for help. Nothing has happened ... Our governor is absolutely nowhere to be seen. I have not seen him in the Pacific Palisades since a few days after the fires ... We have been absolutely left to fend for ourselves.”

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Western civilization is being tested like never before.

Victor Davis Hanson argues to the contrary, saying that while much of Western Europe and America’s blue states continue down a failing path, signs of renewal are emerging in unexpected places—Eastern Europe and America’s red states. These countermovements are pushing back against cultural nihilism, restoring free speech, reinforcing the nuclear family, and demanding legal immigration with full assimilation. He breaks down these emerging trends on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

“’It’s a verdict for the future of Western civilization. We've had the revolution for 50 years, but we haven't seen a counterrevolution to the degree that's taking place. Western European elites in the former British Commonwealth and blue state elites all are very critical of the Yahoos in Eastern Europe and the Yahoos in the red states. But only for a while because their paradigm is collapsing as we speak. And the people who are gonna save Europe are the people who they thought they were embarrassed of. It's quite ironic, but it's also a hopeful time for Western civilization.”

(0:00) Introduction

We need your help to ensure The Daily Signal can continue to counter the liberal media's lies with the truth.

Support The Daily Signal’s work today by becoming a Signal Elite Supporter. 

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*This content was recorded by Victor Davis Hanson prior to his Dec. 30 medical operation.

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Many political viewers in Virginia were gearing up to watch the 2026 U.S. Senate race between State Senator Bryce Reeves and long-time incumbent Sen. Mark Warner. However, the week began with news that Reeves was pulling out of the race to focus on the health of a loved one.

On the plus-side, he will remain in the Virginia Senate.

We sit down with Reeves to talk about what brought him to step out of the contest, what happens next, and what will happen in January when the General Assembly convenes.

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