Victor Davis Hanson’s 2019 The Case for Trump reads today like a time capsule from an alternate reality—a desperate attempt to spin Donald Trump’s chaotic reign into some grand conservative revival. Let’s be damn clear: this book isn’t analysis. It’s apologetics. Hanson, bends over backward to paint Trump as a modern-day Cincinnatus, a reluctant hero saving America from elites. But six years later, with Trump back in office and burning every conservative principle to the ground, Hanson’s arguments crumble like ash. 😤 Why should anyone care about this book now? Because it’s a case study in how intellectual dishonesty fuels cults of personality—and we’re living with the consequences.
The book hinges on the idea that Trump’s style—the crudeness, the bullying, the relentless self-aggrandizement—was a necessary evil to achieve conservative substance. Hanson dismisses concerns about Trump’s moral failings, arguing that policy wins matter more than character. Seriously? Since when do Christians divorce ethics from outcomes? Proverbs screams that “righteousness exalts a nation,” yet Hanson shrugs off Trump’s indecency as irrelevant. Now, in 2025, we see where that logic leads: a president who slaps idiotic tariffs on allies, destabilizes global markets, and cozies up to Putin while Ukraine burns. This isn’t “disruption”—it’s demolition. And Hanson’s book laid the groundwork for excusing it all.
Let’s gut his central thesis: that Trump’s “America First” agenda realigned politics with working-class interests. Hanson waxes poetic about tariffs and immigration crackdowns, framing them as populist triumphs. But what’s “populist” about gutting farm exports with trade wars, leaving rural communities bankrupt? Or siding with dictators who laugh as they manipulate him? Trump’s “negotiating genius” has morphed into a toxic cocktail of impulsivity and ego, leaving our economy in freefall. Hanson’s glowing praise for Trump’s “deal-making” reads like a bad joke today. Where’s the conservatism in burning bridges with NATO, or letting Russia dictate foreign policy? It’s not strength—it’s recklessness.
Worse, Hanson glosses over Trump’s obsession with centralized power. Conservatism used to mean decentralizing authority, limiting government overreach. But Trump? He’s all about the imperial presidency—punishing critics, strong-arming institutions, and treating the Constitution like a suggestion. Hanson handwaves this, arguing Trump’s “disruption” was needed to dismantle the administrative state. Really? Now we’ve got a president who thinks he’s the state. His recent executive orders—ramming through tariffs without Congress, threatening to nationalize industries that defy him—are pure authoritarianism. This isn’t small government; it’s a damn Leviathan.
And let’s talk plutocracy. Hanson barely touches Trump’s cronyism, his Cabinet of billionaires, or his family’s blatant self-enrichment. Conservatism condemns graft. But Trump’s White House turned nepotism and backroom deals into an art form. Now, in his second term, it’s worse: tax breaks for Mar-a-Lago pals, contracts funneled to loyalists, and a Cabinet full of yes-men who’d sell their souls to stay in favor. Hanson’s silence on this rot is deafening. How can you champion “the common man” while ignoring a leader who worships wealth and power?
The book’s most nauseating flaw? Its treatment of Trump’s cult of personality. Hanson frames the adoration as a natural response to Trump’s “authenticity.” But since when do conservatives celebrate blind loyalty? Trump demands fealty, not debate. He’s purged the GOP of dissenters, replacing principled leaders with sycophants. And Hanson’s just… okay with that? This isn’t conservatism; it’s a damn monarchy. The man who called the press “enemies of the people” now muzzles agencies that contradict him. Hanson’s shrug—“Hey, politics is rough”—betrays every value conservatives claim to hold.
What’s wild is how Hanson ignores Trump’s disdain for Christian values. The Bible preaches humility, service, and truth. Trump embodies none of these. Yet the book treats evangelical support as a given, reducing faith to a political prop. Fast-forward to 2025: Trump’s using churches as photo ops while his policies shred social safety nets and enrich the already-wealthy. How’s that “defending religious liberty”? It’s a con—one Hanson helped perpetuate.
The woke left’s virtue signaling? Yeah, it’s insufferable. But Trump’s brand of transactional, might-makes-right governance isn’t the answer. Hanson’s book tries to sell him as the lesser evil, but what’s the difference between a mob screaming “social justice” and a mob chanting “Trump forever”? Both demand mindless obedience. Both erase nuance. And both leave conservatism—real conservatism—in the dirt.
Hanson spends pages cherry-picking Trump’s first-term “wins,” like judiciary appointments or deregulation. But at what cost? The GOP is now a Trumpian personality cult, not a party of ideas. Conservative principles—fiscal responsibility, moral clarity, checks and balances—are corpses in the road. And for what? A handful of policy crumbs?
So here’s the question: does this book hold up? Or is it just a monument to bad faith? When you compare Hanson’s rosy projections to the carnage of 2025, the answer’s obvious. This isn’t a defense of conservatism. It’s a surrender. 😡
