Victor Davis Hanson: Trump, Beware—These ‘Unforced Errors’ Could Hand Democrats a Midterm Win

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Feb 13, 2026

A tight countdown to the midterms and the narrow path to victory. How avoidable missteps and tone-deaf moments could cost key swing voters. Racial optics and viral memes as political landmines. Historical midterm patterns and what it takes to buck them. Fundraising dynamics, billionaire backlash, and foreign-policy wildcards that could reshape the map.

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INSIGHT

Narrow Path Over A Precipice

Victor Davis Hanson warns a narrow path exists to retain the Republican Congress and avoid a political 'precipice.'
He stresses that avoiding unforced errors is crucial to hold the constituencies that won 2024.

ADVICE

Stop Messaging Mistakes Immediately

Avoid unforced errors and offensive social-media posts that alienate independents and key demographics.
Institute centralized review of public social content to prevent messaging mistakes before they cost votes.

INSIGHT

Gaffes Cost Independents And Minorities

Hanson links offensive imagery and remarks to losing independents and wasting campaign time on damage control.
He argues such gaffes risk alienating black and Hispanic male voters and swing voters needed to break history's midterm trend.

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With only nine months until the midterm elections, Democrats will scrutinize every move President Donald Trump takes as they fight to reclaim control of the House and the Senate.

Victor Davis Hanson lays out the narrow road ahead to victory for Trump and the GOP during the 2026 midterm elections. History is not on the incumbent’s side. Messaging mistakes and unforced errors could shift key voters and hand Congress back to Democrats. Hanson explains what it will take to hold a Republican majority—and why the stakes for these midterm elections could not be higher—on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words."

“There's another advantage that Trump has. They've raised, I think, $90 to $100 million. They've out-raised the Left by three or four times. And the billionaire class of Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, not to mention Marc Andreessen or Elon Musk, they have defected and it's really hurting the Democrats.

“What they're looking at in California with this billionaire's tax, you can be a billionaire and have property and investments, homes, but you might only have, I don't know, $100 million. They're gonna take $50 million from you on your aggregate worth. That's not gonna go over well with the billionaire class. And there, that's just a foretaste of what Kamala Harris will do if she has a Democratic Congress.”

(0:00) Midterms Ahead
(2:04) Unforced Errors
(4:34) Incumbents Usually Lose Seats
(5:35) What’s Working
(9:11) Outraging Democrats
(10:08) Known Unknowns
(10:55) Final Playbook

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