The Left’s Embrace of Racism Is Backfiring

Victor Davis Hanson exposes how racism became a political weapon—and warns Democrats that the backlash will be fierce, led by the very voters they claim to represent.

Victor Davis Hanson didn’t dance around it.

He opened by acknowledging that the topic he was about to raise was sensitive—but necessary.

“I'd like to talk about a more sensitive topic today,” he said.

“And that's this new appearance—or this growing, I would call it—reverse racism, or a racism that exists among some left-wing, elite Black leaders, politicians, celebrities.”

He made it clear this wasn’t a general accusation.

It was about a troubling pattern he’s seen at the highest levels of politics, media, and culture.

And he came prepared with receipts.

The first involved Susan Rice, former National Security Advisor under Obama, who was later appointed to the Defense Policy Board by President Biden.

When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed her, Hanson said it was nothing out of the ordinary.

“That’s a group of grandees that advised the Defense Department,” he explained.

“They’re political appointments. And traditionally, when a new president comes in, they get rid of most of the prior Defense Policy Board because they feel they're partisans.”

In Rice’s case, she was one of the final additions under Biden.

Her dismissal, Hanson argued, followed the same pattern as every other administration. But Rice didn’t frame it that way.

“She fired back at him and said he was dumb as a rock, an ultra-MAGA figure,” he noted.

“But what was interesting was, she said, ‘White male, cisgender.’”

Instead of debating policy or qualifications, the response became personal—and racial.

“In other words, she attacked his race,” Hanson said.

“She said her administration would have fired him, for this Signal—scandal.”

But for Hanson, the irony was hard to ignore.

Rice herself had been at the center of one of the most controversial moments of the Obama years.

“She was the one that came out on Sunday talk shows and lied five times about the disaster in Benghazi, among other things,” he reminded.

“So why inject race into it?”

That question—why inject race—became a recurring theme.

Hanson brought up another recent case involving a small group of Afrikaner families from South Africa.

Facing documented racial violence, they sought refuge in the United States. Only about 60 were admitted.

“They felt they had been endangered by Black-on-White violence, which is demonstrable and beyond controversy in South Africa,” Hanson said.

The numbers were small. The process followed the same refugee protocols used by past administrations.

But the outrage was loud.

“The Episcopalian Church said they were no longer going to help with refugees because this was racist,” he recalled.

“Don Lemon went on a profanity-ridden rant about how this is horrible, that these white people were coming in. This is disgusting. You shouldn't be able to do that.”

For a party that often champions immigration and refugee rights, the reaction felt inconsistent.

Hanson believes the issue wasn’t about policy—it was about skin color.

The pattern continued with recent comments from Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat who many consider a rising star.

In a public appearance, she referred to the possibility of the party having to nominate “White boys.”

“That’s a deprecated term that has racial implications,” Hanson said.

“Remember Joe Biden called two of his aides who are African American ‘boy’—that’s a very prejudicial term to use.”

In this case, Hanson said, the term was used in reverse—demeaning White candidates in a way that would be condemned if the roles were flipped.

And Crockett wasn’t the only one.

“At the same time, she was doing that, another tape surfaced from Ilhan Omar, where she said White men were the most likely terrorists and killers in America.”

Hanson didn’t mince words: “That’s demonstrably untrue.”

He wasn’t just pointing out hypocrisy—he was identifying a dangerous shift.

The language of division, he argued, was being normalized by powerful voices within the Democrat Party itself.

That shift, he said, betrays the very principles civil rights leaders once fought for. “So what am I getting at?” Hanson asked.

“I'm getting at the elite—the elite in politics, in celebrities—are using this idea of White, White, White, white in a prejudicial manner.”

He continued, “It's very ironic, because it's exactly what we were evolving away from in pursuit of Martin Luther King's content of our character, not color of our skin.”

To Hanson, what’s most troubling isn’t just the rhetoric—it’s the underlying belief that prejudice is somehow acceptable, as long as it targets the right group.

“Apparently they believe because they're African Americans or they’re left-wing, that it's okay to stigmatize somebody by their race. But of course it’s not.”

That’s when Hanson sounded the alarm, and the numbers speak for themselves.

If elite figures think this messaging is resonating with the public, Hanson believes they’re misreading the moment.

He pointed to fresh polling data that shows the base is shifting—and fast.

“Lately, the Rasmussen polls—who have been very accurate—they were in the 2024 election, and they are now, they surveyed the first 100 days of the Trump administration,” he said.

“And they found that, contrary to most of the what, candidly are left-wing polls, that Donald Trump had a positive appraisal by most people.”

But the real surprise came from the breakdown.

“62% of those who were surveyed that were Hispanic expressed approval. African-Americans were about 39%. And Hispanics were higher than Whites.”

It’s a trend Hanson sees accelerating, and he believes the reasons are practical.

“You have two centrifugal forces at a time when African Americans and Hispanics are considering economics, cost of living, real issues,” he explained.

“And they consider them more important than their superficial appearance.”

He argued that while progressive elites focus on symbolism and identity, everyday Americans are focused on outcomes—crime, income, opportunity.

“Diversity and equity inclusion did not help the inner city. It didn’t stop the crime rate. It didn’t increase the per capita income,” he said. “It did help a professional class.”

And that disconnect, he warned, could come at a MASSIVE cost.

“While the professional class is obsessed with race, chasing white racist unicorns, the majority of the Hispanic community and a near majority of the Black community have moved beyond the elite.”

Hanson’s final prediction was blunt:

“This is going to have political repercussions in the future, because the Democratic Party—the more they pound this tired, weary racial mantra—the more of their constituents they think they're appealing to are moving on.”

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