VDH: California’s Peak Dystopia, LA’s Mayoral Chaos, and New York’s Toxic Empathy

Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words

Jennifer Hayne

News Commentary, News

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2026

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Rhamell Burke, a repeat criminal, attacked and later stalked two women on the New York City subway last April. Though police stopped Burke from harassing the women any further, the victims ultimately decided not to cooperate with prosecutors, with one woman telling the New York Post later, “maybe a part of me was just like, I don’t want to put another black man in jail.” It was a decision she ultimately regretted after Burke, about one month later, allegedly pushed a retired school teacher onto the subway tracks, leading to the 76-year-old’s death. “ Well, I mean, it's toxic empathy, isn't it—that it gets people killed. It serves the ego of the so-called enlightened, but the consequences fall on people that can't defend themselves,” argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words. ALSO: Victor Davis Hanson and Jack Fowler reflect on California’s decline, highlighting Los Angeles mayoral debate fallout as Karen Bass withdraws and Nithya Raman reverses on defunding police while Spencer Pratt gains traction. Hanson ties LA’s disorder, wildfire failures, DEI-driven omissions, and Gavin Newsom’s long record in office to outmigration and fiscal strain, noting California’s $503B adjusted gross income loss and a projected $15–$20B deficit amid fraud and welfare concerns. They discuss New York’s subway killing by a repeat offender, arguing “toxic empathy” and lax enforcement endanger the public. Hanson predicts communities will form local “cocoons,” rebukes AOC’s claims about billionaires and America’s founding, and assesses Trump’s China trip and leverage amid the Iran war and shifting geopolitics. WHERE TO WATCH: 👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest editions of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words” by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1 👉 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2iOoN0xoOoSNvDFlpLLYGY?si=5a9f369acc874c6e 👉 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/victor-davis-hanson-in-his-own-words/id1566731706 👉 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@victordavishanson7273?sub_confirmation=1 👉 Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/VictorDavisHansonInHisOwnWords?e9s=src_v1_sa%2Csrc_v1_sa_o 👉 Victor’s website: https://victorhanson.com PROMOTIONS: 👉If Victor Davis Hanson is must-watch for you, The Signal Sitdown belongs in your feed. Bradley Devlin delivers long-form conversations on Washington’s biggest fights—from an unapologetically conservative perspective. Subscribe now!https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1 👉Watch The Tony Kinnett Cast NOW! LIVE weekdays at The Daily Signal and wherever you get podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjMHBev3NsoV3kHckydY58R7TaYsizl45v 👉America is worth preserving. Do your part and act now by going to https://www.heritage.org/beautiful 👉Face the decisions our founders grappled with in Revolutionary America, a Hillsdale Studios film. Only in theatres May 31 - June 2. Get your tickets now by going to hillsdale.edu/revolution 👉 #1 Water Filtration System.Recommended by Victor Davis Hanson: https://www.covepure.com/vdh 👉Protect women’s sports from biological reality denial at JoinADF.com/HANSON or Text HANSON to 83848 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Some follow the noise.
0:03.3	Bloomberg follows the money.
0:05.4	Because behind every headline is a bottom line.
0:09.3	Whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings,
0:13.8	there's a money side to every story.
0:16.5	And when you see the money side, you understand what others miss.
0:20.9	Get the money side of the story.
0:22.9	Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com.
0:27.7	I've had this question asked of me 500 times in the last 30 years.
0:32.7	Somebody comes up and says,
0:33.7	well, you work at Stanford, but why do you live in southwest Fresno County?
0:38.0	And I always say, why not? That's where I grew up. My point I'm making was that they were just
0:42.7	amazed that somebody would ever not want to live in Palo Alto where they were.
0:47.0	Karen Bass has announced she's withdrawing from the next mayoral debate.
0:53.2	But I think she got her, you know, her heaney cake.
0:57.0	$503 billion of adjusted gross income.
1:01.9	California has lost to the rest of America.
1:05.0	Yeah, well, if you look at the income tax rate is 13.3.
1:08.5	So I don't know how much of that was taxed at California capital gains rather than income,
1:13.6	but just for the sake of argument, if it was taxed at income level, it could be over $50 billion
1:19.6	dollars they're going to lose out of their revenues. Gavin is already running a projected $15 20 billion dollar deficit.
1:27.8	And we're having scandal after scandal in Los Angeles.
	...

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