Victor Davis Hanson: Secessionist Democrats Need a Constitutional Lesson

The Daily Signal

News, Government, Politics, Daily News

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Last month, former Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi suggested that local and state authorities in California, a sanctuary state, could arrest federal agents for enforcing federal immigration law, saying that while “the president may enjoy absolute immunity courtesy of his rogue Supreme Court, those who operate under his orders do not.” The former speaker, as well as other mayors and governors who see fit to nullify federal law, should take a moment and reread the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which “details that local state authorities are subject to treaties and the laws that the federal government makes. And, therefore, pursuant to those laws, they are subordinate,” argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “We know in 1961-63, we had another attempt to nullify the supremacy clause. Southern governors in Mississippi and Arkansas and Alabama said, 'Federal law does not apply here. The Supreme Court ruling does not apply here. In our opinion, we can run our schools the way local people want. And we're gonna resist you.' The Eisenhower, and then later the Kennedy administration, said, 'No, you're not. We have the federal government's military, and we can federalize and hold you in contempt and arrest you because of the supremacy clause.'" 👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest short videos 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 Also on Spotify: https://megaphone.link/THEDAILYSIGNAL9753340027 👉Want more VDH? Watch Victor’s weekly, hour-long podcast, “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” now! Subscribe to his YouTube channel, and enable notifications: https://www.youtube.com/@victordavishanson7273?sub_confirmation=1 👉More exclusive content is available on Victor’s website: https://victorhanson.com 👉The Daily Signal cannot continue to tell stories, like this one, without the support of our viewers: ⁠https://secured.dailysignal.com/⁠ (00:00) Introduction and Overview (00:59) Local Authorities vs. Federal Law (03:23) Historical Context of Federal Supremacy (04:57) Potential Consequences of Defying Federal Law (07:38) Conclusion and Final Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Nancy Pelosi was going to warn federal ICE agents.
0:04.0	If they acted improper, then she would order their arrest.
0:08.0	Mayor Brandon Johnson said that he was going to actively oppose the enforcement of federal law within Chicago.
0:16.0	Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other city and county authorities are going to work on apps and mechanisms by which
0:23.5	anybody would have prior notice of the location of ICE officers. Mayor Zoran Mandani said that he is
0:32.3	going to sever the relationship between the city of New York and federal jurisdiction and authority.
0:38.2	I suggest that all of these entities, authorities, mayors, governors read Article 6 of the Constitution,
0:45.7	especially the paragraph known as the Supremacy Clause. Hello, this is Victor Davis-Hansson for the Daily Signal.
1:03.2	Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House, Congresswoman from the Bay Area in California,
1:10.2	just said that she was going to warn federal ICE agents
1:14.4	that if, in the opinion of state authorities, they acted in the way the state felt was improper,
1:23.5	then she would order their arrest. Mayor Brandon Johnson said that he was going to actively oppose the enforcement of federal law
1:33.3	within his jurisdiction in Chicago.
1:36.3	ICE, as we remember, two weeks ago were blockaded under siege and local Chicago law enforcement, which was requested by ICE to help them get out from being surrounded by these Antifa-like protesters,
1:53.0	refused to come to their aid.
1:56.0	Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other Los Angeles City and County authorities have proudly announced
2:02.6	that they are going to work on electronic apps and mechanisms by which anybody who is here
2:09.6	illegally, illegally, would have prior notice of the location of ICE officers, where they were headed, and therefore could
2:22.7	evade federal apprehension.
2:25.9	J.B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, on numerous occasions, has characterized these federal
2:32.2	officers as Gestapo, Nazis, and they are acting in his
2:37.3	view illegally and will be held to account by his state authorities. Mayor Zoran Mandani
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 3 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Daily Signal, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Daily Signal and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.