Victor Davis Hanson: The World Is Becoming More Pro-American Than It Has Been in Years
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
• July 14, 2026
Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for the Daily Signal.
The world that we’re looking at today is radically different than that of just five years ago,radically different in the sense that it is much more in the interest of the United States.
And I know that seems controversial because [President Donald] Trump is written off as someone who is too fluid and volatile.
His tweets, his verbiage, can put people off, but that’s the art-of-the-deal unpredictability of his nature. Some of it can be a drawback, some of it an advantage, but overall, it doesn’t help analysis to just look at what he says. It’s more important to see what he’s done.
Let’s go through the world abroad as it is today systematically.
Look at Latin America. Five years ago, the Chinese were controlling, through their surrogate companies, the entry and exit to Panama. Russia and China were the de facto rulers of Venezuela, with the second-largest oil reserves in the world. A slew of communist governments had taken over South America. Cuba was still defiant.
(https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/07/14/world-trump-pro-american/
Victor Davis Hanson: The World Is Becoming More Pro-American Than It Has Been in Years
12:16
https://youtu.be/BtkMmdd-I8g
The world is in a far different position than it was just five years ago.
Across Latin America, governments are becoming more aligned with the United States while Chinese influence continues to recede.
Europe is dramatically increasing defense spending, strengthening its borders, and rethinking energy policies after years of dependence and underinvestment. Russia is weaker economically and militarily, Iran has suffered devastating losses to its military and nuclear infrastructure, and China faces growing economic and strategic challenges as its global ambitions encounter new obstacles.
Many of these changes stem from Donald Trump's willingness to abandon traditional diplomacy in favor of an unpredictable negotiating style that pressured both allies and adversaries. NATO members are committing more resources to their own defense, America's strategic position has strengthened across multiple regions, and longtime rivals face greater economic and military pressure than they did just a few years ago. Whether history ultimately judges Trump's approach favorably remains to be seen, but the global balance of power has shifted in ways that increasingly favor the United States.