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Join me now, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and author of "Dying Citizens," Victor David. Hanson, V-D-A, it's really good to have you on, my friend, right now. - Thank you. - Are we, with all this arraignment, Trump gets arrested? Have we become a Banana Republic? - We're well on our way. The weird thing about all this, Eric, is that it's so asymmetrical, so the people who are doing this never would imagine that a prosecutor in Utah or Appalachia or somewhere like that might wanna indict, for political reasons, a Democratic ex-president or a Democratic front runner in a primary. They just never think like that. And that's sad and tragic, 'cause I don't know how you get their attention other than to retaliate in kind. But if you do that, then you get into this cycle of Third Worldism, as we're in now. And it's very ironic, because if she really, if prosecutor Willis was really worried about election denialism and using the levers of government and public influence to have some kind of conspiracy to overturn a genuine balloting, then she would have gone after Stacey Abrams. She's in her own state. She canvassed the country, tried to drum up support to overturn the election. She was introduced as the real governor. She had people in the legislature protest and delay on her part to disrupt the balloting, and yet nothing. So we know it's ideologically driven. So Victor, with all this indictment of Trump and arrangements and arrests and mugshots and prints, a little research, and this is just unbelievably scary to me, that I now realize the way the system works. We elect prosecutors, so they're elected officials. They can't really be taken out unless they're impeached. So we like them, but there's no limit to what they can do. In other words, the grand jury is not necessary for Fonny Willis or anyone else to indict Trump or anyone else. So technically, a prosecutor can go after someone they don't like for whatever reason in the world. They might like the way they look. And there's no, they're not held to power. So go ahead. How do we fix this? And is there a fixable? - No, I think you're all right. I think most people believe that in a year or two, and I think the prosecutor, Willis included, this will be overturned on appeal, if not at the state level, at the federal level. But that's not the point. She's a politically driven prosecutor. So she thinks that she's going to tie up a candidate she disagrees with. In fact, she's raised money on this prosecution and her own efforts to be reelected district attorney. But the point is she's gonna tie up a political opponent and she's going to try to bankrupt him. And she's trying to, I guess we would use the word lawfare, but she's under no, she's not under any pretense that it's not political. She understands that, but it's a methodology to hurt a political candidate. And she understands that, but more importantly, she also understands that all of these prosecutors, James, Bragg, Willis, Smith are sending a message to America. And that is get on the right side of the ideological spectrum and you're not gonna be subject to this. Get on the wrong side and the administrative state and the court system which supersede transitory elections and majorities in the Congress are always going to be there. And they're gonna be hard on a Scooter Libby or Conrad Black or any notable conservative if they buck the system. So you better join us. And that's the way the left has always worked throughout history. Join us and it's in your advantages and don't be left out with the minority in the cold or you're gonna pay for it. So it sends us a sharp message and you can really see rhinos and independents and the conservative movement have made the necessary adjustments because they do not wanna be out there. And when you see those mug shots of all those people, the real message is the subtext is, do you wanna be in that gallery of indicted? You don't. So just get out of the process and let us handle. That's the message. - VDH, VDH. So a tiny document, a small document, the Constitution, has withstood the test of time. It's an incredible document. The Founding Fathers saw so many things in the future for where they saw the checks and balances needed between the three tiers of government, the three branches of government. Is this an error in the Constitution? Is this something that needs to be fixed? - No, the Founders understood that you had to have a virtuous citizenry for the Constitution to work because any system could be manipulated. And they would be very worried. We had an article in the New York Times where the left is actually saying they don't believe in elections anymore. And that's boilerplate leftism, that you turn over the country to a small group of self-appointed elites that feel they're morally and intellectually superior. And that's where we are right now. And all of us are in the majority. All of us independents, conservative, old-time Democrats are in the majority. They just control their levers of power. And we have to stand up according to our station and call them out on it all the time. Can't take this lying down. I think that they're very worried. I know that we're pessimistic right now, but they're very, very worried about the dissension and the pushback that's coming against woke, against these prosecutors. And I think it's coming. They're gonna be very surprised when it comes. - Well, yeah, the only way it comes isn't because there's a check and balance and you did things the wrong way and there wasn't evidence to indict. And you drained Rudy Giuliani of all of his money because you didn't like him 'cause he was a Trump supporter. There's none of that. It only happens at the ballot box. And folks, if you wanna know-- - It only happens at the ballot box. - If you wanna know, you don't just vote for your president and your senators or your mayor. Look who you're voting for with these prosecutors 'cause they can do things that you have no idea to control your lives if you're on the wrong side of their anger or opinion. It's nothing to do with evidence. Victor Davis Hanson, thank you so much.

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