By Jaz McKay

Lately I’ve seen a few “conservatives” attacking the idea of Trump’s tariffs and while listening to their online rambling it’s highly evident they’re issue really isn’t as much with the tariffs as much as it is with Trump himself. It’s so over the top one of them recently started calling anybody supportive of tariffs a socialist.

So is Victor Davis Hanson a socialist?

Victor Davis Hanson, a conservative historian and commentator, has been a vocal supporter of Donald Trump’s tariff policies as of early April 2025. Hanson argues that these tariffs are not traditional protectionist measures but strategic tools aimed at addressing long-standing trade imbalances, illegal immigration, and security threats like fentanyl smuggling. He frames Trump’s tariffs as a necessary response to decades of “asymmetrical tariffs” imposed by countries like China, Mexico, Canada, and the European Union, which he claims have exploited the U.S. economy while running massive trade surpluses. For instance, he points out that Canada has a $50 billion surplus with the U.S. and imposes tariffs as high as 250% on some American products, yet reacts with outrage when the U.S. reciprocates. Hanson also highlights how nations like China and India have thrived economically despite their own high tariffs, questioning why the U.S. shouldn’t use similar strategies to protect its interests.

Hanson dismisses the “hysteria” from Wall Street fat cats, neo-liberal economists and old, musty, outdated Trump hating, Republicans, who warn that tariffs will lead to higher consumer prices and economic downturns. He finds it ironic that critics blame tariffs for potential recessions when historical events like the Great Depression were driven by broader systemic failures, not tariffs alone. He also argues that Trump’s tariffs are more about diplomacy than economics—using them as leverage to force countries like Mexico to address issues such as cartel-driven fentanyl exports and illegal immigration. Hanson sees the tariffs as a way to support the working class by encouraging domestic manufacturing and job growth, contrasting this with what he describes as the Democrats’ alignment with the ultra-wealthy.

Hanson is all in on Trump’s tariff strategy, viewing it as a justified and long-overdue stand for American interests. So if tariffs are an Anti-American plot and Trump supporters are socialists, is Victor Davis Hanson a socialist?