ll.The Collapse of the Democratic Party and Its Consequences for America’s Middle Class
In recent years, historian and political commentator Victor Davis Hanson has argued that the Democratic Party is undergoing a profound collapse—one that, if not reversed, could bring devastating consequences for the
Hanson traces this shift to the Democratic embrace of globalization and technocratic economics. For decades, party leaders supported trade deals and environmental policies that encouraged the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs and the decline of industrial communities. While global corporations, Wall Street financiers, and Silicon Valley innovators profited immensely, traditional working- and middle-class Americans—especially those in the Midwest and South—saw their livelihoods evaporate. Hanson argues that the party’s new priorities created a “two-tiered America,” one in which elites thrive on information and finance, while millions of workers face economic insecurity and social decay.
Compounding this divide, Hanson believes, is the party’s growing commitment to identity politics and cultural radicalism. Rather than uniting Americans around shared values of citizenship and hard work, the Democratic Party increasingly emphasizes race, gender, and sexuality as the primary markers of social identity. In Hanson’s view, this shift alienates the middle class, which values stability, meritocracy, and community over ideological crusades. He warns that the obsession with “diversity, equity, and inclusion” has replaced practical governance with moral signaling, further eroding trust between ordinary citizens and political elites.
Immigration policy, too, serves as a flashpoint in Hanson’s analysis. He argues that the Democrats’ support for open borders and mass immigration has driven down wages for low- and middle-income workers while straining public resources such as housing, healthcare, and education. The traditional Democratic voter—the construction worker, factory employee, or small business owner—now finds himself competing with an influx of cheap labor, while party leaders dismiss his concerns as xenophobic or outdated. This, Hanson claims, represents a fundamental betrayal of the middle-class social contract.
The collapse of the Democratic Party, Hanson concludes, is not merely a partisan event but a national crisis. Without a major party championing middle-class interests—affordable energy, domestic industry, strong families, and secure borders—the economic and cultural foundations of America could unravel. Inflation, housing shortages, and rising crime rates are symptoms, he says, of a deeper sickness: the abandonment of common sense and working-class values in favor of elite ideology.
Ultimately, Hanson’s warning is both historical and moral. Great civilizations, he reminds us, collapse not because they are conquered from without, but because they rot from within. If the Democratic Party continues down its current path—favoring globalism over nationalism, ideology over pragmatism, and elites over the everyday citizen—the
Trump removes Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from office, citing fraud allegations
President Donald Trump ousted Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Monday, alleging she lied on mortgage forms by declaring two primary residences.
In a letter to Cook, Trump said the Federal Reserve Act provides that she can be removed at his discretion.
"As set forth in the Criminal Referral dated August 15, 2025, from Mr. William J. Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to Ms. Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States…there is sufficient reason to believe you may have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements," Trump wrote. "For example, as detailed in the Criminal Referral, you signed one document attesting that a property in Michigan would be your primary residence for the next year.
"Two weeks later, you signed another document for a property in Georgia stating that it would be your primary residence for the next year," Trump continued. "It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second. It is impossible that you intended to honor both."
TRUMP CALLS FOR FED GOVERNOR'S RESIGNATION AS ALLY REQUESTS DOJ PROBE
President Donald Trump announced the removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in a letter dated Aug. 25, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Trump wrote that the Federal Reserve has a "tremendous responsibility" to set interest rates and regulate banks.
Trump becomes first president ever to remove sitting Federal Reserve governor amid DOJ investigation into false statements
He added that Americans must have full confidence in the honesty of those setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve.
"In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot, and I do not have such confidence in your integrity," Trump wrote. "At a minimum, the conduct at issue exhibits the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator."
He concluded ordering her immediate removal from office.
FED CHAIR JEROME POWELL SIGNALS JOB MARKET, INFLATION OUTLOOK COULD ALLOW FOR INTEREST RATE CUT
President Donald Trump sent a letter to Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Aug. 25, 2025, letting her know she has been fired from her position because of mortgage fraud allegations. (Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Cook has not been charged with any crime.
FOX Business has reached out to the Federal Reserve for comment regarding Cook’s removal.
Trump threatened to remove Cook from her role on Friday as she faces mortgage fraud allegations that are under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The investigation was sparked by a criminal referral filed by Pulte, a staunch ally of Trump’s and a critic of the Federal Reserve.
"I'll fire her if she doesn't resign," Trump told reporters on Friday. "What she did was bad."
FED MINUTES SHOW TARIFF INFLATION FEARS OUTWEIGHED JOBS MARKET IN JULY RATE DECISION
Left: William Pulte, nominee to be director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is sworn in to his Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Thursday, February 27, 2025; Right: Federal Reserve (Left: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Right: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Pulte sent his referral to the DOJ on Wednesday and accused her of having "falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute."
Under federal law governing the Federal Reserve system, the president can only remove a sitting governor for cause, which has historically been interpreted as applying to malfeasance or misconduct, rather than policy disagreements.
The president’s action to remove Cook from her role marks the first time in history that a president has attempted to remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor, and it could lead to a legal battle.
The president and his allies have repeatedly urged the Fed to cut interest rates in an effort to boost the economy and lower the cost of servicing the more than $37 trillion U.S. national debt, though Trump has backed off past threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Cook was appointed to the Fed by President Joe Biden in 2022 and was confirmed by the Senate on a party-line vote of 51-47 in September 2023. Her term as a Fed governor runs 14 years, from 2024 to 2038.
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
