David Harsanyi, author, and columnist, particularly known for his sharp insights on today’s political climate, has a new book. It’s called The Rise of BlueAnon: How the Democrats Became the Party of Conspiracy Theorists.
In a recent conversation with Rob Bluey at The Daily Signal, Harsanyi dug into some fascinating questions. Why have Democrats embraced conspiracy theories? What’s happened to institutional trust in America? And what role does faith play in our society today? Let’s explore some key takeaways from their discussion. Video summary generated by Artificial Intelligence.
The Democrats’ Descent into Conspiracy Theories
Avoiding Real Debate
Harsanyi argues that Democrats have increasingly turned to conspiracy theories as a way to dodge actual debate. Remember when disagreeing with President Obama might get you labeled a racist? Or when Hillary Clinton ran for president, and her opponents were automatically branded as sexists? Harsanyi sees this as a trend that’s only grown, with anyone who opposes the left now being called a fascist.
He believes it’s an easy way out. Instead of grappling with real issues, opponents are simply demonized. Take the claim that asking for voter ID is the “new Jim Crow.” Harsanyi calls these claims “paranoid views of the world” that many everyday Americans simply don’t buy. Could this be one reason why Donald Trump won?
The Russia Collusion Hoax: A Prime Example
For Harsanyi, the Russia collusion narrative is a textbook example. He believes it was “hatched by Democrats,” then eagerly spread by a media that was either complicit or just plain incompetent. Think about it: the idea that a sitting U.S. president is secretly working for Russia? That would be one of the biggest scandals in American history, right up there with the Civil War or the Revolution.
“The most effective conspiracy theory perhaps in political history.”
Harsanyi emphasizes how the Russia collusion narrative undermined almost the entire first term of the Trump administration. In his view, it was like a “soft coup” by intelligence agencies. While he doesn’t usually go around talking about the “deep state,” he admits that something like that clearly exists. He sees the whole episode as a major reason why people have lost trust in the media. And he’s not alone.
Superficial Shifts? Newsom, Emanuel and Going Against The Grain
What about politicians like California Governor Gavin Newsom or former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel? Are they genuinely trying to engage in conversations with people outside the usual Democratic bubble? Newsom, for instance, has even talked with figures like Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk on his podcast.
Harsanyi is skeptical. While Rahm Emanuel has always been more of a centrist, he sees Newsom’s moves as potentially superficial. If you’re just changing your views to win elections, Harsanyi suggests, it’s going to come across as insincere. He believes the progressive wing has taken over the Democratic Party, pushing it toward policies that simply don’t resonate with common sense.
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The Collapse of Institutional Trust in America
Media’s Role in Spreading Conspiracy Theories
Harsanyi believes everyone is vulnerable to conspiracy theories. The difference, he argues, is that Democrats have been particularly dangerous in recent decades because they control the “megaphones”—the major media outlets.
Because outlets like CNN and The New York Times are taken seriously, their embrace of conspiracy theories is far more damaging than someone like Alex Jones shouting into the void. But now that no one trusts the media, a vacuum has emerged. And it’s being filled by a mix of “interesting people” and “crackpots” from all sides.
Navigating the current news environment can be tough for ordinary folks. It’s more important than ever to:
- Be skeptical.
- Double-check what you’re believing.
The Impact on News Consumption
In today’s world, misinformation spreads like wildfire on social media. How often have you seen something shared online that turned out to be completely false? It’s crucial to be skeptical about what you read. Always look at multiple sources before accepting something as true.
Higher Education’s Crisis: A Hotbed of Extremism?
Harsanyi questions whether we can truly trust higher education institutions anymore. He points to the defunding of Columbia University and the influence of money from countries like Qatar. Have you noticed the presence of what he calls “cosplaying Hamas supporters” on college campuses?
He worries about the lack of intellectual diversity in many schools and calls for the creation of new institutions that are open to all kinds of debate. For him, it starts with the professors and the social science quackery that seems to be going on in these schools.
The Great Institutional Decay
Besides the Supreme Court, Harsanyi wonders if there’s any institution Americans can fully trust. He argues that presidents and Congress have exceeded their constitutional power. Can things be turned around?
Faith’s Crucial Role in Society
The Importance of Organized Religion
Here’s a surprising perspective: Harsanyi is an atheist, but he values religion. He sees organized religion as a culmination of thousands of years of moral thinking. And he believes the loss of faith can have negative consequences, pointing to examples like the Soviet Union and the European Union.
The Erosion of Religious Belief
He’s concerned about the rise of the “nones”—people who don’t subscribe to any particular faith—and the decline in church membership. Harsanyi emphasizes that Christian-majority nations have been historically successful and moral. If that foundation erodes, he fears we’re headed in a bad direction.
His advice? “Even if you don’t believe it, it’s a good idea to act like God exists.” He believes our rights come from a higher power, not from politicians.
Political Idols and the State as a Church
Have you noticed how political symbols, like flags representing specific sexualities, can become like idols? Harsanyi sees this as a kind of “perversion” of what a flag should represent. And what about the way people react to the idea of getting rid of the Department of Education? It’s as if you’re attacking a church.
Charity Giving and the Difference
It’s a well-known fact that conservatives and religious people tend to give more to charity than those with more socialist leanings. Harsanyi believes this is because they understand the importance of community involvement. The more the government taxes, the less inclined people are to give.
The Perversion of Faith
Harsanyi warns against creating “unorthodox perversions of faith” just to bring people in. He sees some Jewish factions as “anti-Jewish,” using the faith to undermine it. He notices similar things happening in some Christian denominations.
Trump’s Actions and Their Lasting Consequences
The Need for Congressional Action
Harsanyi stresses that many of the Trump administration’s actions could be easily reversed unless Congress steps in to codify them into law.
DOGE and the Administrative State
One of Trump’s potential legacies could be his efforts to dismantle the administrative state. Harsanyi believes this would be great for America, but it requires Congress to act.
Reforming Entitlement Programs: A Political Minefield
Why is it so difficult to reform entitlement programs? Because it’s a political minefield. Many politicians are simply unwilling to have the conversation.
Deporting Terrorist Supporters
A Free Speech Debate
The debate continues: can the Trump administration deport individuals who support terrorist groups?
Bad Ideas
Harsanyi argues that the Constitution doesn’t require us to grant citizenship to people who bring nothing but “bad ideas” to the country.
A Matter of National Security?
For Harsanyi, it’s not a free speech issue. It’s a matter of national security. If deporting these individuals is unconstitutional, he believes we should change the law.
David Harsanyi’s Substack and Final Thoughts
The Move to Substack
Why did Harsanyi start a Substack newsletter? He wanted a place to share his cultural picks and add extra context to his writing. His friend Ben Domenech suggested it as a way to connect with more people. You can find it here: David Harsanyi’s Substack.
The Appeal of the Substack Model
Substack is growing rapidly. Could it compete with traditional news brands? Harsanyi compares it to the blog revolution, giving individuals the power to build their own followings.
Engaging with Fans
Substack offers a great opportunity to engage with readers in a thoughtful way, exchanging ideas and even changing his mind on issues.
How to Follow David Harsanyi
Want to keep up with David Harsanyi’s work? Here’s how:
- Twitter: David Harsanyi
- Washington Examiner: Search for David Harsanyi articles on Washington Examiner
Conclusion
David Harsanyi’s insights offer a lot to think about. From the rise of conspiracy theories to the decline of institutional trust and the crucial role of faith, he raises important questions about the direction of our society. Whether you agree with him or not, his perspective is sure to spark some lively debate.
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Two Storms, One Harvest
Every food crisis in living memory has been a one-shock event. The 2008 price spike was a commodity bubble. The 2020 shortages were a logistics failure. The 2022 grain scare was a war on one exporter’s ports. Each time, the system bent, adjusted, and recovered, and each time the experts assured us afterward that global markets are simply too big and too diversified to fail.
What nobody in Washington seems eager to discuss is that 2026 is shaping up to be something the modern food system has never actually faced. Two independent shocks, one climatic and one geopolitical, are converging on the same harvest cycle at the same time. Not sequentially. Simultaneously.
Start with the weather. The Pacific Ocean is currently building toward what forecasters now openly call a record event. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center puts the odds of at least a strong El Niño near 88 percent, with roughly two in three odds it reaches “very strong” status, the tier reserved for perhaps three or four events in the entire satellite era. Every major global model now projects a median peak in Super El Niño territory, and most of them project it exceeding the 2015-16 event, which until now held the modern record. Sea surface anomalies were already brushing the super threshold in mid-July, months before these events normally peak. The atmosphere has already shifted into El Niño mode, and the event is forecast to crest in late fall and early winter.
This is not about “climate change.” It’s about the standard cycles of weather, and the cycle we’re currently in is one that has likely devastated societies in the past. We’re better prepared as a society today, but not all Americans are equally prepared.
Serious households have started doing the quiet math on their own. Grocery bills tell part of the story, and the forecast maps tell the rest, which is why long-term food storage has moved from fringe hobby to mainstream line item in the family budget, with established suppliers like Heaven’s Harvest seeing demand from people who five years ago would have rolled their eyes at the idea. That instinct is not paranoia. It is pattern recognition, and the pattern is worth walking through carefully.
Editor’s Note: Heaven’s Harvest IS a sponsor, but the warnings of this article are real and would be written even if we didn’t have a survival food sponsor. With that said, those who take advantage of what they offer can use promo code “Patriot” for 15% off.
The Fertilizer Clock Is Already Running
While the Pacific warms, the second shock has been unfolding in the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict with Iran turned the world’s most important energy chokepoint into a contested waterway, and the consequences reach far beyond the gas pump. Roughly a third of global fertilizer trade moves through Hormuz, and the disruption sent urea prices up 86 percent year over year by March, with a 53 percent jump in a single month.
The World Bank projects energy prices rising about 24 percent in 2026 and fertilizer about 31 percent. By its own accounting, fertilizer prices ran 35 percent higher in the first five months of this year than the same period last year.
Here is the mechanism the nightly news will not explain. Fertilizer is not a grocery item. It is a time-delayed input. The nitrogen a farmer in Iowa or Punjab could not afford to apply this spring does not show up as a problem this spring. It shows up as a thinner harvest six to twelve months later.
The World Bank’s own food security brief concedes that the effects of reduced applications earlier this season “are likely to become visible only later in harvest outcomes.” Translate that from institutional language into plain English and it means this. The damage is already done, it is already in the ground, and we are simply waiting for it to arrive on the shelf.
Now check the calendar. Six to twelve months from the spring planting season lands us squarely in late 2026 and early 2027. Which is precisely when the strongest El Niño in the instrumental record is forecast to peak, bringing its signature droughts to Southeast Asia, Australia, southern Africa, northern Brazil, and South Asia, the very regions that grow the world’s rice, sugar, and oilseeds.
The World Bank warns openly that a strong El Niño “could disrupt multiple crop belts simultaneously” on top of the conflict-driven input costs. Their baseline projection assumes the Middle East disruptions ease by autumn. What in the last two years of Middle East history suggests that assumption is safe?
The System Has No Slack Left
The comfortable answer is that global markets always adjust. But adjustment requires slack, and the slack is gone. Global cereal production is expected to decline from last year’s records even before El Niño does its work. The UN World Food Programme, hardly a den of right-wing preppers, is calling this the most significant disruption to its supply chains since Covid and the invasion of Ukraine, and its supply chain director put the stakes bluntly.
Today’s supply chain challenges are tomorrow’s hunger crisis.
There is also a political dimension that markets cannot price. When food gets scarce, governments do not behave like economists. They behave like politicians. Export bans, hoarding mandates, and panic buying at the national level turned the modest rice shortfall of 2008 into a global crisis, and analysts are already warning that import-dependent nations are the first dominoes.
The 2015-16 Super El Niño, a far weaker event than what is now forecast, threw tens of millions into food stress across Africa and Asia. This one is projected to be stronger, and it arrives with fertilizer already rationed by price and shipping lanes already contested by missiles.
What Joseph Knew
Scripture does not treat preparation for lean years as faithlessness. It treats it as wisdom delivered in advance to those willing to act on it.
Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt.
Joseph did not respond to that warning with a hashtag or a committee. He stored grain during the years of abundance, and when the famine came, Egypt stood while its neighbors begged. The lesson is not that famine is certain. It is that the time to prepare is precisely when preparation still looks optional.
Nobody who filled a pantry in a year of plenty has ever regretted it, and nobody standing in an empty aisle has ever been glad he waited for certainty.
None of this calls for panic, and panic is the enemy of sound judgment anyway. It calls for the same unglamorous prudence our grandparents considered ordinary. Keep some cash margin, know your local growers, and put real food in deep storage while it is cheap and available, because the entire arc of this story is that cheap and available is a closing window.
Families looking for a straightforward place to start can visit Heaven’s Harvest and use promo code Patriot for 15 percent off long-term storable food. The forecasts may yet soften, the strait may yet reopen, and we should pray they do. But hope is a fine thing to hold and a foolish thing to eat.