NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor and On Balance host Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He gives you an early look at tonight’s 7 p.m. ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here.  

Hamas Will Win 

President Joe Biden and team now clearly care more about their domestic political considerations than they do American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, Israel’s survival or even the Palestinian civilians they claim to want to protect. 

The pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party bullying the president with protests during the State of the Union Address and the Oscars worked. 

• Biden threatens to now condition or withhold military aid and abandon Israel at the United Nations. 
• The rift between Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now plays out publicly with the U.S. drawing a “red line” at an Israeli invasion of Rafah, Hamas’ last Gaza stronghold and likely where the hostages are.
  • Thought bubble: Will Biden enforce this red line, or will it be like how Obama didn’t in Syria?

From Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) in Axios: “There have been several discussions inside the administration in recent weeks about a possible Israeli military operation in Rafah and the bottom line was that the Biden administration can’t allow it to happen, U.S. officials told Axios.”

• Wait, what? NOT allow it to happen? Will the U.S. military block the Israelis? 
• President Biden now sounds far tougher on Israel than he does on Hamas and or its benefactors in Qatar. 
• Remember, Hamas still holds over 100 Israeli hostages, including at least six Americans. 

Why? Well, allegedly, Israel’s bombing and ground war in Gaza causes too much destruction, despite being historically necessary against both terrorists and Nazis.

• In fact, even using Hamas’ numbers, we can see Israel goes far beyond what the U.S. and its allies ever did in World War II or the war on terror to protect civilians.  
• Image below on the left is Gaza; image on the right is Hiroshima after the nuclear bombing in World War II. 

Biden’s justification:

• Gerard Baker (@gerardtbaker) writes in The Wall Street Journal’s opinion section, “Mr. Biden expressed this dichotomous position in his State of the Union address last week. He was at it again over the weekend, when he told MSNBC that the offensive in Gaza was ‘hurting Israel more than helping Israel. . . . It’s contrary to what Israel stands for and I think it’s a big mistake.’”
  • Translation: I (Biden) know better than Israel’s generals what’s in Israel’s best interest.
• Baker continues to write, “Instead of asking what Israel has to do to be allowed to defend itself, we might simply ask: What do Jews have to do to be allowed to defend themselves?”

It’s all politics: The Democrats’ messaging worked — the major networks and newspapers have forgotten:

• the systematic raping of Israelis on Oct. 7,
• the other atrocities of Oct. 7, including, but not limited to, driving nails into Jewish women’s pelvic areas and cutting off their breasts, 
• the current sexual violence against hostages, 
• over 1,200 Israelis killed and many more wounded in the October attack and following war 

All we hear about is starving kids in Gaza. 

Back home: Polling and anecdotal evidence from Michigan and other Arab-heavy swing states shows open rebellion by the progressive Left over Israel support. Be it antisemitism or simply the DEI triangle, the young Americans Biden needs for a chance at reelection believe the Hamas propaganda about Palestinian suffering. 

• If he really cared about the Palestinians, Biden would give Israel cover to finish Hamas off and then support a robust effort for a meaningful endgame with Gaza and the West Bank while demanding help from the Arab world. 

Moral clarity:

• Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said,  “I grieve for any innocent Palestinian, Israeli or Israeli soldier…anyone! It’s all tragic and there is a lot of blood….But every drop of it belongs on the hands of Hamas—AND ONLY HAMAS” 
• Political clarity: Fetterman understands and speaks for another constituency Biden needs: working-class Americans in Pennsylvania. It would be worth listening to them. 

Ground truth: 

• Hamas will win this war if they are able to survive and retake control of Gaza.
  • Biden’s continued handcuffing of Israel makes that almost inevitable.
• When it does happen, Palestinians will only suffer more under Hamas rule, as they have over nearly 20 years. 
• But Biden might win Michigan. 

Bonus points: When are Democrats going to call for a cease-fire in Haiti, where gangs are running rampant through the streets?

Lord of the Flies

Just like that, the near-deadly beating of a Hazelwood, Missouri, high school student disappeared. There’s no national media presence in Hazelwood, no breathless anchors rushing to do interviews in the town, no national demands for justice on the victim’s behalf. 

The video of a much larger Black student repeatedly bashing the victim’s head onto the pavement is difficult to watch.

• BUT YOU NEED TO WATCH IT. Click here.
• It’s stunning to see all the people standing around cheering or driving by and doing nothing to save the young woman. 
• It’s stunning to read the school’s statement.
  • Never once does it talk about justice or holding the perpetrator accountable. It just babbles about bullying.
    • Fact check: This wasn’t bullying. This was attempted murder, and if the victim doesn’t survive after suffering massive seizures from her injuries, it will be murder. It’s that simple.

Our crazy world: How did repeatedly bashing someone’s head into the ground become “bullying”?

One more thing: Almost all of the coverage omits the perpetrator’s race (Black) and victim’s race (white). We know the coverage would be vastly different if it were reversed. 

“Lord of the Flies”: In a larger sense, we see a growing disrespect for life among America’s youth. 

Ground truth:

• Hazelwood is a rough spot. It’s a working-class community north of St. Louis. 
• It has a nearly half-Black and half-white population.
• It was rocked by the 2014 riots and continued push to defund the police and not prosecute criminals.

Paging ABC News President Kimberly Godwin

Turns out ABC’s George Stephanopoulos has a long history of attacking victims and defending known predators. In fact, he’s so proud of it that he allowed a camera to record him.

Stephanopoulos trashed a Ross Perot campaign worker who planned to talk about a Clinton sex story on radio, and he threatened the guy, saying, “I guarantee you that if you do this, you will never work in Democratic politics again.”

Stephanopoulos’ attack on rape survivor Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on Sunday shouldn’t surprise anyone. 

• Watch Mace respond on “On Balance” last night. She said, “I mean, it’s disgusting to see how (Stephanopoulos) handled the entire episode yesterday … every woman in this country should be offended by the interview and then by the reaction from the far Left.” 

Megyn Kelly made a larger point, saying, “I see how concerned you are that victims might not come forward if they are publicly attacked by their rapist or their defenders. To be sure, that is a very real concern. It happens all the time, which you know, because you invented it. Remember? When you created a whole command center designed to smear Bill Clinton’s sexual assault and rape accusers so you could elevate him right into the presidency.”

But the bigger issue is Kim Godwin, president of ABC News.

• This is a woman hand-picked by Disney as the first Black network president during the  DEI craze, and yet when it comes to defending women like Rep. Mace, she is missing in action. 

Power play: She uses her position to put race and Trump and other such issues front and center:

• Alexandra Steigrad (@AlexSteigrad) writes in the New York Post, “Embattled ABC News president Kim Godwin called out Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump for claiming ‘black people like me’ because of his multiple indictments — labeling his comments ‘as racist as they come.’”

Godwin has made race and racial equity a centerpiece of her tenure, the same forces that came out of of the #MeToo movement. Yet on the most serious of #MeToo issues — allowing the shaming of a rape survivor — she is quiet. She allowed her Sunday show anchor to engage in the same political tricks he did during Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign. 

Jan. 6 Committee Exculpatory Evidence?

Turns out one of the most explosive details from the Jan. 6 committee hearings might not be true:

• The New York Times is out with a report about the transcripts of interviews with Secret Service agents on Jan. 6, including the driver of then-President Trump’s car that directly contradicts Cassidy Hutchinson’s prime-time testimony.
  • “The driver said Mr. Trump never lunged for the steering wheel or physically accosted the agents, contradicting one of the most sensational and hotly disputed elements of testimony given to the House Jan. 6 committee by a White House aide. … ‘I did not see him reach,’ the Secret Service driver told investigators for the House panel. ‘He never grabbed the steering wheel. I didn’t see him, you know, lunge to try to get into the front seat at all. You know, what stood out was the irritation in his voice, more than his physical presence.’”

The Jan. 6 committee  fawned over Hutchinson as she gave her thirdhand testimony.

Why it matters: Trump could soon go on trial for Jan. 6. Joe Biden is running on Jan. 6.

• Did The Jan. 6 committee withhold other exculpatory evidence?
  • What other exculpatory evidence is out there? 
  • What other cherry-picked stories did their former ABC news executive turned adviser twist for a narrative rather than fairly reading the facts? 

Be fair: Hutchinson could have gotten caught up in the moment or simply retold a story she HEARD.

Prosecutors have a legal responsibility to turn over exculpatory evidence; not doing so can result in both sanctions and, in some cases, the overturning of conviction

Tune into “On Balance with Leland Vittert” weeknights at 7/6C on NewsNation. Find your channel here. 

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.