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. 

1968

The Economist headlines their must-read Lexington column yesterday with “The campus is coming for Joe Biden.” 

While many of the mobs in Texas, at Northwestern University in Chicago and at Emory University in Georgia still chant about Palestine, it’s no longer and never was about Palestine or the Palestinians.

• This movement, like cancer, is growing in size and scale. 
• The antisemitism and Jew hatred is obvious, but there is a far deeper issue. 

It should be clear to everyone these groups want to replace Western liberalism with a neo-Marxist and neo-socialist worldview. 

• If you have any questions check out War Notes from yesterday. We now have more from the leader of Columbia University’s protests with his “demands.” 
• If they truly want to free the oppressed from the oppressors, how about a protest against Iran? Today, The Washington Post reports a new and repressive crackdown on women in the country.
  • Where is the campus outrage about that? 

Only themselves to blame: George Packer writes in the Atlantic about how America’s elite universities embraced the very ideology now destroying liberal ideals. 

Look back: Nazis (National Socialists) blamed, targeted and killed the Jews, but went far beyond that in their quest for power.

Be smart: Don’t be like the Jews or others who believed in the 1930s “It couldn’t happen here.” 

Memo to the White House: The protesters will not be placated with an American humanitarian pier in Gaza — Hamas just attacked it.

• Thought bubble: Can you imagine if Israel attacked such a facility? 

The calendar: It’s April 25, precisely 116 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 

Look back: In 1968, the DNC was held during a riot where Chicago police took batons to angry students. Back then, Mayor Richard Daley ran the city. The current mayor, Brandon Johnson, would likely be far more sympathetic to the protesters. 

Look forward: The White House appears paralyzed by the protests. Thus, we look at the aforementioned Economist piece. 

• Our friend George Will likes to speak to the feeling of “disorder” in America:
  • The border
    • According to Axios, 42% of Democrats say they would support mass deportations
  • Crime
  • The economy
  • And now, people chanting for the killing of Jews
• Americans feel uneasy and largely blame President Biden — this is at the core of his reelection problem. 

Hippies vs. hard hats: As our senior producer Bob Morrisey pointed out this morning, in 1968 it was the hippies versus the hard hats. Today, former President Donald Trump visited a union construction project on his way to court. 

• Hear from the New York union leader in the video here.

Mark Twain: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” 

Nailed it: Sometimes you just have to laugh –- the Israeli version of Saturday Night Live predicted this five months ago.

Illiberal Liberals

Former President Ronald Reagan once said, “If fascism ever comes to America, it will come in the name of liberalism.”

The similarities between 2024 and 1968 warrant a comparison based on the political events and structure:

• Presidential election year
• Historically unpopular Democratic president
• War abroad
• Student protests

But the groups on college campuses today don’t believe in classical liberalism: 

• They tried and failed to implement a repressive ideology of cancel culture with movements like Black Lives Matter and transgender rights. 
• The pendulum swung back in response.
• Now, they are trying again on the backs of the Palestinians. 

Today’s “revolutionaries” and their friends and allies believe America is the problem, not the solution, to the world’s problems. 

• Case in point: Andrew Sullivan (@sullydish) wrote an exceptional piece on the CEO of NPR, who among other things believes the First Amendment is the no. 1 challenge to what she views as the real threat: disinformation. 

Where true liberalism thrives: Southern universities are suddenly seeing a huge increase in interest.

Predicted and Predictable

Trump’s presidential immunity hearing at the Supreme Court went almost exactly as Tom Dupree predicted last night on our show. 

Listening to Justice Brett Kavanaugh question the Department of Justice’s lawyer was particularly illuminating. 

At one point, Department of Justice lawyer Michael Dreeben suggested the DOJ’s office of legal counsel decides who the president is and is not allowed to kill. 

Dupree is back tonight to discuss. For now, it appears likely the Trump Jan. 6 trial won’t happen until after the election, if at all. 

Cue the predictable response delegitimizing the Supreme Court. 

Is the American Dream Over?

Watch tonight: Celebrity realtor Josh Flagg joins us — check out his Instagram here.

Interest rates spiked again today driving the dream of home ownership further away as nearly 40% of renters believe they will never own a home. 

On MSNBC, Scott Galloway described the anger of many millennials and GenZers who are “opting out” of America. 

• Galloway said, “For the first time in our nation’s history, a 30-year-old isn’t doing as well their parents were at 30. They see exceptional wealth across my generation… and we’re running it up on their credit card.”

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.