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.
Can Trump Not Be Trump?
Newt Gingrich offered a guaranteed path for a Donald Trump victory on debate night — one week from tonight — saying in a Fox News interview, “I just hope that Trump can stay very calm, very Reagan-like, let Biden be a fool and not counterattack it.”
Fact check: Telling Trump to stay cool and not counterattack is like telling a Labrador retriever puppy not to eat a treat when you walk away.
- As Joe Biden would say, “Best of luck in your senior year.”
- Ground truth: You have better luck with the puppy.
Seriously! Does anybody think this is possible?
Mediaite says Maggie Haberman, Trump’s favorite (not favorite) reporter from the New York Times, reports Trump knows he lost the first debate in 2020 because of his interrupting and shouting.
- But she then also reports Trump can’t wait to bring up more things the American people don’t care about, like Hunter Biden’s convictions.
The betting markets have moved considerably in the past two weeks into Trump’s favor.
- The Economist gives him a two-thirds chance of victory in November.
- BTW: PredictIt also moved favorably for Trump picking North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as vice president.
TV presidents: My favorite TV (not movie) president, Josiah Bartlet from “The West Wing,” famously got out of a polling slump with the strategy of “Let Bartlet be Bartlet.”
- Watch “The West Wing” throwback clip — it will make you smile.
Trump faces a different problem — to win the debate, he must be NOT Trumpian.
- NewsNation’s Libbey Dean reports he isn’t doing prep but rather “policy meetings.”
- A Trump source tells her: “These are meetings with policymakers and advisers to reflect with President Trump on his success as president that led to historic levels of economic prosperity, peace and stability in the world and a secure border. It’s also an opportunity to look ahead at reversing the failure, weakness and dishonesty under Biden’s last 3 1/2 years.”
Trump decoded: That sounds a lot like people sitting around telling Trump how great he is.
The other side: Biden will reportedly rehearse and studiously prepare for the debate — it worked in 2020.
- One can imagine his team working endlessly to provoke Trump — it is perhaps Biden’s only way to win.
Watch tonight: Trump confidant and prizefighter Charlie Kirk will talk about whether Trump wants to — or even can — take Gingrich’s advice.
Condi Rice for the Win
Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is two for two this week with her Juneteenth column (we told you about it yesterday) and her explanation of how school choice already exists for rich people. She explains that the teachers union wants to deny it to working-class Americans.
- Do yourself a favor and watch her devastatingly elegant argument.
Coming battle: Erick Erickson writes about the war against homeschooling in his newsletter.
Look back: Democrats lost Virginia’s governor’s mansion in 2021 because of the education argument, but apparently, the power of the teacher unions outweighs the basic instinct to win!
Chinese Weed Mafia in Oklahoma
Don’t miss Brian Entin’s in-depth reporting on Chinese gangs using illegal immigrants for mass marijuana farming in Oklahoma.
- Some bullet points from Entin:
- Cops are busting 15 of the illegal pot farms A DAY.
- The illegal Chinese migrants working the farms come across the southern border, and the money made is sent back to China.
- Unsurprisingly, Entin reports, “The Chinese migrants are treated as slaves living in awful conditions.”
- They use fake Amazon vans and boxes to move the black market pot.
- Entin went out with a local farmer to see some of the Chinese spots near his family’s land.
- The Chinese front companies offer to buy up Oklahoma farmland at four times the market value.
Watch tonight: Brian Entin is with us as well as Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt.
Coming Attacks
Sometime before July 4, the Supreme Court will release the much-awaited Trump immunity decision alongside a few more blockbusters.
Rocking in the USA: Politico’s newsletter “Playbook” today: “7 ways SCOTUS could rock America.”
- Really? Really?! How about “Seven ways SCOTUS could do their jobs.”
Timeline: It seems very possible the Supreme Court ruling will delay Trump’s Jan. 6 trial until after the election.
Stay tuned: Liberal commentators have already declared the Trump justices borderline traitors ruining America. What new adjectives will they come up with next?
Putin’s NATO
Vladimir Lenin once said, “You probe with bayonets: if you find mush, you push. If you find steel, you withdraw.”
- Vladimir Putin continues to find mush when pushing against the United States in Ukraine, and so he expanded to North Korea.
- He gifted Kim Jong Un a new car and just signed a NATO-like defense pact.
Increasingly, President Biden’s words and influence mean less and less around the world — that should terrify us all.
- Years after he said Putin must go, Putin is in power
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s numbers are coming up by defying and fighting with Biden
- Iran continues its march toward a nuclear weapon
- Putin just signed the pact with North Korea
AND NOW … China is directly testing American resolve.
- Watch this wild video of the Chinese coast guard attacking the Philippine navy with axes and homemade weapons — they intentionally did not use firearms but came ready for battle.
- The fight over an atoll seems insignificant, but as The Wall Street Journal points out, it will test an American commitment to defend the Philippines.
- If the Philippines fights back against China, the United States is obligated to come to its aid.
- That’s how wars start.
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.
