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.
Editor’s note: It’s a busy day, so just some quick thoughts before the show. I hope to see you at 7 p.m. ET.
Drop out?
Yesterday’s final segment seemed almost dystopian as we watched a clearly confused President Joe Biden barely sway to the music of the White House’s Juneteenth celebration.
The picture doesn’t do it justice — you really need to see the video to get the thousand-word effect.
- But it encapsulated this White House’s biggest problems:
- Biden can’t campaign like a normal candidate — he can’t even campaign as much as he did 4 years ago.
- At events, he appears cognitively disassociated with what’s happening around him — including the “freezing” moments.
- The reelection bid relies on dividing America into mostly racial groups and promising to pander to the elites of those groups.
- He called Republicans “old ghosts in new garments trying to take us back.”
Nate Silver, America’s favorite pollster, just said the quiet part out loud: Biden should consider dropping out.
Can a Cease-fire Save Biden’s Presidency?
It’s been 10 days since Biden announced there will be a cease-fire plan, and there is neither a cease-fire nor a plan to get one … just ask his secretary of state, who now blames Hamas for standing in the way of a deal.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “It is on Hamas to move forward with this proposal or not.”
BUT Hamas says they agreed to a U.N. framework. This appears to be another Middle East two-step like a month ago when Hamas claimed they agreed to something vague that went nowhere.
The Wall Street Journal reports what we’ve long told you: Hamas views Palestinian civilian casualties as a good way to pressure Israel.
- “‘We have the Israelis right where we want them,’ (Yahya) Sinwar said in a recent message to Hamas officials seeking to broker an agreement with Qatari and Egyptian officials.”
Problem for Biden: The more he panders to Hamas types and isolates Israel, the more emboldened Hamas gets that they can draw war out and isolate Israel by turning it into an international pariah. It’s a brutal but genius strategy.
Ground truth: Both Netanyahu and Hamas view Biden as a chump and appear unconcerned with his role in the world.
To be fair: Netanyahu gives Biden lip service while pursuing his own political ends, but by and large, neither side listens to Biden.
Thought bubble: Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin all consider themselves policy savants able to understand and thus play the Middle East like a fiddle — their results keep getting worse.
On the home front: The continued pro-Hamas protests grow in both anger and size and make comparisons to the Chicago DNC of 1968 relevant.
- The Chicago Tribune headlines, “‘This will not be 1968.’ Chicago police prepare for DNC as whole world watches once again.”
Ground truth for Chicago this summer 💭: A mayor who sides with the protesters. A president not in control of his own party. A raging war about which the protesters were promised a cease-fire. A police force stretched beyond its breaking point by the “defund the police” movement.
Fair question: What’s more likely: The DNC is better than it was in 1968 or worse?
Inspiration from the Tennis Channel
Tennis great Roger Federer just gave one of the best commencement addresses in modern times.
- Click here to watch.
Vala Afshar summed up the lessons from Federer’s speech like this:
- “Effortless” is a myth
- Belief in yourself has to be earned
- Grit > Gift
- Discipline is talent
- Trust and loving the process is talent
- You can do your best and still lose
- Life is bigger than the court
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.
