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.  

Should Democrats Want Biden to Win?

Much like the two-week run-up to the Super Bowl, the debate pregame sometimes misses the forest for the trees — is it fair? What about Jake Tapper? What about Donald Trump being mean? How many times will Joe Biden say “threat to democracy?” Will Trump mention Hunter Biden? STOP NOW. 

• Let’s go BIG: What must happen at the debate to totally (not incrementally) change the election?
  • For Biden:
    • He delivers a knockout punch of lucid, clear, factual answers that forever puts the age question to rest. 
    • One or two senior moments scare the country and Democratic elders to the point they force him out. 
  • For Trump:
    • He suddenly acts oddly presidential, with command of policy and without personal attacks, while gently reminding America of a better life in 2018 and 2019. 
    • He takes the bait on 2020 or Jan. 6 and says things swing voters can’t unhear. 
• What if none of those things happen?
  • For Democrats:
    • Worst case: Trump does fine and/or Biden acquits himself just well enough to ease, but not end, fears about his age … then what? 

Fair question: Given a binary choice, should Democrats want Biden to do OK, or should they want him to lose so badly they can replace him at the convention with a candidate they are actually excited about? 

How Does Trump Deal with 2020 and Jan. 6?

Elections are about the future, but Donald Trump will have to effectively deal with the past to have a shot. 

• Be fair: It would be journalistic malpractice for Dana Bash and Jake Tapper NOT to ask Trump about both Jan. 6 and his claims of winning the 2020 election. 

How should Trump deal with it?

• Watch Charlie Kirk and Bill O’Reilly bat it around through Mediaite.
• From Kirk: “First, I’ll say that there’s a season for all things, and when it was really a, let’s just say a recent wound, I think it was helpful to talk about ways we could’ve secured the election better and things we could’ve done better in 2020.” 
• Team Trump KNOWS it’s coming, as Mediate points out ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said asking who won 2020 should be the first question.
• So how to deal with it — can Trump be disciplined enough NOT to relitigate Jan. 6 or the 2020 election?

Watch tonight: We will ask George Will if how Trump answers actually matters. 

MSNBC tease: This morning, MSNBC had a tease that read “from worst to worthy.” Axios also wrote up the competing Trump lines that Biden is the worst president ever — but also a “worthy debater.”

A Real War

Biden’s domestic political dithering and deescalation at any cost in Gaza means Israel doesn’t trust him and Iran and Hezbollah don’t fear him to stop the coming war in Lebanon. 

• And it appears the simmering skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah will soon turn into a force-on-force battle:
  • Video purports to show Israeli tanks moving north. 
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to saber rattle, if for no other reason than to prove he isn’t controlled by Biden. 
  • Netanyahu faces continued internal political troubles in Israel, and a continued war, either in Gaza or the north, helps him. 

The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes about Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown: “According to the Associated Press, America’s top military officer ‘said the U.S. won’t likely be able to help Israel defend itself against a broader Hezbollah war as well as it helped Israel fight off an Iranian barrage of missiles and drones in April’…That’s a calculated red light to Israel—don’t count on U.S. help, do count on Iran’s wrath—but what message is the general sending to Hezbollah? In the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah’s bunker, it probably sounds like: ‘Go ahead. You can get away with more.’”

Zoom out: As we told you on Jan. 4, “watch Israel’s north.” A war between Israel and Hezbollah will make Gaza look like a schoolyard fight — since then, tensions have only risen: 

• The Biden administration’s policy of “deescalation at any cost to American prestige” costs an enormous amount of American prestige and gets us nothing in return. 
• Iran sees Biden as trapped by the far Left of his party and will continue to embarrass the United States as Biden seeks a middle road.
• Israel sees Biden as an unreliable ally, and it must prove to the world it can protect itself. 

Wake up call: Today’s New York primary features a $15 million spend by pro-Israel Democrats to take out terrorist-enthusiast and “cease-fire now” leader Rep. Jamaal Bowman.

• Blast from the past: Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered a shot directly at the sitting Democratic congressman: “Jamaal Bowman should pull the fire alarm again because he is going to be smoked by @LatimerforNY today. 
• A Bowman defeat might — emphasis on “might” — change the White House calculus on cozying up to the terrorist-adjacent wing of their party at the expense of Israel. 

Watch tonight: Congressman and former Green Beret Mike Waltz, R-Fla., will discuss how long we have to stop a war.

Obama Judges

Obama-appointed judges overturned yet another attempt by the Biden administration to forgive student loans. 

• From CNBC: “Judges halt key parts of Biden’s student loan forgiveness, repayment plan — risking relief for millions.”
• From The New York Times: “Judges Block Parts of Biden’s Student Loan Repayment Plan. A part of the SAVE plan that would have cut monthly bills for millions of borrowers starting on July 1 was put on hold.”
• From CNN: “Courts halt parts of Biden’s student loan repayment plan.”

Zoom out: Missing from all those headlines (and the articles) is who appointed the judges — in fact, many of the articles leave out WHO the judges are. 

• The judge in Kansas, Daniel Crabtree, was nominated by former President Barack Obama.
• The judge in Missouri, John Ross, was also nominated by Obama.

Fair question: Why are the judges left out? Why are they left out, ESPECIALLY when every headline involving a close Supreme Court ruling or Judge Aileen Cannon’s oversight of the Trump trial focuses on the judges rather than the substance of the case: 

• MSNBC analyst Melissa Murray said of Judge Cannon, as quoted by Mediaite, “Girl, stay in your lane…Stay. In. Your. Lane. So, yes, not only has the issue of whether the special counsel comports with the structures of constitutional law, that’s been settled. That’s been addressed in multiple courts. Settled.”
• Can anyone imagine what would happen if a male Fox analyst said that about a Black Obama judge? 

To be fair: No judge should be above criticism, but as we showed you last week, the unrelenting attack on the judiciary — especially the Supreme Court — will have long-lasting effects. 

• From George Will on the show last week: “And at this very moment, they’re saying on the one hand that Trump is an existential threat to democracy, they’re undermining the institution most apt to thwart Donald Trump, or anyone else.”

YIKES: Watch former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., say she doesn’t have confidence in the Supreme Court because they have gone rogue. 

We could get the Trump immunity decision tomorrow. It’s very possible the Supreme Court will push Trump’s Jan. 6 trial until after the election.

Cue the meltdown about Trump judges and the “illegitimacy” of the court. Fun fact 💭: The unprecedented leak of the Dobbs decision two years ago remains an unsolved mystery.

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.