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. 

The Saint Anselm College poll just out shows Nikki Haley within 14 points of former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire and continuing her upward trend. 

• Alex Isenstadt (@politicoalex) at Politico points out that Chris Christie, Mr. “Never Trump,” actually helps the very man he despises. Right now, the “Never Trump” Republican vote gets split between Haley and Christie, while the vote for Ron DeSantis has some overlap. If you combine Haley, Christie and DeSantis’ support in New Hampshire, suddenly Trump’s victory comes into question.
• Thought bubble: Someone should ask Christie why he is staying in a race he so clearly has zero chance of winning when he could endorse someone like Haley, who actually has a chance. He won’t come on with us, but he’s always welcome.
  • Remember, Christie came to Haley’s defense in the NewsNation debate … is that a preview of what is to come?
• Ground truth: Momentum creates enthusiasm, which creates momentum. It sounds obvious, but the more likely a Haley upset in New Hampshire looks, the more independent and disenfranchised Democrats will vote for her in the state’s open primary.
  • Any momentum then faces a month of nothing as we wait 32 days for the South Carolina primary. 
  • Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) notes in Semafor that it’s an uphill battle in South Carolina.
    • She quotes Charleston County Democratic Party Chair Sam Skardon saying, “Sure, lightning could strike. … But the South Carolina Republican Party is very pro-Trump … his pull on the Republican Party is unlike anybody I’ve ever seen in politics.”

Haley’s “women problem” is with Republican women. 

• Trump does better with Republican women than she does. 
• Karissa Waddick (@KarissaWaddick) of USA Today delves into the tightrope Haley must walk between being likable and tough. 

“Leave It to Beaver” Had It Right 

A new study shows kids of ideologically conservative parents have better mental health than those of liberal parents, 77% vs 55%. 

• What if it’s not ideological but cultural — old school versus new school. 
• Does focusing on good grades, demanding respectful behavior and pushing kids to overcome their challenges rather than medicate them yield better results?
• Do kids from two-parent households with meaningful discipline fight less? That would be helpful considering the new epidemic of schoolyard brawls, like at this Maryland school that had ten fights in a day.

Watch tonight: Dr. Dan Bober will discuss if telling kids it’s okay to identify as whatever they want makes them more or less happy. 

• And is loving your child “unconditionally” different than indulging and embracing every harebrained idea they have? 

Does the same apply to dogs … Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer writes in The New York Times the culture wars have gone to the dogs —  or at least to dog training. WOOF! 

2024 Could be Biden’s Best Year Yet

We are still waiting to see if Biden will hold the customary year-end presidential press conference as it isn’t on the schedule for tomorrow. 

• As we told you on Tuesday, the White House continues to worry about Biden’s public performances and makes major accommodations for his age.
  • Earlier this week on “On Balance”, George Will explained why his problem isn’t his age but that the White House can’t do anything about it.

Let’s look forward and be fair! 

• The poll numbers can’t get lower. They’re currently sitting around freezing.
• As we told you last night, despite the awful pictures, Biden’s gaining the upper hand on the immigration fight in Congress.
• The Federal Reserve will likely cut rates three times giving the economy a boost and lowering mortgage and credit card rates. 
• Crime is still a problem but is actually getting lower in some cities.
• Biden’s foreign policy remains a disaster, but people will soon forget about Ukraine, and Israel’s war with Hamas could wrap up before spring.
• Haisten Willis at the Washington Examiner reports that Biden thinks voters will reward his loyalty to his son Hunter Biden.
  • Thought bubble: If all the bad stuff is out already, and Republicans have set expectations too high, maybe Biden’s bet will pay off.
  • Americans are incredibly forgiving … just ask Bill Clinton.

So maybe Biden doesn’t need to speak?

Chinese Mind Control Weapons? Wait What?

Bill Gertz (@BillGertz) of The Washington Times highlights a terrifying report from the CCP BioThreats Initiative that new Chinese arms include biological weapons designed to induce sleep or sleep-related disturbances in enemy troops. The goal is to impair cognition and alertness.

• Thought bubble: During the early Cold War, the U.S. military and CIA flirted with these ideas, but the biggest problem was who to test them on. China doesn’t have that issue. 

But don’t worry — the Biden administration celebrated today that the American and Chinese militaries are talking again. The direct link comes after Biden’s conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as if talking is a goal rather than a means to an end. 

Call me maybe…

• Will the Chinese now give America a heads-up before they invade Taiwan? It’s unlikely, but former Green Beret and Florida Congressman Michael Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) had some choice words for the Biden administration after an NBC report that Xi told Biden he would reunify Taiwan. 

Something that might come up on those calls:

• China just reactivated its nuclear test facility in the far west of the country. The New York Times has some great pictures. 

Israel Has a Real Problem, But Can Reminding People about Oct. 7 Fix It? 

The problem: Support for Israel and its war continues to slide. 

As flagged by Charlie Nash (@CharlieNash) on Mediaite, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes explains what lots of Hamas apologists argue, “There is no terrorist attack, no matter how horrific — and truly October 7th was horrific — that can wash clean what we are seeing in Gaza and what we as Americans in our government are abetting. It must end. We must stop it.”

It plays out in polling. Tara Suter (@taysute17) at The Hill writes, “Forty-five percent of registered voters said they supported the U.S. sending additional ‘military aid to Israel for their efforts in the war’ with Palestinian militant group Hamas in the poll released Wednesday. This is a drop from a previous Quinnipiac poll released in November, in which 54 percent of registered voters said they supported additional military aid to Israel.”

Though Jared Gans (@Jared_Gans) at The Hill also reports, “The Harvard CAPS-Harris poll found that two-thirds of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 believe Jews as a class are oppressors and should be treated that way, while 73 percent of all voters said this notion is false.” The Harvard CAPS-Harris poll found that 48 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 supported Hamas in the war. 

The fix: 

• Israel goes on the offensive, putting out a large video display in Times Square featuring the bloody sweatpants of an Israeli brutally raped by Hamas.  
• The USC Shoah Foundation is putting out video and audio records of testimony from the Oct. 7 survivors including descriptions of acts of unimaginable sexual violence against young Israeli women.
  • Watch tonight: The head of the Shoah Foundation, Dr. Robert Williams, will discuss if this will be enough to stop the drumbeat against Israel.
    • And will it stop Democrats from pressuring Biden with an absurd argument, as laid out by six House Democrats, that you can’t destroy Hamas with military might? 

A Quick Update on our Favorite (Alleged) Plagiarist 

Both the New York Times and Washington Post abandoned Harvard President Claudine Gay overnight after new allegations of plagiarism came out. Another one exposed by Phil Magness came out this morning and appears to show intent rather than the usual excuse of sloppiness. 

• The most telling narrative change is from the Washington Post, which less than a week ago published a long article basically calling anyone who questioned Gay a racist.
  • It mentioned “race” a dozen times, including saying this: “What began as a discussion of antisemitism has morphed into a debate over Gay’s race, gender, qualifications and track record on diversity-related issues — an intense scrutiny faced by neither of the two university presidents who testified alongside Gay, both of whom are White women.”
  • Six days later, “race” didn’t appear in its article. 
  • Thought bubble: What changed? Why was it racist to question her six days ago, but now it’s okay? 
• The New York Times also focused its attention on Gay directly and the Harvard Corporation, which appeared to whitewash its investigation to protect her: “Wednesday’s news has raised more questions about the process by which the university board, known as the Harvard Corporation, has handled plagiarism allegations against Dr. Gay, and whether it has been overly lenient with her.”

Follow the money: Bloomberg reports another big Harvard donor just pulled out.

Ground truth: When you are the first Black president of Harvard — and a woman — and a professor of African American Studies —  and you lose the New York Times and Washington Post on the same day, it’s going to be a lonely Christmas.

• And if she survives Christmas as Harvard’s president, the same congressional committee that started this by exposing Gay and two other antisemitic bigots will now investigate Harvard’s original investigation of her plagiarism.
  • Read the congressional letter obtained by Chris Rufo. 
  • Thought bubble: Will Harvard’s board sacrifice themselves by firing Gay to make the congressional investigation go away?

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.