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.

“Trump Can’t Win, But Biden Could Lose” 

In today’s edition of War Notes, we will once again examine Donald Trump, much like the Palestinians, “never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”  If you haven’t yet, check out last Monday’s edition and our discussion with Bill O’Reilly.

Now onto the news: 

• Over the weekend, Trump nearly doubled Biden’s record-breaking incredible $25 million fundraising haul and brought in above $50 million in Palm Beach. As predicted, the media didn’t cover it … but still, Trump could have basked in the glory of the win. 
• He could have also called up Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and talked about endorsement possibilities after The Rock said he wouldn’t endorse Biden this time around. Bill O’Reilly has a great write-up. 
• Trump could focus all day on Biden’s attempt to circumvent the “rule of law” and once again forgive tens of billions of student loans.
  • Trump could hammer over and over how it’s a blatant attempt to buy off college-educated progressives on the backs of working-class Americans. 

BUT NO, beginning Sunday night, Trump started talking about abortion, which is Republicans’ political equivalent of the immigration issue for Democrats.

• As Trump all but admitted in his Truth Social post, when Republicans talk about abortion, they lose!
  • Here is the four-minute video on Truth Social of him trying to kick the issue to the states, which, much like Biden’s Israel policy, makes absolutely no one happy, especially former Vice President Mike Pence. 
• The media almost loves nothing more than talking about abortion because no matter what they say, it’s universally bad for Republicans. 

It is truly inexplicable.

Trump’s refusal to play smart is one of the reasons “I don’t think Trump can win … but Biden could lose.”

Our newly engaged (congratulations) political editor, Chris Stirewalt, penned his Saturday morning newsletter with that piece of insight from a friend of his and points out how Trump’s ceiling in swing states remains the same. It’s Biden who lags behind his 2020 numbers. 

Death to America in America

Emboldened by Israel’s forced withdrawal at the behest of the Biden administration this weekend, the same Democrats voting “uncommitted” in Michigan went full jihadi. Watch the video here, where you can hear protesters chant “Death to America.” 

It’s the Democrats’ “very nice people on both sides” moment. Even Hillary Clinton got shouted down at her alma mater.

BUT BUT BUT, Biden isn’t bending to those jihadis in Dearborn, just the Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., types — the latter of whom specifically wants “consequences” for the Israelis.

Ground truth: People long mocked President George W. Bush’s doctrine: “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” It was BRILLIANT and simple.

• Kneecapping an ally in the time of war is material support for the other side, which in this case is Hamas and its controllers in Tehran. 

The Wall Street Journal put it this way in yesterday’s editorial: “Democrats Play into Hamas’s Hands.”

• The editorial board writes, “Democrats claim to be looking out for Israel’s best interests, but that’s for Israelis to decide. The threats to withhold weapons from an ally must overjoy Hamas, whose strategy of hiding behind civilian deaths is the real source of Gaza’s humanitarian tragedy.”

BUT BUT BUT, the do-gooders are only worried about starving Palestinians. 

According to little reported but verifiable information from the Israelis, Hamas gunmen took over, or at least at times controlled, the World Central Kitchen convoy Israel attacked. 

Does that make the attack justified? Not really. But it underscores an undeniable point that the blame for the suffering of Palestinian civilians lay squarely in the hands of Hamas! 

Yet America’s media keeps doing the bidding of their “friend” Jose Andres. 

“For me, this is personal,” cried Chris Wallace of CNN, whose idea of a warzone is non-box seats at a Washington Commanders (previously “Redskins”) game. 

• He went on to say, “I know Hamas is hiding in a civilian population. But there’s got to be some way Israel can fight this war without killing so many innocents. Without killing people like Damian (a World Central Kitchen volunteer his daughter knew). Sometime over these six months, continuing to fight this war this way became unacceptable.”

Ground truth: Wallace and his buddies at the Commanders games don’t get that war is awful. Dozens of Israeli troops have died, and thousands have been injured, to save Chris’ beloved “innocents.” Quite simply and sadly, there is no way to beat a terrorist force embedded in a civilian population without killing some of the civilian population.

•  The blame for those deaths lies with terrorists using hostages and human shields. It’s that simple. 

Compare Democrats Above to Fetterman, the Radical 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is now officially an outlier in the Democratic Party.

• Among his unorthodox views:
  • Hamas needs to immediately release the hostages. He said, “You don’t have to agree with every leader’s views, but we have an opportunity to stand with Israel … that’s what I’ve decided to do.”
• Squatters are bad. He followed this up by saying, “I am not woke.” 
• We need to deal with violent crime. 
• The Chinese Communist Party shouldn’t buy American farmland. 

The Press Doesn’t Get It

Ahead of D.C.’s Nerd Prom, aka the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the White House Correspondents’ Association is out with their 2024 award winners for excellence in coverage of the Biden White House.

Honest question: How do these stories differ from White House press releases? 

For reference, we went back and looked at the White House Correspondents’ Association winners from when Trump was president. Not a single winner of the WHCA awards over the four years of Trump could be seen as writing something positive. 

Southwest Video

It’s either terrifying or reassuring that a Southwest Boeing 737-800 safely made it back on the ground after part of the engine cover ripped off during departure. 

Video from the front and back of the wing shows pieces of the metal skin ripping off. 

It’s hard to know if more of these incidents are happening or if we are just hearing about them more, but the reporting, especially about Boeing itself, is terrifying.

• Christopher Rufo’s piece “It’s an Empty Executive Suite” takes you inside a company that clearly lost its way on the yellow brick road of diversity, equity and inclusion and is trying to please Wall Street rather than build safe, reliable airplanes. 

This isn’t political — or at least it shouldn’t be. It’s about the values divide in America.

Traditionalists want safe airplanes flown by well-trained, competent pilots — it’s that simple. 

• Progressives want companies that build airplanes to focus on DEI and airlines to receive accolades based on diversity rather than safety. 

For example, Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan just warned the economic environment “could eclipse anything since World War II.” 

• Yet he spent four pages in his yearly letter exalting the importance and success of DEI.

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.