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.
Nikki’s New Nickname: “High Tax Haley”
The Trump-aligned super PAC is out with an ad accusing Nikki Haley of flip-flopping on South Carolina gas taxes.
- Watch the ad.
- Legally, super PACs and campaigns aren’t supposed to coordinate, but they find amazing ways to do it anyway. “High Tax Haley” sounds a lot like a Trump nickname floated at a Mar-a-Lago dinner.
- Thought bubble: “High Tax Haley” is an attack based on policy not appearance; going after the latter opens him up to accusations of sexism.
- Trump attacking Haley in New Hampshire might actually help her with independents and moderate Democrats who can vote in the open primary.
- As we’ve said before, Haley brings a certain amount of swagger and snark. In response to the new ad, she said on X, “Two days ago, Donald Trump denied our surge in New Hampshire existed. Now, he’s running a negative ad against me. Someone’s getting nervous. #BringIt”
- And the far right is nervous about Haley too but because Trump might pick her as vice president.
- Jordan Boyd (@jordanboydtx) of The Federalist reports Tucker Carlson said he would vote against Trump if he picked Haley as his vice president.
- Ron DeSantis’ “War Room” X account published a video of Haley not ruling out the job.
- Thought bubble: Would Haley on the ticket be enough to moderate Trump and assure independents and suburban moms of a return to normalcy?
- Vice President Mike Pence often spoke about trying to moderate Trump in private, and it didn’t work.
- “You guys are exhausting” — Haley tried to channel some of the Republican base’s obsession with grievance populism in her interview with Jon Karl on Trump.
Watch tonight: Corey Lewandowski will come on the show to talk about why the “MAGA” crowd hates Haley even as vice president. Lauren Wright will be on to talk about why Trump attacking her might help Haley in New Hampshire.
The Obsession with Gaza after the War
Since complaints of war crimes did not work to stop Israel’s war in Gaza, the Hamas enthusiasts now obsess over what will happen in Gaza after the war.
- The Washington Post headlines an editorial with, “There will be a day after in Gaza. Here’s what it can look like.”
- NPR headlines, “Disagreements emerge over who should be in control of Gaza when the war ends.”
- Haaretz, which is Israel’s equivalent of the New York Times, stresses “Netanyahu’s Stubborn Refusal to Discuss ‘The Day After,’” noting that “Israel will soon have to address Egypt’s concerns and will also discover that the United States’ support is conditional.”
- Thought bubble: Nobody talked about the Marshall Plan during D-Day or the Battle of the Bulge.
- Ground truth: It’s another way to force a public showdown between President Biden, who loves talking about a two-state solution, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who knows it will never happen.
- Watch Bill Maher explain why: “It’s hard to negotiate when the other side’s bargaining position is you all die and disappear.”
- From Gallop: “Younger Palestinians no longer support a solution that would see two countries existing side by side. One in six Palestinians between the ages of 15 and 25 said they support a two-state solution, compared with 34% of Palestinians aged 46 and older.”
- Yet Biden confidant Senator Chris Coons called Netanyahu “exceptionally difficult.”
- Thought bubble: Why are Democrats and Biden pushing Israel so hard on a solution they have generally said yes to but Palestinians overwhelmingly disapprove of?
Turns out Hamas uses hospitals in Gaza as command posts and bases — just ask a captured hospital chief who turned out to be a Hamas commander.
Will Naptime Show up on the President’s Schedule?
Alex Thomspon at Axios reports, “Current and former Biden aides say he often pushes to do more travel and events than they think he should … Biden pushing up against his limits sometimes creates a cycle in which he wears himself out, then appears fatigued during public events.”
- Thought bubble: The White House’s problem isn’t that Biden appears to be worn out; it’s that there is nothing left to do about it.
- It’s been 33 days since Biden’s last solo press conference. According to Michael D. Shear (@shearm) of the New York Times, Biden has hosted the fewest press conferences since President Ronald Reagan.
- He uses the mini-stairs on Air Force One so he doesn’t trip.
- He wears sneakers so he doesn’t fall.
- He makes almost every weekend a long weekend in Delaware.
- It’s widely reported that he limits his schedule to one or two public events a day.
- He’s skipped at least two planned international trips: COP28 and India’s Republic Day.
- He rarely gives public speeches before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m.
- Honest question: What is there else to do?
Thought bubble: If Biden recedes too much from public view, people will start asking if Jill Biden is like Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, who the White House website explains took over after her husband’s stroke and “pre-screened all matters of state, functionally running the Executive branch of government for the remainder of Wilson’s second term.”
Watch tonight: George Will will discuss how long can someone be president while receding from public view.
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.