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: Rachel and I are in NYC – it’s cold and magical. Have a wonderful weekend with people you love – we’ll see you for more on Monday.
Defining the Trump Presidency
How goes the Hegseth confirmation process could define the start of the Trump presidency.
State of play:
We told you last night on the show that Pete Hegseth single-handedly turned around his own confirmation fight for secretary of defense – from hospice care to merely in the ICU.
- His statement saying he didn’t answer to the press but only to Trump, senators, his wife and his Lord and Savior created the perfect foil.
- Then Hegseth’s lawyer went on CNN and threatened to sue the woman who accused him of sexual assault – who Hegseth paid off.
- After that, both President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance issued powerful statements of support.
Check out Mark Halperin with his Hegseth survival barometer here.
- Look back: The establishment media won big by scalping Matt Gaetz and ending his bid for attorney general.
- Then they turned their attention to Hegseth.
BUT: The facts were drastically different.
- There is no House Ethics report on Hegseth.
- There are no allegations of sleeping with seventeen-year-olds.
- Hegseth doesn’t have a long history of antagonizing Republican senators.
Binary outcome: Either Hegseth gets confirmed or not.
- Political muscle gets stronger the more you use it and win.
- If Hegseth gets confirmed, it will be a body blow to both the left, and more importantly, the media that’s tried to kill him.
- Cancel culture relies on “fait accompli” – once you’re targeted, there is no way out. The first person who survives proves the movement has no clothes.
- As we’ve told you, the reverse is also true.
- If after Trump and Vance’s support Hegseth doesn’t get fifty plus one Republican senators, it will fill the water with proverbial blood bringing the sharks for other Cabinet nominees like Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kristi Noem.
If Hegseth survives, it gives the new Trump administration newfound strength.
- The media will have come at a flawed nominee with everything they had and bullied Republican senators into confirming Hegseth.
- This is a powerful hand for Trump to enter his presidency with.
MAGA is eating its own.
- A shrewd observer (I can’t remember who – but this isn’t my original thought) noted a few weeks ago that Trump’s diverse coalition Cabinet united by populism presents a unique danger.
- We are seeing that now: Populist movements in democracies end when the factions start fighting against each other.
- Newsmax host and Trump sycophant Greg Kelly called for Hegseth to drop out because he isn’t MAGA enough.
- Trump enforcer Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, on the House floor threatening Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, that she must confirm Hegseth.
- We are seeing that now: Populist movements in democracies end when the factions start fighting against each other.
Democratic dreaming: Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told The Hill:
- “I’ve talked to five to 10 Republicans who have said to me, they’re just waiting for the right moment to say ‘no’ to Pete Hegseth And for very good reasons.”
- Political reality: The longer Hegseth endures, the harder it is to say no.
Zoom out: The anti-Trump media continues to run a 2017 playbook covering MAGA.
- Jon Stewart tells us why that isn’t going to work.
Watch tonight: George Will on how the attempts to kneecap Trump will only make him stronger and whether President Biden’s reported “preemptive” pardons of Mark Miley, Anthony Facui and more will only make him more unpopular.
Russia’s Secret War
PAGING JAMES BOND: This Telegraph article lays out a hybrid war launched by Russia against Europe.
- DHL cargo plane crash in Lithuania
- Recent bomb scares in London
- Drones spotted near U.S. Air Force bases in the United Kingdom
- An explosion at a weapons manufacturing facility in Wales
- Telecommunications cables severed in the Baltic Sea
- Arson attacks, including on a Ukrainian-owned business
- Successful attempts to interfere with Czech rail operators
- A ransomware attack on an NHS provider
- Television satellites were disrupted and damaged, causing programming changes across Europe
- A defector gunned down in Spain
- An assassination attempt on the chief executive of a German arms manufacturer
Watch tonight: The incredible Phil Mudd, formerly of the FBI and CIA, joins us on whether these attacks are also happening in America and why the United States seems unable to respond.
North Carolina
The situation is desperate: VP-elect JD Vance’s visit to North Carolina shined a rightful light on the shameful response of the Biden administration to Hurricane Helene.
- No surprise: Ahead of Vance’s visit, FEMA apologized for their response.
- And Joe Biden posted an Instagram video of him thanking local businesses that stepped up.
- The caption reads, “The people of Asheville haven’t just kept the faith following the unthinkable – they’ve spread it. I gave some of those folks a call to offer my sincerest thanks.”
- And Joe Biden posted an Instagram video of him thanking local businesses that stepped up.
Insulting: For a long time, the government said that it was misinformation when people called out the lack of aid – turns out FEMA has only delivered about a dozen trailers out of the five hundred approved for families who lost their home.
- Pro tip: Hey FEMA, check out Camping World – they have some great deals.
Watch tonight: Edward Graham with Samaritan’s Purse joins us to talk about their efforts and why privately funded faith organizations can do what seems impossible for the federal government.
UnitedHealthcare – Moral Quandary
Our buddy Tommy Christopher over at Mediaite is out with a must-read column about the near celebration over the assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO. Read it here.
- The New York Times lays out what it calls a “torrent of hate.”
Watch tonight: Why the celebration is wrong but that doesn’t mean those celebrating are wrong to be angry – plus, what’s really happening in the investigation
Prediction: The insurance companies won’t change their policies – they will increase protection for their executives.
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.