Leland Vittert’s War Notes: A Thousand Cuts

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.  

Thought bubble: When dams break, it’s like drinking water from Niagara Falls. It’s only Wednesday, buckle up! 

• Tomorrow: Joe Biden holds a high-stakes press conference the very same day Trump was originally supposed to be sentenced in the hush money case. What a freakin’ turn of events, my friends. (Hat tip to our senior broadcast producer Hayley Turner for catching that.) 

A Thousand Cuts

Big picture: 

• Pro-Biden Democrats postdebate (about Biden) want to be like Republicans after Jan. 6 (about Trump) — initially, they saw/said how bad things were yet 10 days later want to move on like it never happened.
  • There are a few big differences: While Jan. 6 was a singular (bad) event, the bad news from the debate — bad polling, continued gaffes, defections, inability to move past it by doing lots of events — keep coming.
  • The biggest problem for the pro-Biden group is they can’t change the narrative — every day Biden’s problems (polling, defections, etc.) get worse.  

Look out below:

• The dam appears to be breaking, and the thousand cuts are happening:
• Editor’s note: This is not an exhaustive list of Democrats who have wounded Biden today, but the ones we found most important. 
• George Clooney opines in the New York Times, “I Love Joe Biden But We Need a New Nominee.”
  • This is most important because Clooney listens to Obama — they often summer together … and Obama has been silent since a postdebate tweet.  
  • Real worry: Clooney continues, “We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate. This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”
  • The quiet part out loud: “It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.” 
  • Important question: Gee George, wouldn’t it have been fair to tell us this a few weeks ago? Especially when everyone said the video of Obama leading Biden offstage at YOUR fundraiser  was a “cheap fake.” 
• From Chris Ryan of the NH Today Show, “@SenatorShaheen on @POTUS staying in the race via the @NHTodayShow: ‘The President has to make that decision. I believe ultimately he is going to do what’s in the best interest of the country. I’m going to give him some time to make that decision.’”
• Like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s nonsupportive nonanswer on “Morning Joe”: “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
  • Wait what? Biden has said 100 times since the debate he’s running … what exactly is Pelosi saying then?
    • Especially when she goes on Biden’s favorite TV show to do it! 
  • Click here to watch MSNBC press Pelosi multiple times while she refuses to say Biden is her man.
  • Click here to watch Pelosi get angry with ABC later on. This isn’t a bad day for Democrats — it’s an awful one.
• Decoder ring: From Jonathan Martin on X, “The presentation is Pacific Heights, but the message is straight from the Baltimore clubhouse: do the right thing, Joe.” 
• Cue the music:
  • Keith Whitely: “You say it best when you say nothing at all.”
  • White House response:
    • CNN earlier today reported a Biden aide said, “We’re done talking about the debate.” 
  • Thought bubble: OK … nobody else is …Trump has wanted to be done talking about Jan. 6 for over three years, and people still are talking about it too.
• MSNBC: Sen. Richard Blumenthal said, “I am deeply concerned” about the president.

Way down ballot: Politico reports New York is now possibly in play for Trump.

‘Put up or shut up’: The level of Democratic freakout requires a president who can barnstorm to salve frayed nerves. Former White House communications director turned CNN contributor Kate Bedingfield said the White House needed to show a path to 270 electoral college votes. 

Won’t cut it: After Biden’s 20-minute long NATO speech delivered at 5 p.m. from a teleprompter, Democrats celebrated a great job from a commander in chief who showed he was in charge.

• Minor hiccup: He appeared to read the teleprompter instructions
  • “Ask the mili- — (applause) — military aide to come forward — (applause) — and ask him to read the citation. (Applause.)”
  • Click here to see it for yourself in the official White House transcript. 
• Very low bar: The press pool following Biden now notes today he spoke for 7 minutes without a teleprompter.
  • “POTUS was not using a teleprompter and did not appear to be using any notes during his remarks.”

Suddenly, first lady Jill Biden’s postdebate moment telling the president, “You answered every question” makes more sense. Simply answering the questions was a success in their mind. 

Incoming fire: Jill Biden stepping out from being first lady into a political figure makes her fair game for the media. The last first lady to do that was Edith Wilson (wife to President Woodrow Wilson) when she became shadow president. Back then, there wasn’t 24-hour cable news. 

Watch tonight: Former chief of staff to Laura Bush Anita McBride on Jill Biden’s new role and what it will be like when the media turns on her.  

• Read ahead: McBride’s U.S. News op-ed. 

Look forward: Biden’s solo press conference tomorrow is yet another test – look for increased scrutiny on his cheat sheets and who he calls on. 

• Look for questions about his schedule and taking the 3 a.m. phone call.
  • Yesterday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gave a devastatingly honest answer to that question.
    • Fox reporter Peter Doocy: “[Biden’s] sharpest before 8:00 PM. So say that the Pentagon at some point picks up an incoming nuke. It’s 11:00 PM. Who do you call? The first lady?”
    • Jean-Pierre: “He has a team that lets him know…of any news that is pertinent and important to the American people.”

Speaking of 3 a.m. phone calls, the man who carried the nuclear football for Bill Clinton joins us tonight: former Air Force Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson, who will talk about exactly who wakes the president up and how long he has to make a decision. 

Watch tonight: David Weigel and Anita Kumar will discuss whether the White House press corps will “play by the rules” or go full throttle at a wounded president. 

• What will his cheat sheets look like? 
• Click here to see cue cards provided by his press team with talking points and reporter pictures. 

No Honor Among Thieves 

In quainter times, Democrats would take the week of the RNC off and let Republicans have the spotlight — Republicans would do the same for the DNC.

• In a weird turn of events, Republicans wish they could take next week off or at least delay their convention and vice president pick.
  • In fact, Trump continues to delay announcing his running mate pick. 
• Irony alert: On the Monday of the RNC, the Democrats wanted to set the narrative, so they scheduled a Biden address at — wait for it —  the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas.
  • Yes, LBJ was the only modern president to bow out of a reelection race. 

Dust off your history books and riot helmets —  just like in 1968, the Democrats will be in Chicago for the DNC this August.

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.