Leland Vittert’s War Notes: Republican Warning

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: I’ll be off this coming week, so no War Notes. That said, here’s something to think about as we head toward July 4: For all the problems in America right now, the guys who met in Philadelphia should be awfully proud of what they created. 

• Nearly 250 years later, the world looks to the founder’s experiment as the beacon of freedom, 
• As the only country to have saved the world from tyranny and communism, 
• As the economic envy of the world. 

I could go on for a while here, but we should be proud of America and beyond grateful for the sacrifices of those who secured our rights given by God. 

Republicans Beware

Republicans gleefully relishing in Joe Biden’s unmitigated disastrous performance should be careful what they wish for: 

• After last night, Donald Trump’s chances of beating Biden went up significantly
• BUT, replacing Biden — a conversation now held openly on MSNBC, CNN and in the New York Times, rather than privately by Democrats — would upend the presidential race in a way not seen in modern times. 
• Look back: The last time Republicans got what they wished for in Roe v. Wade, it came back to kill them.

Media reality: If Biden is replaced, the drumbeat to rally around the new Democratic nominee and attack Trump would be akin to North Korean state TV. 

BUT WHO? Alex Thompson and Hans Nichols write in Axios, “Many Democrats privately question (Vice President Harris’) ability to connect with voters, but passing over the first Black and woman vice president would create a different set of problems for the party.” 

• It’s possible: Trump and Republicans could only be so lucky that Democrats replace Biden with the only person in America less popular than he is. 
• Fun thought: Kamala will fight like hell to keep Biden on the ticket. It’s the only way she will ever be president. 
• 4D chess: If Kamala is their only choice, should Democrats stick with Biden? 
• Warning bells: Roy Cooper, Gina Raimondo, Michelle Obama, Josh Shapiro, Gavin Newsom are all Democrats who would trounce Trump.
  • Our friend Chris Hahn tweeted, “Paging @gretchenwhitmer Paging @GavinNewsom Paging @JoshShapiroPA Paging @GovWesMoore You’re needed in Chicago…”
• Party time: Chicago just got interesting. For the first time since 1980, one of the political conventions could matter. 
• Zoom out: It’s not just Trump vs. Biden — a Trump landslide would wipe out incumbent Democratic senators and House members, the very people whose support Biden needs to stay on the ticket. 
• Thought bubble: For all the hand-wringing over congressional Republicans’ sycophantic relationship with Trump, one could argue congressional Democrats have a delusional relationship with Biden. Will they face similar pressure from Democratic donors worried about winning in November? 
• Look back: It was congressional Republicans who finally told former President Richard Nixon to go. Will congressional Dems do the same thing? 

Whatever It Takes

“We have got to do whatever it takes to stop Donald Trump,” former Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said this morning on MSNBC, talking about a Lyndon B. Johnson moment of Biden dropping out. 

• Democrats set the stakes this election at stopping Trump to save the republic. After last night, who can argue Joe Biden is the best man to stop Trump? 
• In the words of Obama staffer turned podcaster Tommy Vietor, “You can’t say that the future of American democracy is at stake and then tell anyone concerned about the debate last night to stop bed wetting or grow a spine. It’s f***ing insulting to people who care deeply about the country and know how much is on the line.”

Morning news: Joe Biden woke up and continued the day learning his favorite newspaper and TV news network hates Trump more than they love him. 

Biden’s performance last night made his victory over Trump unlikely at best, and that is far more important to the Democratic establishment than their professed love of Biden. 

• His favorite columnist, Tom Friedman, headlined in the New York Times, “Joe Biden Is a Good Man and a Good President. He Must Bow Out of the Race.”
  • “I watched the Biden-Trump debate alone in a Lisbon hotel room, and it made me weep. I cannot remember a more heartbreaking moment in American presidential campaign politics in my lifetime — precisely because of what it revealed: Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business running for re-election.” 
• Biden lost his favorite TV host, Joe Scarborough.
  • “If he were CEO and he turned in a performance like that, would any corporation in America, any Fortune 500 corporation in America, keep him on as CEO?”

Thought bubble: Historians will look back on everything about this debate as political malpractice from Team Biden.

• All their choices: The timing, the format, the moderators’ team were things the Biden campaign chose, and it blew up in their faces … or did it?
• Fair question: Was this the way to convince Biden (and) maybe Jill Biden he couldn’t do it?
  • That’s Dave Portnoy’s take – his emergency press conference is pretty good. 
• For all the criticism about Biden, the Democratic Party, the DNC, and most of the media did everything they could to ensure there would not be a primary challenge to Joe Biden, which would have prevented last night. 

Coming attack: Remember Hillary Clinton’s 3 a.m. phone call ad? Watch it here. 

• Then imagine cutting to a mash-up of Biden’s nonsensical answers from last night, like this supercut.

Counterargument:

• Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to the rescue: “I refuse to join the Democratic vultures on Biden’s shoulder after the debate. No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record.”

Politico Playbook cites a senior Democrat strategist: “First, it was a pretty shocking performance by Biden, obviously. And any thoughtful person has to ask themself: Should this man be leader of the free world for another 7 months, let alone 55? But he’s not going to step aside and there is no clear process for replacing him.”

Flashback talking point: In 1984, Reagan lost the first debate … and won the election. 

• To be fair: Biden’s performance was exponentially worse than Reagan in 1984 and Obama’s first debate performance in 2012. 

Look back: Republicans had similar meltdown moments after the Access Hollywood “grab ‘em by the p***y” tape, and Trump still won in 2016.

Look forward : 

• The next three big events involve Trump:
  • The Supreme Court rules on his presidential immunity claims Monday
    • Cue the meltdown over Trump-appointed justices if they side with him.
  • Trump’s sentencing in the New York business records case in July
    • Cue “convicted felon” 
    • Will there be increased pressure on Judge (and Democrat supporter) Juan Merchan to be twice as tough on Trump? 
  • The RNC in Milwaukee
    • Cue constant attacks on Republicans over abortion and nonstop coverage (as there should be) of all crazy things Trump and crew will say.

All the things that were supposed to kill Trump (impeachments, court cases, the “grab ‘em by the p****y” tape) didn’t kill him.

All the things that were supposed to kill Biden (inflation, the border, Hunter Biden’s trial) didn’t kill him. 

Conclusion: Presidents are hard to kill off. 

Mrs. Wilson  

First lady Edith Wilson effectively became the president when her husband suffered a debilitating stroke.

Watch now for comparisons of Jill Biden to her — is she pushing her husband to run, or is she the only person who can convince him not to?

• It appears to be the former: At an afterparty, the first lady said, “Joe, you did such a great job. … You answered every question, you knew all the facts.”

Today: Watch the two of them at the post-debate rally today in Raleigh, North Carolina.

You must watch the previous clip to hear the tone in her voice, which is much more like a school teacher than a loving and proud wife. 

• Watch tonight: Dr. Gail Saltz will respond to how Democrat insiders will have the same delicate talk with Joe Biden that families have with their aging relatives about taking away the car keys — except this time, they are taking away the nuclear codes. 

Embarrassing on Many Levels 

Second only to Biden’s campaign staff, the White House press corps should be the most embarrassed folks in D.C. this year — for years, they have looked the other way on Biden’s health problems and called questions about his cognitive ability conspiracy theories. 

• Even last night during the debate, many tweeted “sources say he has a cold” without even the most basic context or skepticism. 

Mic drop: Scott Jennings talking on CNN, “We have been told for weeks, weeks, by Democrats who say, oh, in private meetings, I’ve seen Joe Biden do cartwheels and handstands while doing trigonometry while solving all the nation’s problems. We now know that every single person who said that has been lying to the American people.”

Ground truth: The media collectively cares far more about beating Trump than they do about Biden — it’s impossible after last night to think Biden is the best person to do that. 

Josh Dawsey writes on X, “This one still gets me. BIDEN: ‘I supported Roe v. Wade, which had three trimesters. First time is between a woman and a doctor. Second time is between the doctor and an extreme situation. And a third time is between the doctor — I mean, it’d be between the woman and the state.’”

Dare to dream: If Biden sticks around, will the press now smell blood in the water and start covering him like they did Trump when he was president?

• The White House press corps may not, but the Pentagon press corps just took Sabrina Singh to task over Biden’s claims that no service members died on his watch.

Click here to watch the briefing; skip to 23:50 for the question.

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.