Leland Vittert’s War Notes: Fundamentally Unserious

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.

State of play :

• 84 days to the election
• 6 days to the DNC
• 28 days to the debate set for Sept. 10
• 23 days since Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the candidacy, and she still hasn’t had a meaningful interaction with the press
• Decision Desk HQ average : Harris +1.4, as of around 12 p.m. ET today. Click here to see the latest numbers

Vibe Election?!

For all those Republicans complaining about “the vibes” surrounding Harris, it would be good for them to realize former President Donald Trump isn’t offering anything better.

For all those Democrats complaining that Trump gets away with saying outrageous things, it would be good for them to realize their candidate isn’t saying anything other than “freedom” and “joy.”

Thus, it really is a vibe election: Joy vs. rage — and America can and should do better.

It is thus a fundamentally unserious election.

• Trump’s “conversation” with Elon Musk on X last night exemplifies that.
  • As does Harris’ response : “Trump’s entire campaign is in service of people like Elon Musk and himself — self-obsessed rich guys who will sell out the middle class and who cannot run a livestream in the year 2024.”
  • Livestream notwithstanding, take a second to click here and dig into polling that shows those most affected by inflation — middle and working-class Americans — overwhelmingly vote for Trump.
• As do the flip-flops by Kamala Harris from America’s most liberal senator to a border hawk.
• There are zero substantive conversations on the issues voters say matter the most: the economy, border and crime.
  • Even on those issues Harris says are near and dear, like abortion, she offers stunningly few details.
  • Harris’ “No Taxes on Tips” ripoff of Trump policy proves, as Chris Stirewalt said, giving away free money polls well, but again, she is unserious about dealing with the major problems for most Americans.

Do Trump and Harris know how unserious they are? Yes.

• Trump doesn’t know how to be disciplined, thus making seriousness impossible.
  • Case in point : Celebrating with Elon Musk the firing of workers who strike.
    • In response, Jonathan Martin responds on X , “Trump hands every union a direct mail piece & radio/tv spot…They should have to report as an in-kind…Forget the ‘we need Trump to drive xyz message.’ – never gonna happen. Rs are better off w Trump off the trail, not actively hurting self. They’d have stronger prospects handing campaign to paid media + surrogates.”
• Harris can’t be serious, because spelling out policies either makes her a flip-flopper on everything, like …
  • Single-payer health care
  • Green New Deal
  • Open border
  • Banning fracking
  • Disbanding ICE
  • Defunding the police
• … or she must embrace the policies that made her America’s most liberal senator and an abysmal presidential candidate

To be fair : Harris played things as well as she could so far

• Gracefully handled the month of Joe Biden flailing
• Hired Obama people who understand vibes
• Stuck to the script
• Kept Team Biden happy
• Ran to the center at least in rhetoric

Warning : Right now, the status quo is just fine with the networks and major newspapers.

• That was true in early June before the CNN debate — Biden had the media in his pocket, but things changed.

Programming alert : Democratic pollster Mark Penn kicks us off tonight by discussing who an unserious election helps.

Speaking of change : A resignation from President Biden would change everything.

• Watch tonight : Former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney will join us to discuss whether Republicans should want Biden to stay in office or not — his answer will surprise you!

How Worried Should Harris’ Campaign Be?

Iran’s promised attack on Israel keeps getting delayed, but we are nowhere near the cease-fire deal the Biden administration hopes will come this week so they can celebrate it next week at the DNC.

• Pro tip : Terrorists (and their supporters) don’t actually care about the civilian population; they care about destroying Israel — a “deal” might not prevent protests
• Just today : 50 people shut down a five-lane highway in California with pro-Hamas demands

Look back : The networks did not show the pro-Hamas protesters shutting down much of Washington on State of the Union night.

Look forward : Will the networks show a split screen of Harris’ speech and protesters shutting down Michigan Avenue?

Walz’s Jeremiah Wright

A new video shows Governor Tim Walz with effusive comments for Imam Asad Zaman, a reported Hitler-loving, Hamas-sympathizing leader in Minnesota that Walz’s administration gave $100,000 to. Click here for the receipts from the New York Post.

Trump had dinner with virulent antisemite Nick Fuentes (before Oct. 7), and the networks covered it wall-to-wall. Walz openly praised and funded a terrorist sympathizer, and I bet you have never heard the story.
It reminds us of the controversy surrounding former President Barack Obama’s pastor , Jeremiah Wright, famous for a sermon talking about “God damn America.”

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.

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