Leland Vittert’s War Notes: 2020 Deja Vu

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 :

• 82 days to the election
• 4 days to the DNC
• 26 days to the debate set for Sept. 10
• 25 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 +1.5, as of around 12 p.m. ET today. Click here to see the latest numbers

Who is the real Kamala Harris? To be fair, we don’t know.

• Fox tells us she is a left-wing loon based on her 2019 presidential campaign policies:
  • Gun confiscation
  • Ending private health insurance
  • Banning fracking
  • Open borders
• MSNBC tells us that she is a transformational figure:
  • Heaven-sent to save the world from former President Donald Trump
  • Who will bring us freedom and joy
  • A moderate in the vein of Bill Clinton who will secure the border and lower prices
• The third option:
  • She’s just like every other politician who says whatever’s necessary to get elected … and really doesn’t believe anything.

Suffice it to say, we may never know who she is — and that’s by design. It’s the 2020 playbook.

Here is why …

The blob : Meet Michael McFaul, the definition of “the blob.” Ambassador to Russia and believer in all things Washington, D.C., and, therefore, an excellent guest on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

• He said the quiet part out loud : “The paramount objective for @KamalaHarris is to win this election.  If a press conference helps her win, she should do it. If not, she shouldn’t do it. It’s just that simple. She has no ‘moral obligation’ to talk to the press. Tone it down, folks.”
• God forbid someone ask Harris a meaningful question, even a simple one, like:
  • “Name a major policy you supported in 2020 that you still support?”
  • Instead, she must be protected at all costs.
• Look back : These are the same people who said Biden privately did calculus and cartwheels.
• Quiet part out loud : Harris shouldn’t be questioned because the only thing that matters is beating Donald Trump.
  • Glenn Greenwald explained it like this : “This is the mentality of the US ruling class, stated as explicitly as can be: The only thing that matters is our empowerment. We have no obligation to be accountable to anyone, to explain ourselves to any of you. If we choose to do so, it’s only because it’s in our interests.”

Like in the 2020 election where Joe Biden became anything to everyone, the real Kamala Harris — what she believes in and what she will do — is made irrelevant.

To be fair : Democrats are now treating Harris like they actually fear for democracy. All their other principles and past statements must be pushed aside to help her win.

In that sense, Harris is like Obamacare in the words of Nancy Pelosi: “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” It worked for Democrats with Obamacare, it worked in 2020, and now, you get to decide if it works in 2024.

2020 vs. 2016

If Harris is running a 2020 campaign, Trump wants to run his 2016 campaign.

• The news : Trump brings back 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, among others, for a campaign reboot.

Watch and see : At 4:30 p.m. ET, Trump holds a press conference. Watch for him to hammer Harris on not taking questions.

• Will he call her stupid and make fun of her laugh? We’ll see.

A+ trolling : The Harris campaign put out a “media advisory” ahead of Trump’s press conference: “TODAY: Donald Trump To Ramble Incoherently and Spread Dangerous Lies in Public, but at Different Home”

• The coming spin : The Harris campaign “trolling” Trump by calling him “weird” and “stupid” is just (good) politics, but Trump calling Harris “stupid” or making fun of her laugh is sexist, racist and bigoted.
  • OK, got it.

Last week : Trump compared the Jan. 6 crowd to Martin Luther King Jr.’s crowd at his “I Have a Dream” speech.

• The media went nuts.
• Trump supporters explained he does it for the media attention and to refocus the race. It’s really Trump 4D chess.

Fair question : OK … it’s working. Everyone is talking about crazy things Trump is saying, including yesterday saying he wasn’t sure the economy is the No. 1 issue in the election.

• Is it helping Trump’s cause? If you believe the polls — no, it’s not.

No-Show!

Next week, remember three names: Brown, Tester and Rosen.

• All three will skip the DNC to campaign for their contested Senate races rather than raise money with the big donors in Chicago and get their photo taken with Vice President Harris
  • Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio
  • Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont.
  • Senator Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.
• It’s a remarkable statement.
• Control of the House and Senate will decide what the next four years look like, especially for federal judicial confirmations.

BUT, Mike Allen writes in Axios’ morning newsletter , “NEW this morning: Increased enthusiasm for Vice President Harris is boosting Democrats in swing-state Senate races, according to polling from The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.”

Race alert : Cook Political Report moved Nevada back to “leans Democrat” from being a “toss-up.”

• Political reality : Enthusiasm for Harris means Sen. Rosen might stay in the Senate, but Rosen seems to want nothing to do with the DNC celebrating Harris — go figure!

“Thank You, Joe”

Watching the 1:30 p.m. ET Biden-Harris event today should make any American feel badly for the president.

• In a nod to his health, it was early afternoon in Maryland, not exactly during a barnstorming victory lap around the country.
• Since her race started last month, Harris hasn’t said Biden’s name in her stump speech.
• The event centers around celebrating “lowering prescription drug costs.”
  • What that means : The White House fact sheet says, “American taxpayers are expected to save $6 billion on prescription drug costs, and people enrolled in Medicare are expected to save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2026 alone.”
  • Reality check : In 2023, Medicare will spend $832 billion. It will be even more in 2026 when the program takes effect.

Yikes! Today’s event centered around celebrating a whopping .6% (POINT 6%) savings in Medicare.

• Fact check : That’s the equivalent of getting a $6 dollar saving on your next iPhone purchase but only in 2026.
  • The $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket savings comes out to $23 per Medicare recipient per year — some will save more or less based on whether they take any of the ten drugs.
    • To be fair : The 1.9 million Americans on Jardiance will save $376 per month — in 2026.

Yikes: That’s the “big” accomplishment Biden and Harris choose to celebrate together?

Look forward: Tomorrow, Harris will roll out some more bold economic policies like going after airline bag fees, credit card rates and price gouging in supermarkets.

• Laws of economics : We know how price controls work …
  • They’re either meaningless like the Medicare savings
  • Or like Venezuela, where there are no groceries …
  • Take your pick

Thought bubble : The growth of the middle class happened because of a free market … Now, they’re trying to take away the free market to save the middle class.
Be fair: In the past week, Trump talked about how great it is to fire striking workers and said he’s “ not sure ” the economy is the most important thing in this election … Woof.

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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