Leland Vittert’s War Notes: All My Friends Are Wrong

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 9 pm ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here.

Before you go to bed: Watch till the end of the show tonight – we are trying out a new segment that you will be talking about tomorrow with your friends.

Feel good: DJ Daniel, the 13-year-old cancer survivor and now honorary Secret Service agent from last night’s speech, joins us tonight.

War warnings: China said it’s ready for war with the U.S. – either a tariff, trade or actual war.

What I am thinking: It doesn’t seem like China is that scared of Trump’s 4D chess on Ukraine.

Hamas ultimatum: Trump issued a stern warning to Hamas that they must release all the hostages or “there will be hell to pay” – it’s a lot like the red line he drew a few weeks ago that he didn’t back up.

About Last Night

For my euphoric Republican friends, I have a warning. For my depressed Democratic friends, I have hope.

2 minutes: Both hope and warning come in the start of Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s rebuttal.
- Look back: Rebuttals are normally the end of political careers – Slotkin is the exception.
Substance: Slotkin offered something that Democrats badly need – a road map out of the wilderness.
- Read the transcript here.
  - She defined patriotism as something other than waving the flag.
  - She harkened back with longing to a less divided time in America.
  - She actively and correctively acknowledged the anger of the working class, paycheck-to-paycheck voters and did not demonize them.
  - She quoted Ronald Reagan.
    - Wait? What? A Democrat quoting Reagan – now you have my attention.
  - Lost opportunity: She then used that attention to spend six minutes talking about January 6 and threats to democracy.
    - The code words about “inclusion” to defend boys in girls sports are stupid.
      - Slotkin abstained this week from a Senate vote protecting girls from boys in sports – WOOF … take a stand!
Be fair: Whatever Democrat wants to be president in 2028 should IMMEDIATELY hire whoever wrote the first two minutes of the speech.
- That is how you win elections – so yes, there is hope for Democrats, but they have to see it beyond their anger at Republicans.

Hope: Slotkin’s first two minutes stands in contrast to the dumpster fire of:

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, shaking his cane at Trump and screaming – only to demand to be ejected so he could go to the cameras and promise more articles of impeachment.
The women wearing pink because of Trump’s “war on women,” yet many voted against protecting girls from boys on their sports teams.
- 🪧 The stupid auction-like paddles that members of the squad held up – they have rightly been turned into memes – find pictures on Twitter of the memes
  - Note to politicians: Never hold up a sign!

The refusal to stand for a senior in high school admitted to West Point or the 13-year-old cancer survivor named an honorary member of the Secret Service.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, posting this dance video.
At least 22 Democratic senators reading the same script in trying to make an authentic prebuttal video.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., made her latest attempt at a fundraising video.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., walking back his praise of Trump for closing the border.

We could do a full page of this, but I got to bed late and am now on deadline.

Why it matters: Not everything Trump does is good, but there’s no good Democrats to fight him.

Proof: The Democratic response consisted of bingo paddles and a 75-year-old with a cane — stupid.
- Where is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries? Where is the Democratic leadership?
  - Who keeps Democrats from doubling down on the clown show?

Note: I didn’t say much about Trump – the speech was a walk-off home run – a CBS poll showed 68% of Americans felt “hopeful” after watching the speech – damn.

The story today is about Democrats – and that’s good for Trump.
- BUT: Slotkin had a moment, and Republicans should be scared of that.

Watch tonight: Chris Cillizza on how Democrats fix this.

It’s a little bit like a very bad football team.
- Take the New York Giants – they’ve won nine games in two years.
  - Get a new quarterback?
  - A new defence?
  - A new offensive line?

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing titled “A Hearing with Sanctuary City Mayors” in Washington, DC on March 5, 2025. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Soviet Union

MAGA firebrand Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., threatened progressive mayors with criminal prosecution today – sounds a lot like Soviet-style politics.

The mayors of Chicago, Denver, Boston and NYC came before the House Oversight Committee for a dissecting of their policies.
Click here to watch.
- Prediction: This is going to end badly for Republicans in two ways.
  - The obvious: Democrats, once in power, will start prosecuting Republican governors – and criminalizing (even bad) policy is a bad idea.
The political: It’s not a 70/30 issue like:
- Boys in girls sports
- Closing the border
- Lowering crime
- Lowering taxes
- Ending government waste
- Deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes
  - All of these issues poll really well – that’s why Trump talked about them last night.
Democrats could only dream of the FBI arresting the Democratic mayor of Denver – it’s a 30/70 issue for Republicans.
- Stay away.
Back to last night: Trump played defense on prices and tariffs – if Republicans are seen focusing on prosecuting mayors rather than bringing prices down, it will become a HUGE problem.
- It’s not just prosecuting mayors – firing people who predict the weather doesn’t make sense to most common-sense Americans.