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.
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Egg Wars
Donald Trump faces a looming crisis not of his making that will soon envelop his presidency – the price of eggs.
- This morning, as Rachel and I drank our coffee, I casually mentioned that a few eggs would sound great right now …
- Maybe not a full-blown request of my fiance, but a suggestion – a wishful thought.
- “Nope,” came the reply. “We are out of eggs.”
- And not only are we out, but the grocery store was out yesterday.
- Is this the Soviet Union circa 1975?
- Egg shortages and wild prices of ten dollars a dozen are the talk of social media.
- “Does anybody else keep one last egg because you are scared you can’t afford to buy more?” One TikTok user writes.
- “Egg prices got you cashing in your life savings,” jokes another TikTok.
- “About 100,000 eggs worth $40K stolen from trailer in Pennsylvania,” NBC headlines.
- Presidents get defined by problems – whether it’s fair or not.
- The price of eggs is not Trump’s fault – but it is soon to be his problem.
- The egg shortage is going to get hung around his neck.
- It’s now an hourly story on MSNBC and by next week it will be on all the morning shows … just watch.
- If Democrats were smart they would stop talking about Elon or the Department of Education and start talking about eggs.
- Not enough: This morning, bad job numbers came out and the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a sternly worded statement:
- “Today’s jobs report reveals the Biden economy was far worse than anyone thought, and underscores the necessity of President Trump’s pro-growth policies. During his first weeks in office, President Trump declared a national energy emergency to Make America Energy Dominant Again, pledged to cut ten regulations for every new regulatory action, and outlined a plan to deliver the largest tax cut in history for hard-working Americans. President Trump is delivering on his promise to restore our broken economy, revive small business optimism, create jobs, and ignite a new Golden Age for America.”
- Reality check: This is the last time that Trump can spin the “it’s Biden’s fault” argument.
- Americans have a very very short tolerance for pain – remember the toilet paper hoarding at the start of COVID?
- No executive order is going to bring down egg prices.
- Winning: President Trump can celebrate all the executive orders he wants – today he signed one bringing back plastic straws.
- Who knew the president had that power?
- But none of it matters when people don’t have eggs for breakfast.
- Who knew the president had that power?
Talking Points Memo
Clearly, the Democratic talking point is that Trump pardoned January 6 rioters- who cares about illegal immigrants who committed crimes?
- Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., said it last night during “On Balance.”
- “I don’t want to hear that the Trump administration is about law and order. I was in the chambers there on January 6th and he has pardoned over 200 people who committed a violent coup there. … Tell me he’s concerned about law enforcement and going after criminals. He has pardoned people who have now threatened us after they got out.”
- Watch my full interview with Rep. Quigley here.
- “I don’t want to hear that the Trump administration is about law and order. I was in the chambers there on January 6th and he has pardoned over 200 people who committed a violent coup there. … Tell me he’s concerned about law enforcement and going after criminals. He has pardoned people who have now threatened us after they got out.”
- Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said it today while responding to a Trump administration lawsuit over Illinois and Chicago interfering with ICE arresting dangerous illegal aliens.
- “When you pardon a bunch of January 6th perpetrators who attacked police, that’s not making anyone safer in Illinois,” Pritzker said.
- Zoom out: It sounds like something the “Pod Save America” bros came up with while drinking beers.
- Dear God: If this election taught us one thing, it’s that Americans don’t care about January 6.
- Democrats just can’t give up the ghost.
- Focus group: Those living on the southside of Chicago aren’t afraid of the Proud Boys, but they are terrified of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs.
All the Democrat’s Men
This weekend, President Donald Trump heads to the Super Bowl and will face off with the second most famous person in the world: Taylor Swift.
- Trump won and Swift lost.
- Just look at the ads for this year’s game.
- Eight years after swearing off bikini babes and hamburgers, Carl’s Jr. is out with this Super Bowl commercial.
- Just look at the ads for this year’s game.
- Zoom out: Trump surrounds himself with “manly men” – he loves winners.
- Example: Elon Musk is the world’s richest person.
- Look back: Trump came to fame in New York during the time of Joe Namath.
- Example: Elon Musk is the world’s richest person.
Compare Trump’s Super Bowl to the Democrats’ leading men.
- Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who lost in 2016 on Hillary Clinton’s ticket.
- Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wearing glasses and dancing.
- Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
- Tim Walz hunting.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., making up his Vietnam record.
- The party killed former representative Joe Kennedy’s campaign so Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., could take over for Markey in the future.
- Protesting Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., for calling out the party’s stance on boys in girls sports.
- David Hogg, the new DNC Vice Chair.
- Team Trump folks trolled him into running for the position.
BUT: What about the Democrats’ most manly man, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania?
- Well, he says that Democrats have a problem.
- When asked how Democrats can win back white men, Fetterman responded:
- “I don’t know, and truthfully, I’m not sure. I’m not sure if that’s possible, to be honest. … Unless you’re able to conform to our very strict kinds of definition of what we think is appropriate, well, then I’m just – I’m going to find an alternative. And they’ve done that.”
- When asked how Democrats can win back white men, Fetterman responded:
Watch tonight: Kurt Bardella on why Democrats find masculinity so offensive and if they can win by forcing men to apologize.
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.