Leland Vittert’s War Notes: Gaza Reality Check

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.  

Moment of reflection: For everybody crying about the pause of USAID – take a second and watch this.

• Then watch CNN’s critique of Democrats dying on the hill to save sending billions of taxpayer dollars abroad.
• Watch tonight: The great Chris Cillizza of the DGA Group joins us on why Democrats can’t get their act together. 

Alert: Country star John Rich joins us tonight representing Old Glory Bank.

• The bank took center stage at Senate hearings investigating the “debanking” of conservatives by big corporate banks.

Crazy Enough to Work

Donald Trump’s legitimately wild and out-of-the-box solution to the Palestine-Gaza problem is the first time an American president (of either party) acknowledged an essential truth: 

• There is no two-state solution with Palestinians and Israelis living side by side in peace and harmony.
  • We know this because the “Palestinians” have been offered it time and time again, and they have rejected it.
    • 1948: Rejected partition plan
    • 1967: Arab armies invaded Israel
    • 2000: Camp David, offered 95% of what Palestinians wanted, but Yasser Arafat rejected it
    • 2008: Rejected again
    • Reality check: Despite what we have been told for decades by all the smart foreign policy types, peace in the Middle East doesn’t start with the Palestinians. 
• Therefore: Despite the outrage and fact-checking after Trump’s press conference last night where he said the U.S. should take over Gaza, it’s better than continuing to force the same failed policies. 
• Clickbait: The White House’s rapid response team sent out this clip of me right after Trump’s presser:
  • “And I think you got to give Donald Trump his due on this. The Middle East – he changed the Middle East in his first term. The Abraham Accords, peace with Israel and a number of its Arab neighbors. Moved the embassy to Jerusalem – which we were told was going to start a war and all these things – it did not. Iran now seems to be on its heels – not because of the Biden administration’s policies but despite of it. There’s, I think, a lot of appetite, especially in the United States, to say the way we’ve been dealing with the Palestinians for the last fifty years by both Republicans and Democrats hasn’t worked. Why not give something new a try?”
  • Let’s look at the current ground truth:
    • 15,000 Hamas fighters remain in Gaza and control the Strip.
    • 1.8 million people live in an area slightly bigger than New York City with no housing or infrastructure – the place is rubble with hundreds of miles of underground tunnels for Hamas.
      • The population still supports Hamas and war with Israel. 
    • History tells us if “aid” flows into Gaza, Hamas will steal it to build more tunnels and rearm.
    • Oh – we have been told for decades that those in Gaza are “refugees.” 
• Go deeper: Trump called the Arab world’s bluff.
  • Do they really care about the Palestinians?
    • Then give them a place to restart their lives free of Hamas’ brutal rule. 
• For all those screaming about “ethnic cleansing,” spare me.
  • As if the Arab world kicking every Jew from Morocco to Indonesia out was just hunky-dory … and never mind the October 7 attacks or the bus bombings or the commitment by Hamas to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. 
• Watch Bill Maher from a few months ago and then come talk to me.
  • As Maher says: Things change.
    • Which is why things need to change in Gaza. 

So: Yes, Palestinians who want a better life have the opportunity for a better life. 

• But: CNN spent the day with banners about Palestinians who would rather “eat the rubble” of Gaza than move.
  • Really? No, they would rather be victims and fight Israel while getting billions in foreign aid than build a better life for themselves and their kids. 
• Nobody will say this stuff, but it is true. 

Trump’s plan is crazy, but conventional wisdom for the past 50 years hasn’t worked, so what’s the argument for not trying it? 

• Two against one: Joel Rubin, the founder of ultra-liberal J Street, and Niall Stanage, White House columnist for The Hill, join me on tonight’s show.
  • In the words of Bob Morrissey, our senior producer: Pop the popcorn. 

Racism by Another Name

It’s fair to say that we are in a time where people (on both sides) feel they only have to follow the law when they want to – the richness is how much Democrats pound the desk over the rule of law but don’t follow it. 

• Case in point: College admissions where racism against whites and Asians is alive and well despite the Supreme Court ruling demanding race-blind admissions.
  • As The Atlantic reports, “43 of the 65 top-ranked universities have essay prompts that ask applicants about their identity or adversity.”
• Watch tonight: Professor Sonja Starr from the University of Chicago on her research exposing how colleges get around the Supreme Court ruling.

Populism Run Amok

We’ve often said the very progressive policies designed to help the least fortunate among us hurt the very people they are designed to help:

• Defund the police.
• Team Biden’s open border policy,
• DEI initiatives.
• Allowing teachers unions to run public schools.

• They inherently make the progressive, credentialed elite feel good about themselves at the expense of actually helping America’s working class regardless of race. 
• When the Left does it, we call it out.
  • Now, “conservatives” are getting in on the game. 
• Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., co-sponsored a bill capping credit card interest at 10% – Trump talked about it.
  • It sounds great. 
  • Except it will virtually eliminate credit cards for all but the very rich. 

• Banks charge high interest rates on credit cards because they are unsecured loans by comparing mortgages with lower rates secured and often government guaranteed. 
• The high interest rate (approximately 30%)  incentivizes the banks to take the risk.
  • At 10%, no bank will take the risk of loaning money unsecured.
    • Imagine having a credit card with your credit limit capped at the value of your savings account at that bank. 
• Result: Only the very rich will have credit cards, cutting off a lifeline for tens of millions of Americans.
  • See who: Motley Fool Money has some fascinating data about who really uses credit cards and how much it costs them. 

• Reality check: The laws of economics cannot be repealed even by an act of Congress.
  • Sure, sticking it to the banks sounds great – but it will hurt the very people it’s designed to help. 
• We’ve asked Hawley and Sanders to come on and prove me wrong – stay tuned. 

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.