Looking for news in the wrong places

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JULY 16: Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends the Republican National Convention (RNC) at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA on July 16, 2024. Former President Donald Trump nominated JD Vance as his running mate, bringing a venture capitalist turned senator whose turn to populist politics attracted national attention and made him a rising star in the party to the Republican presidential ticket. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Leland Vittert, chief anchor of NewsNation in Washington and host of On Balance, was a foreign correspondent in Jerusalem for four years. He gives you a first look at tonight’s 7 p.m. ET broadcast. Subscribe to War Notes here.

Day 3 in Milwaukee: It’s never boring with Donald Trump, but the RNC is, well, boring. There’s not much to report.

• The party loves Trump – Nikki Haley endorsed him last night.
• Trump’s people, like Lara Trump and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, give him a more human touch in their speeches.
• His chosen vice president, JD Vance, represents a distilled version of MAGA.
• They are not concerned with abortion.
• They are not talking about putting Hunter Biden in prison.
• They are not concerned about the release of the “hostages” of January 6 or the 2020 elections.
• They talk mostly about crime, inflation and the border, but also a little about national security – all issues that voters say are important.
• Simple headline after the shooting: Republicans are cooling the mood and banding together (that is, they are being smart).
  • The Republicans are being smart. That’s boring, but rare. And it underscores the newfound discipline of Team Trump.
  • Subtle message: The Democrats just can’t get their 💩 together.

In contrast, there is NO unity among the Democrats, and the only message they agree on is that Trump (who just got shot) is a bitch.

NOT BORING: The drama is among the Democrats

• The Obama team (most vocally the guys from “Pod Save America”) continues to pressure Biden to resign and accuses Biden’s advisers of staying in office.
• Now a lot of money is flowing into polls, which then leak to reporters and reveal Biden’s weaknesses.
• The DNC wants to push through a virtual nomination of Biden before the party convention and is now facing an internal revolt.
• Two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to drop out of the race.

Mediaite reports: “An hour before Trump was shot, Biden held a disastrous Zoom call that rattled moderate Democrats.”

And according to the Washington Post, Biden’s allies are concerned that he is not getting all the information about the campaign.

The headlines of Mike Allen’s Axios AM newsletter, Drudge Report and Politico’s Playbook revolve around the Democrats

• From Axios: “Since its desolate “At last month’s debate, President Biden put forward a long list of left-wing policy proposals, imposed force on the party’s nomination process, and yet sought to limit spontaneous, unforeseen moments.”
• From Politico: “WHAT DEMOCRATS ARE READING —This poll memo (h/t JMart) from BlueLabs Analytics is circulating among party officials who are still interested in JOE BIDEN to resign and prevent his party from suffering a historic loss, as many fear DONALD-TRUMP.”
  • Alarm bells: “Almost every Democrat tested performs better than the president.”

The Democrats are so broken that during the Republican National Convention we talk about how broken the Democrats are.

Thought bubble: Despite all the media whining about the Republican Party no longer being the party of Ronald Reagan and abandoning traditional conservative values, Biden and Team Blue’s shift to the left shows that they have no interest in forming a coalition with these voters.

Perspective: Bill O’Reilly returns to the Daily Show. If it weren’t for January 6, he predicts Trump would be 25 points ahead.

• Click here to watch the conversation.

Lesson for life: Things change, and they may change again before November, but right now the real “news” is about the Democrats and Joe Biden – and that is terrible news for the Democrats and Joe Biden.

Be happy: Don Jr. told Mike Allen that his father would only lose if the Democrats “cheated.” Tonight, Trump sycophant Peter Navarro will emerge from prison, where he was charged with contempt of Congress on Jan. 6, to speak at the RNC.

• In a few words: Dear God.

Vance’s big night

Will the real JD Vance still be around? In American politics, you rarely get the chance to make a real first impression… in my life, there have been three:

• Barack Obama, 2004
• Sarah Palin, 2008
• J.D. Vance, 2024

Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, confidant and current convention adviser, told us last night that of all the vice presidential candidates they interviewed and tested, JD Vance has the lowest name recognition of any potential Trump nominee.

What even informed Americans know about Vance:

• poor child
• Mom was addicted to drugs
• marine
• Attended Yale Law School
• Wrote “Hillbilly Elegy.”
• “Never Trumper” became Trump’s vice presidential candidate.

For most Americans who don’t spend their lives watching cable news, this evening is their chance to say hello.

Our reporting suggests that it is more about biographies than politics.

• The Republican base knows and loves him – he doesn’t have to prove anything to them
• “Hillbilly Elegy” was a bestseller and then became a Netflix film – Americans love American stories

Watch tonight for reporting on his big evening.

COVER UP?

Republican anger continues to grow over the lack of answers, accountability and information about Saturday’s attack.

Be happy: The longer it takes the Secret Service to answer basic questions, including the “shoot” or “don’t shoot” decision (and radio traffic) by its sniper control team, the more time it will be given for spreading conspiracy theories.

Everything we don’t know:

• Everything about the shooter’s motive
• Whether the sniper team spotted the suspect with his rifle before he fired.
• Why a man with a rangefinder was even allowed through security
• Why the local officer who confronted the gunman on the roof did not notify the Secret Service command post
• What broke down in the communication between the local support police authorities and the secret service to cover the building
• How many shots the shooter fires before being attacked
• I could go on

Needs to get better: In an interview with ABC, the controversial director of the Secret Service said that because of the sloping roof, the organization had neither posted an agent nor set up a guard post at the building – a downright ridiculous explanation.

We don’t know when Corey Comperatore will be buried, but sources have told NewsNation’s Libbey Dean that Trump will not attend the funeral – although he has called the volunteer firefighter’s widow.

Locals are angry that they are being tricked

• Brian Entin will be with us tonight to report on all of this and new information he’s learned from locals, including that they told the Secret Service they didn’t have enough personnel to secure the building.

The New York Post reports that the Butler County Sheriff defended his officers, saying, “If I’m interrupted and I pull my gun, you have to reevaluate the whole situation at that point. So you could argue that those two officers saved the president’s life.”

If you can explain crazy events with incompetence rather than a conspiracy, always choose incompetence.