Leland Vittert’s War Notes: A Thousand Cuts

U.S. President Joe Biden attends the welcoming ceremony during the 75th NATO Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC on July 10, 2024. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto 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.

Thought bubble: When dams break, it’s like drinking water from Niagara Falls. It’s only Wednesday, so buckle up!

• Morning: Joe Biden holds a high-profile press conference on the same day Trump was originally scheduled to be convicted in the hush money trial. What a damn turn of events, my friends. (Hats off to our senior broadcast producer Hayley Turner for catching this.)

A thousand cutsS

Big picture:

• Pro-Biden Democrats want to be after the debate (on Biden) like Republicans were after January 6th (on Trump) – initially they saw/said how bad things were, but 10 days later they want to carry on as if nothing ever happened.
  • There are some big differences: Even though January 6 was a one-off (bad) event, the bad news from the debate continues – poor poll numbers, continued blunders, defections, the inability to put the issue behind us through many events.
  • The biggest problem for the pro-Biden group is that they can’t change the narrative – every day, Biden’s problems (polling numbers, defections, etc.) get worse.

Look out below:

• The dam seems to break and the thousand cuts take place:
• Editor’s note: This is not a complete list of Democrats who hurt Biden today, but the ones we thought were most important.
• George Clooney says in the New York Times: “I love Joe Biden, but we need a new candidate.”
  • This is especially important because Clooney listens to Obama—the two often spend the summer together… and Obama hasn’t been heard from since a post-debate tweet.
  • Real concern: Clooney continues: “With this president, we are not going to win in November. Moreover, we are not going to win the House of Representatives and we are going to lose the Senate. That is not just my opinion; that is the opinion of every senator, congressman and governor that I have spoken to privately. Every single one of them, regardless of what he or she says publicly.”
  • The quiet part loud: “It’s devastating to have to say this, but the Joe Biden I was with at the fundraiser three weeks ago was not the ‘big damn thing’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all saw at the debate.”
  • Important question: Gosh, wouldn’t it have been fair to tell us this a few weeks ago? Especially when everyone was saying the video of Obama walking Biden off the stage at THEIR fundraiser was a “cheap fake.”
• From Chris Ryan of the NH Today Show: “@SenatorShaheen on @POTUS staying in the race, via @NHTodayShow: ‘The President has to make that decision. I believe he will ultimately do what is in the best interest of the country. I will give him some time to make that decision.'”
• Like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s unsupportive non-response on “Morning Joe”: “It’s up to the president to decide whether to run. We all encourage him to make that decision because time is running out.”
  • Wait what? Biden has said it 100 times since the debate he is having… so what exactly does Pelosi say?
    • Especially when she appears on Biden’s favorite TV show!
  • Click here to watch MSNBC repeatedly pressure Pelosi as she refuses to say Biden is her man.
  • Click here to watch Pelosi rant on ABC later This isn’t a bad day for Democrats – it’s a terrible one.
• Decoder ring: From Jonathan Martin on X: “The presentation is in Pacific Heights, but the message is coming straight from the Baltimore clubhouse: Do the right thing, Joe.”
• The music begins:
  • Keith Whitely: “The best way to say it is to say nothing at all.”
  • White House response:
    • CNN reported today that a Biden aide said, “We’re done talking about the debate.”
  • Thought bubble: OK… nobody else is… Trump hasn’t wanted to talk about January 6th for over three years, and people are still talking about it.
• MSNBC: Senator Richard Blumenthal said, “I am deeply concerned” about the president.

Far down the electoral list: Politico reports that New York may now be in play for Trump.

“Either you give something or you keep your mouth shut”: The scale of the Democratic panic requires a president who can calm frayed nerves with plenty of fuss. Former White House communications director and current CNN contributor Kate Bedingfield said the White House must show a path to getting 270 electoral college votes.

Will not make it: After Biden’s 20-minute NATO speech, delivered from the teleprompter at 5 p.m., Democrats celebrated the great work of a commander in chief who has shown that he is in charge.

• Little problem: He seemed to read the instructions from the teleprompter
  • “Ask the military advisor to step forward — (Applause) — and ask him to read the award. (Applause.)”
  • Click here to read it for yourself in the official White House transcript.
• Very low bar: The press following Biden notes that he spoke for 7 minutes today without a teleprompter.
  • “POTUS did not use a teleprompter and did not appear to take notes during his speeches.”

Suddenly it makes more sense when First Lady Jill Biden told the President after the debate, “You answered every question.” Simply answering the questions was a success in her eyes.

Incoming fire: Jill Biden’s rise from First Lady to political figure makes her fair game for the media. The last First Lady to do this was Edith Wilson (wife of President Woodrow Wilson) when she became shadow president. Back then, there was no 24-hour news on cable TV.

Watch tonight: Former Laura Bush chief of staff Anita McBride on Jill Biden’s new role and what it will be like when the media turns against her.

Be happy: Biden’s solo press conference tomorrow is another test – expect more scrutiny of his cheat sheets and the people he meets with.

• Be sure to ask questions about his schedule and answering the 3am call.
  • Yesterday, press spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre gave a shockingly honest answer to this question.
    • Fox reporter Peter Doocy: “(Biden is) at his sharpest before 8 p.m. So let’s say the Pentagon detects an incoming nuclear bomb at some point. It’s 11 p.m. Who do you call? The First Lady?”
    • Jean-Pierre: “He has a team that informs him of all the news that is relevant and important to the American people.”

Speaking of 3 a.m. phone calls, we’re joined tonight by the man who carried Bill Clinton’s nuclear football, former Air Force Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson. He’ll talk about who exactly wakes the president up and how much time he has to make a decision.

Watch tonight: David Weigel and Anita Kumar discuss whether the White House press will play by the rules or go full throttle against a troubled president.

• What will his cheat sheets look like?
• Click here to view his press team’s cue cards with talking points and reporter photos.

No honor among thieves

In more historical times, Democrats would have taken the week of the RNC off and let Republicans have the spotlight – Republicans would have done the same for the DNC.

• In a strange turn of events, Republicans wish they could take next week off, or at least postpone their convention and vice presidential election.
  • In fact, Trump continues to delay announcing his vice presidential candidate.
• Irony alert: On Monday of the RNC, the Democrats wanted to set the tone and therefore scheduled a speech by Biden – attention – at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas.
  • Yes, LBJ was the only modern president to drop out of the re-election race.

Dust off your history books and hard hats – just like in 1968, Democrats will be in Chicago for the DNC this August.