Leland Vittert’s War Notes: Hello, Pennsylvania👋

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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 p.m. ET show, delivered straight to your inbox.

Dutch update🐶: Thank you for all the good wishes to Dutch — after a sleepless weekend for mom and dad, he is home from the hospital but still very much up and down.

🙏Huge thanks to the Veterinary Emergency Group team of doctors and a pet ER with a room and cot so you don't have to leave them alone at night.
Perspective🦴: What I would give for him to beg for treats!

Speaking from the pulpit📺: Of the nearly 170 interviews I've done for "Born Lucky," "Personally Speaking with Msgr. Jim Lisante" is among my favorites.

⛪️He graciously invited me to address his parish — Our Lady of the Lourdes in Massapequa Park, New York.
- 🎤I'll speak at 10:30 a.m. ET mass on December 14.
- Nervous 😨: I have never spoken at a church before — yikes!

On the Road ✈️

🙏🏼President Trump faces an equally difficult and important task — convincing non-MAGA supporters that he cares about people like them.

🤷🏼‍♂️MAGA will always love Trump — Democrats will always hate him.
👀The fate of his presidency and the Republican Party lies with non-MAGA types who may or may not have voted for President Biden in 2020 but came out for Trump in 2024.
- 🗳️These are the people who will control the midterms.
Look forward⏭️: Trump heads to Paradise Township, Pennsylvania, tomorrow — our Kellie Meyer is there tonight reporting on why people who voted for him no longer think he hears them.
- 💰57% of voters think Trump is making our economy worse.
  - 👀By definition, that's almost 10% of Trump voters.
- 🛒Around 7 in 10 Americans say they are spending more on groceries this year than last.
  - 💵The issue isn't so much how much people are spending, it's that they feel poorer — wages haven't caught up.
- ⛽️6 in 10 say they are paying more in utilities
🗣️The Trump administration needs to explain they feel our pain.
- 👀Does President Trump have it in him?

Be fair⚖️: Trump inherited President Biden's economy…

🎤"Democrats created scarcity, whether it was in energy or overregulation, that we are now seeing the -- this affordability problem," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
- 📊But polls are showing Americans are blaming Trump.
- 🤦🏼‍♂️And his current messaging isn't working.

🧑‍🌾Today, Trump announced a $12 billion farm aid plan to help tariff-hit farmers.

🤷🏼‍♂️The best thing Republicans have going for them is Democrats.

🗣️Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, just announced she is running for Senate in Texas.
‼️This is her if you aren't familiar —
- 🎤"When I see ICE, I see slave patrols," said Crockett.
- 🎤"I am tired of the White tears … the only people crying are mediocre White boys," said Crockett.
- 🎤"It's Ted Cruz … this dude has to be knocked over the head, hard," said Crockett.
  - ‼️This is who is running for Senate in Texas.
    - 🎤"She is a very formidable candidate," said NewsNation's Chris Cillizza.
  - Prediction👀: Jasmine Crockett reminds me a lot of Herschel Walker or Doug Mastriano.

Watch tonight📺: Bill O'Reilly wrote a snapshot from his time at the White House last week saying the best thing Republicans have going for them is Democrats.

📰O'Reilly headlines: "The Real Gulf of America"
- 👀But he left out what advice he gave Trump on how to talk to "the folks." We'll ask him tonight.

HELLO WORLD 👋

🎄Two weeks from tonight starts Christmas week, when Americans of all political persuasions gather — for Democrats who really care about politics, they will start talking about presidential candidates.

The bench‼️: For unsaid but obvious reasons, suddenly (as in right now), Democrats who wouldn't talk to the national media now want to be top of mind.
- 📺Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro joins MS NOW tonight for a rare interview.
  - 👀Plus, he just allowed incredible access to Tim Alberta for a long and mostly positive profile.
  - 📰Alberta headlines "The Operator" in The Atlantic:
    - ✏️"If Pennsylvania's governor has a superpower, it is an unflappability that allows him to stay cool and composed and to communicate precisely what he wants to communicate," writes Alberta
    - ❓Unfair question — can a short guy get elected president?
- 👀What about Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear — he won a Trump-plus state multiple times.

Watch tonight📺: Former Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and Jasmine Wright on who leads the way for Democrats.

HELLO WORLD 👋

😬The Somali fraud schemes span more than the state of Minnesota.

🎤A whistleblower in Maine is talking exclusively to NewsNation's Rich McHugh about his time as a billing manager at a Somali American-owned contractor serving Maine's Medicaid (MaineCare) program.
🎤He tells McHugh the organization systematically defrauded taxpayers of millions of dollars by billing for home-care visits that never occurred, often bypassing electronic tracking systems.
📄Documents reveal that the organization was previously cited in a 2017–2018 state audit for nearly $904,000 in overpayments.
Zoom out🌎: The massive fraud leads many to believe the Somali community is more interested in invading and taking advantage of America rather than assimilating and building the American dream.
- RACIST‼️: Ilhan Omar, the congresswoman from Minneapolis, says the Somali community is the real victim of the billion-plus-dollar fraud scheme.
  - Look back🔙: At times, it sounds like she's more interested in representing Mogadishu than Minneapolis.
  - Be fair⚖️: Maybe it's that her constituents look at themselves as Somalis first and Americans second.

Old trope🕰️: Vilifying immigrant communities in America goes back centuries.

Personal🌊: At the city pool in my grandmother's hometown, there was a sign.
- 🪧"NO Jews"
- 🪧"NO (N-word)"
- 🪧"NO Dogs"
  - ‼️I am particularly sensitive to preserving America's melting pot, but those coming must want to BE Americans.
    - ‼️I can't imagine my relatives accepting public assistance.

Watch tonight📺: NewsNation's Rich McHugh joins us with his exclusive reporting, plus an honest conversation about the statistics showing whether the Somali population is actually different than past large immigrant groups in America.

WATCH ON BALANCE WEEKNIGHTS AT 9P/8C

Every night during On Balance, Leland Vittert asks "why?" about the most pressing matters of the day, with an intellectual, balanced and sometimes irreverent take on the news.

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