Leland Vittert’s War Notes: This Is How Wars Start 🚨

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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.

See you in New York 🗽: Well, Massapequa Park to be exact.

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!
If you can't make it, "Born Lucky" is still available on Amazon ahead of the holidays. At its core, "Born Lucky" is a message of hope.

Christmas cheer 🎄: Rachel and I have a tradition called "God Loves You Hot Chocolate" — pictured above.

🍫 Two packets of Swiss Miss hot cocoa per 8 ounces of almond milk — roughly double their recipe.
🔥 Combine over heat till piping hot.
Optional 🥃: Add 2 ounces of bourbon and .75 ounces Grand Marnier per 8 ounces of almond milk.
☕️ Serve in a mug with marshmallows on top.
🔥 Use kitchen torch to brulee/toast the marshmallows.
📸 Enjoy (responsibly) — and be sure to tag me in your social media pictures on Instagram here.

Next Moves 💣

🚢 We don't know what comes next, but the seizing of an oil tanker near Venezuela shows the Trump administration has a long escalation ladder to climb as they try to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from office.

End state ➡️: What happens in Venezuela after ousting Maduro is unclear.

📹 Attorney General Pam Bondi put out the video of (presumably) U.S. Navy SEALs boarding and seizing an oil tanker near Venezuela.

That is important because it speaks to a law enforcement justification versus a military one.
- ✍🏻 Bondi wrote, "Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations. This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely—and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues."
Release of the video (and video of blowing up drug boats) is much more for an international audience than a domestic one.
- 🌎 The Trump administration wants the world to see it —
  - 🪖 Specifically, they want the Venezuelan military to see it.
  - Message ✉️: We can do what we want when we want.
Playbook: A week or so ago, we interviewed Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., about Venezuela and her push for military force to oust Maduro.
- She kept saying, "The legal framework is in place."
  - I told you, our viewers, to remember that phrase.
  - Now, we are seeing the framework take shape
Look farther back 🗓️: The justification for taking over Panama and arresting Manuel Noriega is now being recycled for going after Venezuela.

Caveman Logic 📱

❌ Australia's ban on social media for anyone under the age of 16 starts today … and it raises some interesting questions – namely, why doesn't America do it?

🧠 Everyone is (rightly) worried about kids' mental health, but no one is willing to do the one thing to protect them: take their phones away. It works.

Yikes 💊: Social media is "heroinlike" in its addictiveness, yet parents let their kids spend an average of over four hours a day on it.

Watch tonight 📺: Legendary Dr. Phil McGraw on why parents need to, but won't, step in.

Republicans are Running Low on Time ⏳

🎤 Former President Joe Biden used to say, "Don't compare me to the almighty; compare me to the alternative."

Trump should love that line — he's president thanks in large part to two deeply flawed alternatives, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

With Republicans on the ropes about affordability, Democrats have offered an alternative: Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas.

🗳️ Sure, I am being pejorative, but she's by far the loudest and most interesting 2026 Democratic candidate.
- 🎤 Democrats will say she doesn't represent all of their candidates, and they are right …
  - BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER!
- ⏰ Democrats have given Republicans the gift of time and someone to run against.
- Time⏳: Republicans and the Trump administration say 2026 will bring an economic boom.
  - Plus 💰: They promise no taxes on tips and overtime and a Social Security deduction.
  - Is that enough? What about major investments in new factories and their related infrastructure?

New polling from Politico shows just how bad things are

They write, "More than a quarter, 27 percent, said they have skipped a medical check-up because of costs within the last two years, and 23 percent said they have skipped a prescription dose for the same reason."

CNN's David Axelrod says Trump's message isn't helping Republicans.

"He is completely digging a hole. The other people who should be worried are Republican members of Congress who have to run next year."
Example from the president's speech last night: "You can give up certain products. You could give up pencils. Because under the China policy, every child can get 37 pencils. They only need 1 or 2. They don't need that many. You always need steel. You don't need 37 dolls for your daughter. 2 or 3 is nice. So we're doing things right."

Republicans have time, but the clock is ticking.

Democrats have chosen their alternatives — they can't change that.

Final thought: Democrat wins in Miami and Georgia serve as warning signs for Republicans.

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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