Leland Vittert’s War Notes: 365 Days of Trump 📅

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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.

Programming Alert🚨: NewsNation's Katie Pavlich sits down with President Trump tonight at 10 p.m. ET for an interview marking his first year in office.

SCOTUS Tariffs 💸: The Supreme Court dropped three unanimous rulings but stayed silent on President Trump's tariffs as lawmakers move to block his threatened trade fight with Europe over Greenland.

Watch tonight 📺: Tom Dupree, former deputy assistant attorney general under George W. Bush, joins us.

The NATO Debate

1️⃣One year ago, President Trump was inaugurated, and the year has proven that he is willing and, in fact, enjoys destroying norms and killing sacred cows.

🐄There is no more sacred cow in Washington than NATO.
- 💵The defense companies love it because of the money.
- 🛫The politicians love it because they get to go on fancy European trips.
- 📊American businesses love it because they get access to European markets.
  - ‼️Thus, every president prays at the altar of NATO — it's more powerful than the United States.
Be fair ⚖️: NATO had and has a purpose, but the idea that one cannot criticize it is a fallacy created by the people it most benefits — Western Europe that enjoys all of the benefits and none of the costs.

✈️Tonight, Trump goes to Davos, Switzerland, to enforce his will on the Europeans — the era of having American protection for free is over.

🎤Trump: "I've done more for NATO than anybody and I see all this stuff. NATO has to treat us fairly too. The big fear I have with NATO is we spend tremendous amounts of money with NATO and I know we'll come to their rescue but I just really do question whether or not they'll come to ours."
🤷The question isn't about if NATO would help us, it's that they can't — Europeans have a feckless military.
- 💣Denmark has 19 pieces of artillery.
- 💣The Netherlands has 18 main battle tanks.
- 💣Belgium has around 40 artillery pieces.
  - To put into perspective🌎: The U.S. has nearly 1,900 pieces of artillery and over 4,600 tanks.
- 🤷And the EU leaders talk about how tough NATO is but have completely useless militaries.
  - 🎤Belgian prime minister: "So many red lines are being crossed that you have the choice between your self-respect, being a happy vassal is one thing, being a miserable slave is something else."
  - 🎤 President of France: "We prefer respect over bullying. We prefer science over politicism. We prefer rule of law over brutality...Having a place like Europe which is predictable, loyal, and where you know the rule of the game is the rule of law, it's a good place."
    - 🤷Yes, Mr. Macron — that's all well and good, and all those things are only possible because of the American military protecting you.
🗣️What Trump is saying with Greenland is: If we are going to protect them, then we want something in return, which is getting Greenland.
- Go deeper🔎: For all its tough talks, Europe has a terrible track record of confronting China, which also wants access to Greenland.

Watch📺: This was California Governor Gavin Newsom today at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

🎤Newsom: "I can't take this complicity. People rolling over. I should've brought a bunch of knee pads for all of the world leaders. I mean, handing out crowns, and handing out... I mean this is pathetic… This is diplomacy with Donald Trump? He's a T-Rex. You mate with him or he devours you. One or the other."
- 🤷Isn't having the world do what America wants a good thing?

Watch tonight📺: Retired General Philip Breedlove and Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., on whether the White House is making a smart national security move or is causing unnecessary problems on a global stage.

Plus➕: NewsNation's Kellie Meyer at the White House tonight.

Bipartisan Buffoonery 🤪

🤪 Tonight's buffoonery from the Left and the Right.

🐘The winner on the Right tonight is Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins
- 🎤Rollins: "We had run almost 1,000 simulations, and between $3 and $4 is a fair number if you can have access to that food… I just saw new numbers that were run: a full day, meaning 3 full square meals and a snack, is about $15.64."
  - 🛒I'd love to go grocery shopping with Rollins. The one thing we learned from President Biden is stop gaslighting people. This is insulting for people who don't have a grocery store within 30 miles or their grocery store is a Dollar Tree.
🫏And the Left: newly inaugurated New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill quoting the list of grievances in the Declaration of Independence and comparing it to Trump.
- 🎤Sherrill: "And yes, he has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislatures. This election proved that the people of New Jersey recognize the parallels: That we see a president illegally usurping power, unconstitutionally enacting a tariff regime to make billions for himself and his family while everyone else sees their costs go higher."
  - 🤦 Fair-minded Americans know comparing Trump to King George III is not the best way to start off your very first day of your term.

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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