Opinion - Leland Vittert's War Notes: Memory of a Toddler
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 pm ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here.
Great news: 25% off 'Born Lucky' during the Barnes & Noble sale for three days only!
My story of being diagnosed with autism and my dad's fight to keep me from being defined by it.
Click here to watch the book launch video to understand the story a little more.
This book is about hope for parents and kids struggling right now.
Use code: PREORDER25 – it expires Friday.
War Notes exclusive: On Sunday, October 5, I will host a virtual book event only for 'War Notes' subscribers.
My partner on the book, Don Yaeger, will interview me and then open up to questions from you via Zoom.
The event is free, but you must be a 'War Notes' subscriber and have bought the book by October 2.
Now is a great time to lock in your savings with 25% off – buy a few copies as Christmas presents with the sale.
A couple of weeks before the event, we will give you information on how to attend – make sure you save your preorder confirmation email – obviously, if you already purchased the book, THANK YOU, and you will be invited, too!
Autism today: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, now the head of the National Institutes of Health, on autism:
'Sec. Kennedy has asked me to initiate a study on the cause of the rise in autism. It's a question that is at the front of the minds of so many parents … yet scientific progress on this has been slow because scientists are frankly scared to ask the question.'
WOW: What an admission that 'scientists are frankly scared to ask the question.'
Bhattacharya knows a lot about being on the 'wrong side' of science – he wrote the Great Barrington Declaration, making the case for an end to lockdowns during COVID.
He got shellacked for it.
Francis Collins, former head of the National Institutes of Health, famously called Bhattacharya and the other authors of the Great Barrington Declaration 'fringe' scientists.
Bhattacharya turned out to be right about COVID … we'll see what he finds with autism!
More importantly: Why wouldn't we want to find the scientific reason for autism diagnoses going from 1 in 1000 when I was born to 1 in 31 now?!?!
In politics, you have to keep winning – the American people have memory spans shorter than a toddler, and the closing of the border and ending DEI programs are now things of the past.
Let's objectively look at headlines of this week:
'Trump to let Putin keep land seized from Ukraine,' headlines The Telegraph.
'Rubio says Iran can have civilian nuclear program if it gives up enrichment,' writes the Times of Israel.
'Trump weighs slashing China tariffs to 50% to 65% to help ease tensions,' The New York Post reports.
These aren't fake news – in fact, they are basically the White House's own talking points.
How are any of those three things going to get President Trump a win?
Trump always declares victory, but that doesn't mean a win.
The American people feel the border is closed – we can see it.
The American people feel DEI is dead – we feel a change in the culture – you can make jokes now.
Maybe appeasing Putin, the ayatollah and Xi will somehow result in a stronger America with a more robust economy, but that is difficult to see right now.
Be fair: Trying to judge the Trump administration on a day-to-day basis is difficult – all of those things could change tomorrow.
We could:
Bomb Iran.
Put pressure on Putin to take his medicine or face crippling tariffs and banking sanctions.
Finally stand up to China and not bend a knee when the markets get squishy.
Flexibility: The problem with Trump's love of flexibility is that our adversaries and allies know this – they can wait a few weeks, let Trump get uncomfortable and then he will start to get flexible.
Watch tonight: David Bossie, Trump's 2016 deputy campaign manager and close confidant of the president, with how President Trump gets a win this summer.
P.S.: The Washington Post reports that the administration is considering possible tax increases on those making more than $1 million per year – most of America would consider that a win.
For the sake of the economy and our 401(k)s, we should hope that Tesla is NOT the next Bud Light – they never recovered from the advertisement of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney showing off beer.
Of course, Elon Musk throwing his weight behind President Trump is different.
Tesla makes the most American-made cars.
Tesla ownership used to be the Left's favorite way to prove virtue.
Tesla objectively makes cars a few standard deviations better than their electric competitors – and its full self-driving feature is amazing.
If Tesla continues to struggle, it will hurt every American – the company makes up enough of the S&P 500 that an evaporation of Tesla stock value will reverberate through the economy.
Yesterday's Tesla Q1 earnings report showed a 71% drop in sales compared to the same quarter last year – that's wild.
So Elon Musk heads back to Tesla in May – what can he do?
Sure, Tesla vandals – like the state employee in Minnesota who caused over $20,000 in damages to Teslas – should get jail time.
The George Soros-backed attorney general of the state wants to let the vandal walk.
Yes, lots of Americans didn't like what happened to Musk or Tesla and bought cars in rightful protests.
🫏 But expensive electric vehicles are tailor-made for the typical Democratic voter.
Wealthy suburban, or urban, dwellers with office jobs or soccer moms.
Watch tonight : Marc Caputo, Axios White House correspondent, on whether Musk will split with Trump after his West Wing shouting match with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Can Musk's return save Tesla? Or is the damage already done?
Tune into 'On Balance with Leland Vittert' weeknights at 9/8 CT on NewsNation. Find your channel here.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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