Opinion - Leland Vittert's War Notes: Out of Control

Yahoo

25-04-2025

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. Subscribe to 'War Notes' here.
Americans do not like being scared — and abysmal polling numbers for President Trump show that we are.
People like what President Trump is doing.
Be fair: Much of what he wants to get done needs to get done.
But people do not like how he's doing it.
People feel things are out of control right now, and they want a president who is in control.
It feels like he's flailing.
It feels like things are out of control with:
The tariff debacle: Trump has a great goal of increasing American manufacturing and standing up to other countries, but even Bill O'Reilly said last night that it was a horrible implementation of tariffs.
Backing down on China: China keeps making fun of America, and Trump keeps backing down on his proposed tariffs against China.
'We're going to be very nice (to China),' Trump said on Tuesday.
The stock market: Nobody likes to lose money, especially when the president is all over the place on what this uncertainty will accomplish and how long it will last.
'Trump Meets His Match: The Markets,' headlines The Wall Street Journal.
The housing market: Sales of previously owned homes in March fell 5.9% from February to March, making it the slowest March sales pace for housing since 2009.
'Housing market stalls as homeowners struggle to sell: 'We're really bleeding,'' headlines MarketWatch.
How Americans feel: 53% of Americans now say that their personal economic situation is getting worse, according to a new Gallup survey.
The news: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth used an insecure messaging app, Signal, to include a reporter on sensitive military plans.
Russia/Ukraine: The war that Trump said he could end in 24 hours is still ongoing, and now, Putin keeps getting more aggressive.
Russia launched an attack on the Ukrainian capital city, Kyiv, killing at least 12 people earlier today.
Trump responded to the attack in a post on Truth Social that says, 'Vladimir STOP!' He then went on to say that Russia's big concession to end the war was not taking over all of Ukraine.
Iranian nuclear negotiations: Trump went from saying he would put Iran in its place to now allowing it to keep a civilian nuclear program.
'Don't fall for 'Iran deal' lie, Mr. President — the mullahs can't be trusted,' writes Melanie Phillips in The New York Post.
The more out of control things get, the more Trump flails.
He claimed that his administration is having meetings with the Chinese, but won't say who the meetings are with – that's not very transparent.
His poll numbers are tanking – not because of what he wants to do but how he is doing it:
'Trump receives his best marks on border security, as a 55% majority approves, while a new low of 38% approve on the economy (56% disapprove). His worst ratings are on inflation (33% approve, 59% disapprove), followed by tariffs (33%-58%), foreign policy (40%-54%), taxes (38%-53%), and guns (41%-44%),' a new Fox News poll found.
Team Trump tells the media that if you can't understand the 6D chess he is playing, you are stupid.
At least that's what David Bossie, former Trump 2016 campaign manager, told us last night on the program.
You don't win by telling the American people that they're stupid or that they shouldn't be scared.
That's what Joe Biden, then Kamala Harris, did, and they lost.
The Democrats had a superior attitude.
Remember when they said the economy was great, but Americans didn't feel that.
Remember when they said the border was secure, but Americans could see it wasn't.
Right now, Americans feel that things are out of control – and maybe Trump will pull out major wins.
As a country, we should hope he does.
Trump's brilliance is understanding the electorate – his Achilles' heel is an inability to admit when he's wrong.
Watch tonight: 'Shark Tank's' Kevin O'Leary on whether things are actually this unsettled, and should Americans be scared?
I'll ask him if Trump is moderating, and can he unring the bell?
How should America actually take on China?
Is this a messaging problem or an action problem?
Two hundred and fifty years ago, America revolted against the entrenched aristocracy of Great Britain.
Now, we have an entrenched aristocracy in America and will for the foreseeable future.
According to Bloomberg, the richest half of American families own about 97.5% of national wealth, while the bottom half holds 2.5%.
Look back: We had an aristocracy for a while in the past – the robber barons, such as J.P. Morgan – but nothing like what we have today.
World War II created opportunities for entrepreneurs and America's middle class.
America's middle class became something unique in the world – we are losing that.
Told you: We have rung this alarm bell for years – America no longer feels fundamentally fair.
In September of 2022, we wrote, 'Fairness is dead; America is now an aristocracy.'
Watch the segment we did on it here.
'Fight Oligarchy': We questioned Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders' rally slogan … but oligarchy and aristocracy aren't that much different, and they are getting HUGE crowds.
Watch tonight: Douglas Murray, bestselling author, on the coming danger to America of unfairness.
Tune into 'On Balance with Leland Vittert' weeknights at 9/8 C 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.