← The Jim Acosta Show
The Jim Acosta Show
David Frum on Trump's disastrous tariff policy and Tara Setmayer on FSU mass shooting.
00:59:55
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- [00:00]
Jim Acosta
Welcome everybody to the Jim Acosta Show. It is Thursday, April 17th. As you can see on screen with me right now is the one and only David Frum with the Atlantic and of a new podcast. I understand, David, is that correct?
- [00:15]
David Frum
It's now two weeks. We've had two issues or two editions out, an interview with Rahm Emanuel and some comments I make there. And then just Wednesday, we released a discussion with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and it drops every Wednesday.
- [00:29]
Jim Acosta
And I know you've been really focused on Trump's tariff policy, which has obviously been wreaking havoc. And just today in the New York Times, they're reporting that a day after the Japanese delegation met directly with Trump, it is Italy's turn with the arrival at the White House of one of the few European leaders Trump actually likes. This is Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney, whose conservative board nationalist views the New York Times says should be in the minds of many in the administration, a model for the rest of Europe. Who knows whether any of that is going to shield Italian products from all kinds of tariffs? But I know that, David, you wrote in the Atlantic today, can the US President fire the chairman of the Federal Reserve because he does not like the job the chairman is doing? Once upon a time, the answer was a well understood no. David writes, the Federal Reserve was created by Congress. The founding statute guaranteed the Fed's independence. Chairman Jerome Powell repeated that conventional answer at the Economic Club of Chicago only yesterday. The chairman cannot be removed for policy reasons. But it seems like Trump's going to try to have his way anyway and bully him out of there. What do you think?
- [01:35]
David Frum
Well, the article goes on to say, look, we all believe that the chairman is irremovable by the president for policy reasons. But we used to believe that the director of the FBI couldn't be removed for policy reasons from Jimmy Carter. Until Barack Obama, every president cohabited for some years with a FBI director appointed by the other party. In Reagan's case and Obama's case, I believe each of them had an opposite party director for seven of their eight years of their presidency. They didn't pick their own FBI director until the last year or two. And it was just considered unthinkable that a president would fire an FBI director for any reason. The only exception, the only exception to that was when Bill Clinton became president, he inherited the George H.W. bush administration, both an FBI director and a recommendation from the George H.W. bush Administration that he fired the FBI director because the FBI director was accused of fiddling the expenses.
- [02:29]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [02:30]
David Frum
So he Got both. And he spent months trying to escape this predicament because he didn't want to do it. Trump fired two FBI directors. And the tradition the Federal Reserve chairman can't be fired is in mortal danger.
- [02:45]
Jim Acosta
And Jay Powell is there because of Donald Trump.
- [02:49]
David Frum
Powell was appointed by Trump, reappointed by Biden, confirmed 80 to 19 in the Senate in 2022. But Trump is in a jam. He's made this economic calamity. He himself doesn't understand how bad the calamity is. The people around him, the very fact you mentioned. He's talking. Italy's Prime Minister, George Mal Meloni trade in Europe. Trade is an EU competency. The prime Minister of Italy cannot discuss trade with the President. She has no power. There's no such thing as an Italian tariff. There's only an EU tariff. So a waste of. I'm sure she's. There are many things to discuss with her, but the idea this is an exit from the trade war. If they believe that, they don't know anything about their business.
- [03:36]
Jim Acosta
But, David, I mean, one of the things that Jerome Powell should be credited for, and please correct me if I'm wrong, if you have difference of opinion, please feel free to say it. You know, they were on the verge of engineering a soft landing for the economy. I mean, that is how Trump came into office, with the general understanding pretty much everywhere in the financial markets and here in Washington that the economy was sort of moving in a, in a direction of a soft landing to the point where the Federal Reserve is going to start lowering interest rates. Now, interest rates are heading in the wrong direction, of course, because of Trump's tariff policy. And so, you know, Trump has undermined the person he now wants to get rid of. I mean, he's kind of made his own bed here.
- [04:18]
David Frum
The inflation at the end, by the end of 2024 was below 3%. And we were on a trajectory, as you say, toward full employment and under 3% inflation, maybe under 2% by the end of this year. All Trump had to do was leave that alone. But Trump needs to understand something again that he doesn't understand. The Federal Reserve has a lot of instruments, but what they mostly control are very short term interest rates. The money, the rate at which banks lend to each other overnight. The interest rates that determine your mortgage or your car loan. Federal Reserve has very little power over those. Those are set by the. And one of the things that makes a stagflation, which is what Trump is creating so dangerous, is the President says to the Fed chairman, I Want interest rates cheap. I want money cheaper to goose the economy. And the Fed chairman says, well, I, theoretically I could do that if I listen to you, which I'm not supposed to, but if I did, I could get you cheap overnight money. I could lower the interest rates, but that would create more inflation, which the market would recognize and which would raise the long term interest rates, the rates we care about for mortgages, cars, industry, everything. I don't control that. I can't make that cheaper for you. Only you can make that cheaper by dropping the tariffs and balancing the budget.
- [05:27]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And I know you have spoken with the Ontario premiere, Doug Ford. What did you glean from that conversation? Because, I mean, just from a, you know, a layman standpoint, I'm a sportsman's standpoint. I mean, it is remarkable to see Canadian fans boo the national anthem at hockey games. I mean, this has been an utter calamity. What has taken place the way that the relations between the U.S. and Canada have just been devastated.
- [05:59]
David Frum
When Trump and his people want to talk about tariffs in a way that makes some kind of sense, it just doesn't sound like they're on drugs. They talk a lot about China and Americans have complex feelings about China and they're, they're definitely at points of friction. And many people in the Biden administration did a lot of hostile trade actions to China. That is a live controversy. But it needs to be understood that Trump is not fighting a trade war against China and only China. He's fighting a trade war against every trading nation on earth. And while the China tariffs have been turned on and turned off and turned on again and turned off again, people watching will have a better idea than you or I in our studio here whether they're on, Right? They may be on, they may be off. The tariffs on Canada have been set and fixed from the beginning. Canada, and they were the first target. He's been much more consistent in the anti Canada tariffs than he has been in the anti China tariffs. And that reflects a very settled animus. And that's what I talked to Premier Ford about, the impact of this on Canadians. Because Canada and the United States have a deeply integrated economic system. There is completely free trade and defense products has been since the 50s. There's a completely free trade system in autos, has been since the 1960s. The first US Canada multi sector free trade agreement dates to the 80s. Mexico joined to create NAFTA in the 1990s. Trump rewrote now more protection in his first term. And now he's ignoring his signature and he says to the Canadians and to the Mexicans, I want you to sign my new deal. To which they say, well, your signature is worthless. We signed a deal with you. You ignore it. You want to rip up one deal, so we sign another deal. How do we know that means anything? And everyone else in the world says, yeah, look at what you did in your first term. No one can trust you. You have no friends. And in this confrontation with China you're trying to mobilize the world into, your idea was first you walk through the room slapping every friend in the face, and then you say, now I want you to join me in fighting this other guy here with whom I have a quarrel and you may not.
- [07:57]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And I mean, he's had the opposite desired effect when it comes to influencing Canadian politics. I mean, they now have a political situation there that is very much anti Trump when perhaps it was maybe trending in a more conservative direction. And in the case of China, I mean, you were sort of touching on this, David. I don't mean to throw too many questions at you at the same time, I mean, what I've been reading is that China has been preparing for this moment for a very long time and they sort of have a game plan that's ready to go. And once this gets going, it may be hard to unwind.
- [08:30]
David Frum
Look, if you were, if you had a president, not Donald Trump, obviously, but if you had a president who said, I think it's really important to bring manufacturing back to the United States, and let me hasten to add, I don't agree with that policy. But suppose, but I can see why an intelligent and public spirited person might think so. As I say, not my view, but definitely in the bounds Biden thought so in the bounds of normal politics, many, many reasonable Democrats and Republicans, they have that opinion. What would you do? Well, first you'd have to say to the American people, look, this is gonna be a bumpy road here. There's gonna be some significant hardship as we're gonna have to reinvent not just our major industries like automobiles, but everything that goes into a car. The supply chains, they're going to be shorter and it's going to be hard. It's going to be hard for not a short time, but for a while, maybe five years, maybe eight years. And we'll see light at the end of the tunnel. And we may at the end of it be poorer than we are today, but we'll be more self sufficient. So what I'm going to do, I need you all behind me so that means I'm not going to insult you, I'm not going to abuse you, I'm not going to steal, I'm not going to take bribes, I'm not going to create stupid fights over every issue. I'm going to try to get 60, 70% of the American people behind me in this national goal that is not short term and not easy. And then I'm going to talk to partners and friends and not just the easy ones like Germany, Japan, Britain, Canada, Mexico, although of course I start with them.
- [09:53]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And, and I should note for the folks who are just joining us, I'm.
- [09:59]
David Frum
Going to mobilize them. I have a big diplomatic effort. So I'm going to rally the country, I'm going to rally the world and we're going to work on China together. That's what it would, that's what it would take. Instead, what he's done, he's fighting the biggest possible economic war with the fewest possible friends and the least possible public support while lying even to his own supporters. This will be quick. This will be easy. The Dow is going to 50,000. You're serious about re industrializing from China? The Dow is going way down and for a long time.
- [10:25]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And the markets don't like uncertainty. And that's what he's injected. He's injected MAGA level instability into the markets, uncertainty into the markets. David, I did want to ask you because you're so wonderful on so many of these constitutional questions as well. I mean, the Supreme Court said today they're going to hear arguments in a few weeks over Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship. I wonder what you think of that. And then also this controversy that's been going on over this Maryland man who was scooped up and mistakenly taken off to that El Salvadoran prison, which many have described as basically a gulag. And the way the administration has essentially said, well, we can't bring him back, we're not going to bring him back. And it's gotten so bad that, you know, Chris Van Hollen, the senator from Maryland, went down there to check on this and El Salvador has basically snubbed him and denied him entry to the prison. And Kristi Noem can walk, the DHS secretary can walk through and cut a propaganda spot inside that prison, but Chris Van Hollen can't go in there. What do you make of all of this? What's been going on? Obviously, the Trump people feel as though this is good domestic politics for them. This is good MAGA FOX News politics for them. But it's, it is, it is pretty terrifying, I think, from a constitutional standpoint.
- [11:41]
David Frum
On multiple levels, the government, the administration can deport people. That's a, clearly, that's, that's law. And this admin. Every administration, Biden, Obama, everyone deports hundreds of thousands of people a year. And the procedure for deporting people is quite expedited. You don't go in front of an, I'm going to use a term of an Article 3 judge, that is a judge who's been confirmed by the Senate. You go in front of a magistrate who works for the executive branch, you get an expedited hearing. Because the Constitution exists to protect due process, rights, life, liberty and property. And in imagination hearing, we're not taking away your life, we're not going to hang you, we're not taking away your liberty, we're not putting you in a jail, we're not taking away your thing. You have a passport from a country. You're in this country. You don't have a right to be in this country. We're sending you back to the place where you do have a right to be. And so the process that is due to remove someone from this country and send them to another is pretty limited. There's a hearing. It lasts usually less than an hour. Are you the right, Are you, are these the same people? Are you the guy? Do we have the right Mary Gonzalez or the wrong Mary Gonzalez? And do you have any argument, Are you a victim, maybe a political persecution? We hear that. So, but bang, no. Hundreds of thousands of times a year, people are removed. And if this Maryland, El Salvador man had been removed and sent to a country where he had a right to be, this would not be an issue. But due process gets a lot more intense when we're depriving you of life or liberty or property. When we're sending you not get off, you know, you're off the bus, you're off the plane. Bye, good luck. Here, here's your wallet, your clothes. Good luck. We're putting him in a prison, a maximum security prison for life. And the United States taxpayer is paying for it. That is, that is sentencing somebody to prison. And for prison you get a hearing. And this man had no hearing. And so it's not interesting. Is he a good guy? Is he a guy? I don't know. Was he not, you know, was he a wife beater? I don't know. It doesn't, you know, there are wife beaters in the Trump Cabinet. There are people who are accused, credibly accused of Domestic abuse in the Trump cabinet.
- [13:48]
Jim Acosta
President, President was credibly accused.
- [13:51]
Tara Settmeyer
Yeah.
- [13:51]
David Frum
At a hearing. If, and if we, if he had just been sent out of the country, this would not be an issue. He was sent not out of the country, but to a prison and then he gets a hearing.
- [14:02]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, but they obviously see some domestic political gain out of this. And it seems to fall in line with, you know, Trump's campaign of retribution and revenge. It's almost a campaign of trying to spread fear. I mean, just today, Senator Lisa Murkowski said, or she was apparently this, this video emerged where she had set a, a leadership summit on Monday. We, we are all afraid of Trump. She was asked a question about what she would say to Alaskans who are afraid of what the Trump administration is doing. And she said something along the lines of we're all afraid. And it just takes me back to what's been happening with these law firms, what's been happening with these major media organizations, federal workers, you name it. You and I haven't spoken a long time. What is your sense of what Trump has been up to and do the pieces fit together for you?
- [14:59]
David Frum
When Trump came to office the first time in 2017, he didn't know what he wanted to do. He didn't know how the government worked. And he surrounded himself with people who he thought would help him, but actually were patriotic Americans who didn't want to help him or many of them. And so he thought because you wore a uniform that you would be a big bully like him. And he discovered, no. The people in the military, they're real patriots and they obey the Constitution and they're non political. You know, the prestigious businessmen, not people, come from scummy things like the meme coin industry. But you get the head of ExxonMobil, you get people with the former head of Goldman Sachs. They are interested in the long term health of the American economy. And by the way, they're rich enough. They don't care what you think about them. So this time around, he has a crew of broken people. So this time he knows what he wants to do, he knows how to do it, and he's got an enabler. So that's, that's the difference. But he's making one mistake that is really going to haunt him. If you want to do a consolidation of power in an authoritarian regime, you want to punish your enemies and help your friends, you want to steal a lot, you have to deliver some degree of economic success to the whole country. It is a disturbing fact. America, non America, everywhere, people will Put up with a lot if they feel prosperous. And that was the lesson of Trump won. And it was a bumpier story. I have a Twitter thread about that today. Trump Won was not the economic success story that he wants people to think he got. The stock market crashed in the second half of 2018 because he tried a trade war then. And we ended, of course, with the COVID disaster. But deliver prosperity, you can get away with a lot. And he is driving the economy off the cliff. And so when you ask things like, do they have a plan with El Salvador? I don't think we should underestimate the idea that Trump is mentally deteriorating. He's surrounded by people who won't tell him no. And they are making terrible, obvious mistakes that are going to be felt by millions of Americans very, very soon. They're being felt by many Americans now in the financial markets, but they're going to spread. And my colleague at the Atlantic, Derek Thompson, makes the point. 95% of all the baby safety seats sold in the United States come from China. What's going to happen when people who have babies. My son may have a baby this summer. We hope when he goes to buy, there ain't going to be any baby seats. What happens when people want to buy fresh produce from Mexico when it gets cold in the northern United States? Those things are not going to be there. Toilet paper. 30% of the pulp that goes into toilet paper comes from Canada. We're heading toward toilet paper shortages. And when you do all these things happen and there's a consolidated move to a consolidated authoritarian rule, then you get into a lot of trouble.
- [17:37]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. I mean, when, when Maga cheers on Trump because he, he wants to emulate Vladimir Putin. I mean, I'm not sure they. They had living like Russians in mind, you know, and that, you know, it is kind of heading in that direction.
- [17:52]
David Frum
Putin took over extreme economic hardship in Russia and delivered real economic success for eight years. Viktor Orban in Hungary, when he took over. Not to be too technical about this, but there was. There was a mortgage crisis across Central Europe in 2000, and Putin did some. Sorry. Orban did some things that were a little unscrupulous and bad for the long term economic health of Hungary, but in the short term, protected Hungarians from a mortgage crisis that was felt by Croatians and Austrians and Slovenians and Slovaks. And Hungarians could look around and say, this guy must know what he's doing because all my neighbors are losing their houses, and I'm not. Thank you, Viktor Orban. You want to steal? You want to be a dictator. Go ahead. It's all right with me. You have to deliver economic success. That's the quid pro quo. And Trump was wrongly, but broadly perceived as doing so in his first term. Fewer people see it now, and by September, very few people will see it.
- [18:46]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And so getting back to the campaign of revenge and retribution, the way he's going after these law firms, are you of the same mindset that a lot of people are, that as these law firms, you know, bend the knee and, and go along with these, I mean, just cockamate. This is real stuff. That law firms would agree to 40, 50, $100 million with pro bono work for Trump's pet CA or whatever these goofy pet causes that they come up with. It, it seems to me it creates an atmosphere where the, you, you feed the monster, the monster gets food, the monster wants more food. And I just, it just seems to be, to be very basic. Is that your. Yeah.
- [19:29]
David Frum
And what the law firms are doing, what the law firms did was they thought they could outsmart the situation. So they, they go into Trump and he says, I'm mad at you. I want, I want punishment. And the law firms, their lawyers, so they think like this, will say, well, what if we seem to agree to do what you want? But. Right, but we write the agreement and we pledge 40 or 50 million dollars of pro bono work, which we are going to do anyway for causes like academic freedom, which some of our people are interested in. And we just, we riddle this thing with escape hatches. So we've given you the appearance of a victory, but actually we've left ourselves escape hatches. That's what smart lawyers do. And what they didn't understand was this guy's not going to be content managed that way that what he wants is he wants free legal services for himself and his cronies. That's his idea, pro bono. He doesn't want you defending the victims of anti Semitic discrimination. He doesn't care about that. He wants free services for himself or for the. And so the law firms outsmart, they thought they could manage this with lawyerly escape hatches, and they discover it didn't work.
- [20:35]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, I don't want to type all your time today, Dave, just because it's been so long since we've spoken. Two last things. One is Elon Musk and Doge, are there things that surprise you anymore with Donald Trump? And is this one of them? Because this, this is the one thing that I do find rather startling that Elon Musk and these tech kids have been able to go into these various agencies and departments, vacuum up all this data, wreak all this havoc, basically wreck the Social Security Administration. I mean, there are things that I imagined happening and there are things that I just. It just blows my mind. And Elon Musk at Doge blows my mind.
- [21:15]
David Frum
Look, the federal government has a lot of ways of doing things. They may not necessarily make sense. Again, in an alternative universe, there would be nothing wrong with the president saying to one of America's leading businessmen, I want you to bring a fresh pair of eyes the way everything in the government has done. And I know we've done it this way since the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Do we have to keep doing it this way? Do we need three copies of this? Do we need the. But here's. I got a couple of requirements before you come in and give me your fresh eyes. Obviously, you have to divest from all your. Obviously. Obviously. Like, you can't be purging the SEC while they are investigating your company. Yeah, obviously. So if you, you know, Mr. Imaginary Elon Musk, really want to be of service to your adopted country, you're obviously, you're. You maybe in days when you were obviously a great creative businessman, you've done many things. You have great abilities. Put them at the service of your country, sell your companies or put them in a blind trust, put your money in T bills and divest yourself of all conflict of interest and come help us, then you're welcome. But that's not what's going on here. What has happened is America's largest contract or one of the largest government contractors, someone who's under multiple investigations for many kinds of accusations, is now putting the gun to the hand to the heads of people who are supposed to be investigating.
- [22:35]
Jim Acosta
That's right.
- [22:36]
David Frum
It's not. The idea wasn't wrong, but it's Trump. So of course it's crooked.
- [22:41]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. It just reeks of corruption and it reeks of an oligarchy. And it's astounding to me, and I know you used to work for George W. Bush. It's astounding to me that Republicans would go along with a lot of this stuff. I mean, just the invasions of people's personal data and sicing the IRS on people. I mean, this is the stuff that I thought conservatives railed against. I would pick up the national review in the mid-2000s and read about these sorts of things should never happen.
- [23:12]
David Frum
I was a speechwriter for W. Bush and in my office. And the computer technology was more primitive then. I Had two printers with two stacks of paper and two sets of inkjets. Because if I work, if I was working on a speech for President W. Bush, I used one set of paper that was provided by the government. And if I after 5 o'clock or you know, because I was an executive, so I'm on. Presumably they don't monitor my hours. Wrote a speech for party leader George W. Bush to deliver at a Republican fundraiser. I used the printer paid for by the RNC with paper paid for by the RNC with. By the rnc. And look, there's a lot about this that was over persnickety but every time you looked at them, it was reminded. You know, there's the government and there's the party and presidents responsibility, both responsibilities. And by the way, I'm sure those printers were there under my Clinton predecessors and under my Obama successors.
- [24:04]
Jim Acosta
Amazing. Amazing. David, it's always great to talk to you. I hope we got to everything that you wanted to cover, but I hope we can do this again sometime. I always enjoy our conversation. It's been too long.
- [24:17]
David Frum
I hope people visit the David Frum show podcast on the Atlantic or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you don't follow Canadian politics closely, I hope you'll listen to the conversation with Doug Ford because Ford's a pretty blunt guy, not an emotional guy, but he really spoke from the heart in a way that I think Americans need to hear. It's not just about facts and figures. It's not just about, you know, lumber.
- [24:38]
Jim Acosta
He's a compelling guy.
- [24:40]
David Frum
This, he was. He was giving voice to feelings that millions of people have who just feel surprised and betrayed.
- [24:47]
Jim Acosta
And the Atlantic is just on fire. It's just, it's amazing.
- [24:52]
David Frum
Well, our editor had the biggest, you know, you just, biggest school of his life. Dropped lap while he was in the parking lot at Whole Foods. That doesn't happen every day, but he handled it brilliantly and he made a story to remember, you know, just how this government is working. Every time you. When I say I, I see a number of the people are making comments about their, their emotions and their fear and those feelings are valid and true. It does have to be remembered as the Jeff's great scoop showed. These guys are also kind of out of their depth and not doing everything with quite the intellectual quality that firing dictator needs to show if he's going.
- [25:33]
Jim Acosta
To get away with has been a bit of a madcap romp. There's no question about it. But no question. And why can't we get a story like that drop in our laps. Thank you very much.
- [25:44]
David Frum
But next one to a lifetime.
- [25:47]
Jim Acosta
Great to see you, David. Thanks a lot. Appreciate it. All right, that's the great David from. And I saw some comments about the mass shooting at Florida State University. I do want to recap what we know about that at this point. As some of you were pointing, pointing out as I was coming on, it has happened again. Another mass shooting in America. American students under fire when they should be learning and enjoying their lives as young people in America. This time it happened on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee. According to NBC News, at least one person is dead. Another is in custody after an active shooter was reported at Florida State University. That campus in Tallahassee. At least six people, according to NBC, are receiving treatment at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare. A hospital spokesperson said that to NBC News. Our old friend Fred Guttenberg used to be on my show at my old place. I tried to get him on today. He can't do it. He's got a family matter that he's dealing with. But I want to read to you what he posted on X. He posted this earlier today. America is broken. Fred writes, my daughter Jamie was murdered in the Parkland school shooting. Many of her friends who were lucky enough to survive that shooting went on to attend fsu. Incredibly, some of them were just a part of their second school shooting and some were in the student union today. As a father, all I have ever wanted after the Parkland shooting was to help our children be safe. Fred writes, sadly, because of the many people who refused to do the right things about reducing gun violence, I am not surprised by what happened today. That is the wonderful Fred Gutenberg who I did try to get on. He's dealing with a family matter. Of course, we're going to respect Fred as he's dealing with all of that. But I hope to talk to him about this soon. And I, you know, anybody who used to watch my old show at my old place knows, you know, this has been a topic that I have talked about time and again. Manuel Oliver was one of my very first guests when I started the show here on Substack. Manny Oliver, his son Guacamole died at Parkland. And Manny has dedicated his life to making sure that Guac's memory does not fade away. And he even did a one man show here in Washington. He's done it in other cities. And so I'm also thinking about Manny and his wife Patricia and their whole family because every time this happens in America and it happens Far too often, all of these families who have endured all of these mass shootings, where you're talking about Sandy Hook, the multiple mass shootings that have occurred in Colorado, in Florida and many other states in our country, in Texas, these families go through this all over again. And one of the, and I know this from talking to so many of these families, one of the things that they go through is they question themselves as to whether or not they've done enough. And of course, they've done more than enough. And I know that all of those families, they must be feeling so much right now. And so my heart goes out to all of them, obviously going out to the campus of Florida State University, FSU in Tallahassee, such a great school there in Florida. I have friends there in Tallahassee. And so I'm very concerned about, about that taking place. But it has happened again, another mass shooting in America. I'm going to try to bring in Tara Settmeyer. She is standing by. Tara and I are probably talk about that, talk about some other things that are in the news. Tara, of course, was at my town hall in New York the other night, along with Michael Cohen and Don Lemon and Olivia Troy and Harry Dunne. And we just had a marvelous time talking to the audience there. And, you know, Don and I kind of recapped it yesterday. I want to recap it a little bit with Tara. She comes on board here, but there's a lot of news happening. As I was talking about with David Frum, and as David was saying, please go listen to David's podcast, I noticed it was shooting up the charts on Apple podcasts. I mean, David is just one of the, and you saw this during the interview. David is just one of these interesting guys and his mind works like an IBM supercomputer where, you know, you could just throw a topic at David and you could put quarters in him and he'll just keep going. He's especially passionate about the tariff issue. And when David and I were getting set and ready to go for this program, you know, I talked, I said, what about this? What about that? And he said, well, I really want to talk about tariffs. And I, I said, let's do it. Let's, let's talk about tariffs. And so we started the show that way. But as David was saying, you know, he has started this new podcast. He's already interviewed Doug Ford, as he mentioned. He also interviewed Rahm Emanuel, which is also an interesting episode. So, but as, as we are waiting for Tara Suttmeyer to join us, and you know that the substack machine is doing its thing. It's, it's, it's churning. It's, it's moving. The wheels are in motion, the gears are in motion. Some other stuff that are going on today I did want to mention, I did mention this earlier about Chris Van Hollen. And we sort of glossed over it a little. We touched on a little bit during the interview, but didn't spend a whole lot of time on it. According to the Associated Press, if you have not seen this news, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen says he was denied entry at that El Salvador in prison today while he was trying to check on the well being of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He is the man who was sent there by the Trump administration back in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation. That obviously is a situation and we've seen Senator Van Hollen do a number of interviews so far. And you know, he, he's obviously, he's rightly concerned about this. I mean, this is a, not a US Citizen who was living in Maryland, but a person who was apparently here legally in the state of Maryland who was scooped up and sent to this prison in El Salvador even though the administration was told he needs to be brought back and that it was done unlawfully, it was done mistakenly. And so Senator Van Hollen apparently went to that prison today, tried to get access to the prison and was denied. All right, let me see if I can bring in Tara one more time. Tara, if you're out there, if you're listening, trying to bring you in. Tara was with me the other night, did a fantastic job at the town hall. And now just trying to bring her on board. We'll see if she can get, get on the horn with us here. And I, I see a box popping and there she is right there. Tara, great to see you.
- [32:42]
Tara Settmeyer
Hi, Jim. Good to see you again. It's a lot of, I've got, I get to see you twice this week.
- [32:47]
Jim Acosta
I know this is great. Well, I wanted to have you on in part because I know your work at the Seneca Project. We meant to talk about it a little bit more at the town hall. We did talk about it a little bit, but I wanted to talk about a little bit more because you actually have a very, a highly effective web ad. Is it a full ad?
- [33:06]
David Frum
Web ad?
- [33:06]
Jim Acosta
What is it?
- [33:07]
Tara Settmeyer
Yeah, It's a full 60 second ad. And as folks know as a super PAC, we rely on donations. So the more we're able to raise, the more we can place those ads. In various places. Our goal is to get this ad placed in some of those districts where Republicans are, you know, in some.
- [33:28]
Jim Acosta
Squishy.
- [33:29]
Tara Settmeyer
Yeah, a little squishy. And where the midterms will matter and have them explain why they're not doing more to stop Donald Trump from destroying our economy. And so, but yes, it is a 60 second. It's out on the Internet now. And we have, we have some identified places we'd like to place it, depending on how much money we raise.
- [33:47]
Jim Acosta
And the one ad that we talked about, the one ad we talked about, it was about how these tariffs have, you know, resulted in these accusations that Trump was engaging in market manipulation. And that, you know, remember it was last week when he, you know, said, you know, buy now or now would be the time to get into the market.
- [34:04]
Tara Settmeyer
You know, be cool, don't worry about it.
- [34:06]
Jim Acosta
And then he turns the tariffs off, and then he's caught on video in the Oval Office saying, oh, you made 2 billion over here and you made 900 million over there. You did, you did an ad on that which was highly effective. But you have an ad right now that's up for a Webby, a different ad. Tell us about that ad. It's the American Girl ad, if I'm not mistaken. I voted for it.
- [34:24]
Tara Settmeyer
Thank you. Thank you, Jim.
- [34:25]
Jim Acosta
Others can vote for it, too.
- [34:26]
Tara Settmeyer
Yes. So the ad that we talked about that's out right now, we called it. He's for them. And what we did was it was a play on that very effective, unfortunately, ad during the Trump, during the campaign that Trump used against Kamala about Kamala Harris is for they. Them. Trump is for you. So I was thinking about this with the whole economic situation, and not just the economic situation, but the entire disaster that has been Trump's second term. And I'm like, he's not for everybody. He's for himself and his billionaire buddies. He's not for you MAGA people. He's for them. The other guys that aren't you.
- [35:05]
Jim Acosta
Right.
- [35:05]
Tara Settmeyer
And so we flipped that. And that was the theme of this ad. And we have it in that ad where he talks about, oh, he made 2 billion, he made 900 million. Like, it's, it's in there. And we also have maga, you know, people who voted for Donald Trump saying, oh, I didn't expect this to happen to me. Like, this wasn't supposed to happen so soon. And like, yeah, no shit. But anyway, so that's. That ad that's out now.
- [35:24]
David Frum
Yeah.
- [35:25]
Tara Settmeyer
And at Seneca Project US, you can go to our YouTube channel. You can see all of our content there, including that ad. And as you said, our crowning achievement, our crown jewel, which is American Girl. And many who don't know. I started the Seneca Project with my great friend Michelle Kinney. She's my co founder and she's the chief creative officer of Seneca. She has many Webbies already for her creative. As creative director for the Lincoln Project. And so they didn't do it alone. There were more than just Rick Wilson there. And so she is with me. And we've. We started the Seneca Project last, last June because we wanted to focus on, on women and democracy. And so we didn't see anybody else doing that. And we were like, we were coming from a very right of center, left of center perspective and we put out context speaking to women and really to everyone. But we wanted to speak to women from women's perspectives, not at women. Because a lot of organizations have a tendency to do that. Especially organizations that are male run and male dominated. They just, it's a different perspective.
- [36:36]
Jim Acosta
So they suck at it.
- [36:37]
Tara Settmeyer
Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, it's just a different. I'll just say it's a different. It's not a priority. So when, when we, we saw the end of the campaign and, and the song American Girl is performed and written by the great Laura Bell Bundy. She's a Tony nominated actress and singer. She co wrote it with Shay Carter and some others. And it is a unbelievable, amazingly powerful song. And Laura Bell Bundy is on our advisory board and Michelle heard her perform this at an event in New York last year and she called me right away and said, tara, we gotta use this. This is amazing. I heard it. I said, holy shit, this is amazing. And we were figuring out the best time to use it. And the final days of the election, this was before we even knew Kamala Harris was gonna be the nominee. When we first heard the song, as the campaign progressed, we figured the end is this is an ending like anthem. It became more than just an ad. It was an anthem for women and an anthem for the women before us, for us now and really for the younger generation. It's something so that they remember what it means to be an American girl. And, and, and the challenges. I mean, it hasn't been easy. And so the lyrics and the power of that song really came through with our amazing editing team, New York Betty. That, that did it for us. And sure enough, the Webbies recognized it and Wonderful got nominated. And for those who don't know, the Webbies are like the Oscars of the Internet. It's like, they sound kind of funny. You're like, the Webbies.
- [38:07]
Jim Acosta
Will you be on the red carpet? Are you doing all that?
- [38:10]
Tara Settmeyer
Oh, yeah, they have a red carpet. It's in New York. The ceremony is a big deal.
- [38:13]
Jim Acosta
I don't want any awards. So, you know, I don't know what this is like.
- [38:16]
Tara Settmeyer
So I need to. Jim Acosta. The Jim Acosta Show. Probably next year at this time, really, we'll be talking about the Jim Acosta show being nominated for a Webby Award or two. Trust me.
- [38:28]
Jim Acosta
Man, oh, man.
- [38:29]
Tara Settmeyer
Speaking it now into existence.
- [38:31]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, I'll be hosting it from a gulag near you. But anyway, I know, right?
- [38:36]
Tara Settmeyer
If we all make it until next year, if we still have a freedom of speech next year. Good God. So, yeah, so for the Webbies, there's two different ways to win. You can win by the judges or you can win the People's Choice Award. And so that requires folks kind of like American Idol style going and voting for us. And today is the last day. Voting ends at midnight tonight. They take away the counter. So you don't know where you are in the final day of voting yet. As a. We were in first place for a couple days. And then yesterday the others started to build a little bit more because we're in a category with like, titans of industry. There's little O us. There's only four of us at the Seneca Project. We are really like a. A family owned business here with four of us against Disney, Universal and the wnba and then. But that's what they think of us. That's what I'm saying. It's like such an honor that we would be put in this category with these huge titans of industry with multimillion dollar marketing budgets and things. And then there's us. So it speaks to the quality and the power of American Girl and we are just so, so proud of it. So, you know, we're hoping that folks who are watching that can go to senecaproject us. I don't know how to drop it in the chat. I'll see if I can figure it out. But you can go to our website and there's a little banner at the top that says vote for us. Click on that. Takes like 30 seconds to vote. You can vote for other categories, but that will take you straight to ours.
- [40:07]
Jim Acosta
Wonderful.
- [40:07]
Tara Settmeyer
And let's. We were. We were in close second yesterday. We were right on. Right in the second place there. So we're like, right there.
- [40:13]
Jim Acosta
Can I vote? And somebody just put it on there. Can I vote multiple times? Like, no, you can only vote baseball. All star stuff.
- [40:19]
Tara Settmeyer
One person, one vote. Just like, voting, you know, I don't.
- [40:22]
Jim Acosta
Want to endorse voter fraud. I don't want anybody to get the wrong.
- [40:25]
Tara Settmeyer
We don't want that. But it's one vote per email, so. Yes. So that's why it's really a grassroots effort here for us. And it just went. It went so viral for us. We really weren't expecting that. We thought that it would be, you know, people would like it. But it went super viral. I mean, to the point where I was at brunch a couple weeks ago with my husband in Virginia, and I had on my purple Seneca project hat, and our waitress was like, oh, my gosh, is that the group that did American Girl? And I said, as a matter of fact, it is. That's my organization. She said, that ad made me proud to be a woman. And I said, oh, my God. Even now, I start to kind of get emotional about it. And she's like, I showed my daughter. I showed. I sent it to everyone in my family. She's like, my daughter started to cry. We got. I mean, the feedback was incredible. The reason we did. For Women's History Month, we did every day, we did, like, an explainer of some of the imagery in American Girl because it shows an arc of women's history. And we did that because someone wrote into us and said, I showed this to my daughter. She's 12. And she started asking questions about, like, well, who are some of these people? She goes, I would love to have, like, a reference list or something. So she's, like, now very interested in women's history. And we were like, wow. So we did it. You know, we did it for the month of March before we knew that we were going to be nominated for a Webby. And so it really, really is humbling. And we made that ad for generations of women, and it's just as much of an award for us as it is for everyone who supported it. And so we're just. We're hoping. We're hoping we can do it.
- [42:09]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed here.
- [42:12]
Tara Settmeyer
Thank you.
- [42:12]
Jim Acosta
And I'm so proud of you and so proud of your organization and what you guys have been able to accomplish, and we just need more of that. We just need more of this kind of grassroots activism. And, you know, a lot of people are freaked out right now. And so, Tara, when you do stuff like that, when you. You come to the town hall, like, you did the Other night, you pour your heart out. It means something. It makes a difference.
- [42:35]
Tara Settmeyer
Thank you. Thank you.
- [42:36]
Jim Acosta
So I. I appreciate it. I do.
- [42:38]
Tara Settmeyer
We appreciate you, Jim, for. For giving folks a platform and. And everyone is, like, loving the liberated gym. Costa. And, you know, you and I have been friends for years, so I, like, know you, but it's. So. I think it's amazing that the world now gets to see all of Jim Acosta.
- [42:56]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. You used to hear me drop F bombs in private. Now I can just do it here. So, you know. You know, it just. Yeah, no, I had a relative say to me the other day, you. You curse now. I was like, yeah, it's.
- [43:07]
Tara Settmeyer
We're just here.
- [43:07]
Jim Acosta
It's just. We're just talking. It's not a big deal, Right?
- [43:10]
Tara Settmeyer
That's right.
- [43:11]
Jim Acosta
There's so much. There's so much crazy stuff happening in the newster. I do want to get your reaction to a couple of things.
- [43:16]
Tara Settmeyer
Yeah.
- [43:17]
Jim Acosta
One is this terrible situation out of Florida, Florida State University. I read a tweet from Fred Gutenberg earlier. You know, his daughter Jamie died at Parkland. I wanted to get him on today. He's got a family situation happening, so he couldn't do it. But he put this very heartfelt note on X earlier today. According to NBC News, is now two dead, five hospitalized in that shooting. And Fred's message in his tweet was he started this way. America is broken.
- [43:52]
Tara Settmeyer
Yes.
- [43:52]
Jim Acosta
And Fred tried and worked like hell to get some semblance of gun safety reform when Biden was president. Obviously, that's not going to anything like that's going to pass that get through the Congress now. Get to the president's desk for a signature now. But I hate to think of it in that fashion, but on this particular subject, it sure feels that way.
- [44:14]
Tara Settmeyer
Yeah. You know, coincidentally, my co founder, Michelle Kinney, who I just talked about, one of her best friends runs the theater department at fsu and she texted her shortly after. Michelle and I were on Mary Trump's show earlier. Mary's on our advisory board. We love Mary.
- [44:33]
Jim Acosta
Wow. We love Mary.
- [44:34]
Tara Settmeyer
And she, like, shortly after, Michelle texted me and said, oh, my God, Julie is sheltering in place at fsu. I said, what? What's happening? And, yeah, they were. They barricaded her classroom with pianos and instruments and things. And they were. It was terrifying. She said that they didn't hear the gunshots, but they could hear, like, police and stuff and telling them, like, shelter in place and all of this. And I can't even imagine what that is like. And what's sad is that I would say almost all of us have like some six degrees of separation from someone now who has some experience with a mass shooting in this country. And that is a really sad commentary about where we are. And it's not only about guns and responsible gun ownership, but it's also about mental health. It's about, you know, the system that's in place for, you know, people, how easily they can access these, these weapons, our gun culture. Listen, I come from a law enforcement family. I'm very comfortable around guns. We have guns in my house. My husband and I are members of a shooting club in the area. But it's not about restricting second amendment rights. You know, it has nothing to do with that. That is a red herring that has.
- [45:57]
Jim Acosta
Been such a line of bullshit for.
- [45:59]
Tara Settmeyer
Such a long time.
- [46:00]
Jim Acosta
I grew up in Virginia, you know, we used to shoot guns and, you know, for one of my buddy's bachelor parties, we went to a gun range and shot. I mean, it's, it's like the idea that the federal government's going to come and take everybody's guns and all that, it's such horseshit. It's honestly horseshit.
- [46:18]
Tara Settmeyer
It is.
- [46:19]
Jim Acosta
And we need to point out, just a week ago, Glenn Thrush reported this in the New York Times. The Trump administration is expected to roll back a range of Biden era gun control measures, including a program to crack down on federally licensed gun dealers who falsify business records and skip customer background checks, according to two people briefed on the move. I mean, so things are so fucked up right now from a gun safety perspective in America. And this keeps happening over and over again. And it's one of the things that really makes my blood boil almost more than anything because I have kids who are in that, in that teenage age group. You know, I don't talk about family stuff all that much. But anybody who has kids understands this is the life that they have now. They worry about this if they go to the mall, they go to a movie, somebody drops a book and it makes a loud noise or a broom or something, and it makes a lot of noise. It's just on their minds all the time. And the fact that the Trump people would roll back regulations, we don't have enough regulations. You don't even have universal background checks in this country.
- [47:23]
Tara Settmeyer
Right.
- [47:24]
Jim Acosta
It is completely insane. This is one area where we are insane.
- [47:28]
Tara Settmeyer
Why are we surprised? Okay, we know that the gun lobby has a lot invested in Trump. We know that his son cosplays being a tough guy. With big guns and shooting animals and things like that, they are just so despicable and inhumane and indecent on so many of these things that it's, you know, it's tough to, it's tough to deal with. But unfortunately, this is who got back in office and it's what we have to deal with. And on so many levels is not just the gun safety issue that American lives are at risk because of Donald Trump being in office. Whether it's the gun issue, whether it's rolling back EPA regulations, whether it's the wackadoo RFK Jr. Who's going to get people killed as our HHS secretary spewing nonsense and unfactual things and garbage that's going to get kids killed. And adults, whether they're rolling back the funding for state university or for university private universities, they get money from the federal government for research cancer trials. People getting their kids with cancer not able to access the experimental medicines or treatments because Donald Trump's government pulled that. They don't give a fuck. And this is a problem because it's now. And it's not just about. I mean, it's bad enough that his buddies are getting enriched by all this. There's always some kind of scheme in here with somebody making money off of it. But now we're at the phase where it's literally costing lives. And if that doesn't get people motivated to fight back against this regime, I don't know what will. I don't know what will. It's a shame, but this is where we are and it's not okay. We shouldn't just be okay with it. They gaslight us into just trying to desensitize us to the loss of life. Same thing with women, right? That women are dying because of draconian reproductive laws that are restricted to.
- [49:20]
Jim Acosta
And we don't even talk about, we don't even talk about that anymore.
- [49:22]
Tara Settmeyer
Right, right. Women, Nobody cares about women anymore. Right. We're yesterday's news now. It's all about the lonely bros and, you know, men feeling some kind of way because women are advanced women and minorities are advancing in this country. Like, get a fucking grip, okay?
- [49:36]
Jim Acosta
I gotta say, as a guy, I have to say, as a guy, I, I think I've lost all patience for other guys who complain and moan about, about how the world is against them.
- [49:51]
Tara Settmeyer
Right.
- [49:51]
Jim Acosta
I really, I'm sorry.
- [49:52]
Tara Settmeyer
I know, listen, Joe Rogan, all these.
- [49:56]
Jim Acosta
Ben Shapiro types with their podcast. First of all, I don't even know what they're going to do the next three or four years. Why they even have shows anymore. You're going to have a show every day where you just agree with Trump and agree with RFK Jr and all this bullshit. That doesn't sound like a show to me. That sounds like.
- [50:11]
Tara Settmeyer
You know what it sounds like to me?
- [50:12]
Jim Acosta
Colossal waste of time.
- [50:13]
Tara Settmeyer
It sounds to me like it's a one big circle jerk for the next three years and have fun with that, guys.
- [50:19]
Jim Acosta
But, you know, and what's his name, Josh Hawley, used to talk about this crisis of masculinity.
- [50:25]
Tara Settmeyer
J.D. vance, too.
- [50:27]
Jim Acosta
And maybe the crisis of masculinity is it's all these guys who just can't get over themselves. I mean, honestly, be a man if you want to man up. That's where. That's one area where you can man up and stop worrying about people taking your guns and being out against you on. On all of these very. My. My viewpoints have been discriminated against. Oh, gee, look what they're doing now. They're scooping people up and carting them off to Louisiana, God knows where because of their points of view.
- [50:56]
Tara Settmeyer
And El Salvador. I mean, are you happy now? Is this going to make you feel like more of a man? This makes you feel like more of a man. You know, I don't get it. Disappearing people and violating constitutional rights. Cause I've got news for you, maga, bro. They're gonna come for you too, if you don't comply. That no one is safe when you start going down this slippery slope. And that's the part about this that's so frustrating. Those of us who don't have the planks in our eyes and understand and see what's happening and are yelling from the rooftops warning about this, we get it. But it's the other. The magas. And the people who are in denial about where we are are that I don't know how much further down this authoritarian path we have to go before they wake up and realize that this is all coming for them, too. They helped enable this. They helped enable their own potential demise. But that's why we're here. We're here to try to stop that.
- [51:46]
Jim Acosta
And the other crisis of masculinity is the chronic sucking up to Trump, which is also, you know, it's just kind of flaccid. It's not alpha male. It's.
- [51:58]
Tara Settmeyer
I think that's the problem with a lot of this, Jim.
- [52:00]
Jim Acosta
It's. What do they call that? Beta soy boy. I mean, all the snowflake, all of It, I, I don't get it. Like a lot of these guys, you.
- [52:08]
Tara Settmeyer
Know, I don't either. And the thing about the whole masculinity thing, and Trump is like, Trump is the least masculine person you could ever have to be at the top of this food chain. There's nothing alpha about a guy who worries about his hair, wears makeup that makes him darker than me, and wears girdles to hold, to suck in his fat stomach. And, you know, and like dresses. Doesn't even dress well. He dresses like a.
- [52:34]
Jim Acosta
It's not, it's not.
- [52:35]
Tara Settmeyer
I don't understand. Where is that? He's never done anything. He's. He hasn't taken up arms or sworn an oath to defend this country. As a matter of fact, he was a silver spoon draft dodger so that he couldn't, he wouldn't do that. I mean, he, there's nothing.
- [52:49]
Jim Acosta
He's kind of getting weird looking. There's.
- [52:51]
Tara Settmeyer
There's a kind of Willy Wonka happening here. I don't know what's happening. I don't know. It's. It's like between, like Willy Wonka and like Lorax with the little.
- [52:59]
Jim Acosta
I know, but when I'm like shopping for shoes, I've described this. The other. I'm shopping for shoes. And, and I, and they had the different shades and one of them is British tan. That's what I've been looking at. I, I just, I. That's the closest shade that I can think of.
- [53:13]
Tara Settmeyer
No, I can think of another shade. It's like shoe polished shit shade. That's what it looks like.
- [53:19]
Jim Acosta
Okay, now we're getting carried away.
- [53:21]
Tara Settmeyer
I mean, listen, we have to have some levity here.
- [53:23]
Jim Acosta
I know, I know.
- [53:24]
Tara Settmeyer
There's still, like you said, shit is very fucked up and we need to be able to kind of like get some joy. Like today I was. Have you seen. Can I just switch subjects for a quick.
- [53:32]
David Frum
No.
- [53:32]
Tara Settmeyer
Yeah, please, please, since we're being petty for a second.
- [53:34]
David Frum
All right.
- [53:35]
Tara Settmeyer
Have you seen the memes coming out of China with JD Vance and the eyeliner?
- [53:39]
Jim Acosta
Oh, my God, Hillbilly eyeliner. Some of that stuff is a work of art. Is it like AI, where they're like working at a sewing machine and they're on the factory line?
- [53:49]
Tara Settmeyer
All of it, all of it. Just dragging MAGA for their asinine tariff policy and what they're doing to our country. This is how the world is looking at us. And let me tell you what, the Chinese never take a day off, okay? They are formidable opponents. And Donald Trump has picked the wrong fight here.
- [54:08]
Jim Acosta
And a lot of this. And you're right, a lot of this. And this goes back to what we were talking about earlier with your Webby nomination. A lot of this is being fought on social media through memes and so on. And there's some of these goofballs. Is it Benny Johnson is one of these goofballs that says the left can't meme or something?
- [54:25]
Tara Settmeyer
Oh, please. Everyone's whine the most.
- [54:27]
Jim Acosta
I'm seeing some memes. I'm seeing some potent memes.
- [54:30]
Tara Settmeyer
They are the snowflakes. You know, everything they accuse everyone else of, they are by, like, you know, an end to the nth degree.
- [54:38]
Jim Acosta
And I will say it's just I have done TV for a very long time. I've never put on eyeliner. I will tell you, like, this is just au natural. And maybe if you're not born with it, maybe you got to use a little. Maybe you got to make it Maybelline or however.
- [54:52]
Tara Settmeyer
That's right. Maybe it's Maybelline.
- [54:53]
Jim Acosta
Maybe it's Maybelline.
- [54:54]
Tara Settmeyer
But look, I have no. If you want to wear eyeliner, good for you. God bless. I don't care.
- [54:59]
Jim Acosta
I don't.
- [55:01]
Tara Settmeyer
Some of my friends have had that, like, fierce. Some of my gay friends. I don't know any straight men that wear eyeliner. But I'm just saying, like, if you want to wear eyeliner to make your eyes pop, I have eyeliner on. Good for you. I have no problem with that. But then, like, don't deny who you are.
- [55:17]
Jim Acosta
Don't.
- [55:17]
Tara Settmeyer
I just think that J.D. vance has a crisis of identity. And, you know, so the fact that the Chinese kind of recognize that, too, I think is pretty funny.
- [55:26]
Jim Acosta
Well, Tara, I. I always enjoy our conversations. I loved seeing you at the town hall the other night. I thought that was spectacular.
- [55:32]
Tara Settmeyer
Oh, likewise, my friend.
- [55:34]
Jim Acosta
It was so much fun. And it was one of those things where it was kind of like experimental theater. We were just, like, rolling the dice and say, is this gonna work? We don't know. Let's try it. And it works great.
- [55:45]
Tara Settmeyer
It works because people like to hang out with good people. Good people, like good people. And everyone's looking for community right now because things in, you know, MAGA has created this hellscape of a reality for a lot of us, but there are more of us than there are of them. I firmly believe that. Don't get caught up in this bullshit narrative that Donald Trump has a mandate or that MAGA has a mandate. No, they don't. Okay. Donald Trump won by about 220,000 votes across seven states. That's it. Out of a country of 350 million people. Okay. There are more people who stayed home and didn't vote, and that's a problem. But I would hope that they're motivated.
- [56:25]
David Frum
That's the.
- [56:25]
Jim Acosta
That's where the race was lost. I think the race was lost. Was it Charlemagne? He said that he was worried about people losing to the couch. Not to bring J.D. back.
- [56:35]
Tara Settmeyer
Not the J.D. vance kind of couch.
- [56:36]
Jim Acosta
Sorry, sorry. It's my birthday. I'm taking some personal liberties.
- [56:40]
David Frum
Wait a minute.
- [56:41]
Tara Settmeyer
It's your birthday today?
- [56:42]
Jim Acosta
It is my birthday today, yeah.
- [56:43]
Tara Settmeyer
Jim, why do you bury the lead?
- [56:45]
Jim Acosta
I did.
- [56:46]
Tara Settmeyer
Happy birthday. My birthday.
- [56:48]
Jim Acosta
I don't want to get older. I don't want to get older, but it's okay. It's fine.
- [56:51]
Tara Settmeyer
Listen, it's okay. We are not that far off in age, and I feel you on that. Like, I'm in denial, and. But my husband just turned 50 two weeks ago and has embraced it gloriously.
- [57:01]
Jim Acosta
Wow.
- [57:02]
Tara Settmeyer
And so he's like, Listen, I'm 50. I can curse people out now. You can't tell me anything.
- [57:06]
Jim Acosta
I am 50 years old. I sort of feel like I'm becoming more and more like Larry David is what's happening, but maybe that's just what happens when you age, and that's the whole point. I don't know.
- [57:16]
Tara Settmeyer
But listen, we are still young at heart. There's still a lot of fight left in us, and I think that's important for people to know. And, Jim, I am honored that you spent your birthday for a little bit with me and wishing you many, many more. And you get to spend your birthday with lots of folks who love and respect you. And the world is a better place with Jim Acosta in it.
- [57:39]
Jim Acosta
Thank you. And same with you, Tara. Thank you so much. Great to talk to you. And vote for Tara's Web, go for the Webby nomination fees.
- [57:47]
Tara Settmeyer
Midnight tonight go to senecaproject us. And thank you to everyone who has voted already for us. We are so appreciative of it. You have until midnight tonight. Spread the word. Help American Girl win this Webby. Thank you, guys.
- [57:59]
Jim Acosta
Good luck, Tara. I hope you win.
- [58:00]
Tara Settmeyer
Thanks, Jim.
- [58:01]
Jim Acosta
Okay, see you soon. I love Tara. She's one of my favorite people in the whole world. And we always have a great time when we talk because I think. Because I enjoy. I'll just confess, I enjoy being around people who kind of pull the juvenile delinquent out of me. And that person is there and anybody who knows me knows that that is the case. And Tara does. Does that because she's such a great friend. And, and I don't know, we just happened that we just always hit it off. I'm going to end it now. I, you know, what can I say? It's my birthday and I can just end the show however the hell I want, and that's what I'm going to do right now. But I just want to say to. To David from. Thank you very much, Tara, as always, if you can go and vote for Tara's ad, that would be terrific. It would be wonderful if she could cap this week with a win at the Webbies. What am I going to do for my birthday? There may be. There may be a bottle of red wine in my future and something along those lines. Not the whole thing, but, you know, part of it. We have to be reasonable here. But. But in the end. And maybe a little walk with Duke as well. But in the meantime, thanks, everybody for watching. Really appreciate it. I'm back in D.C. i said I would be back in D.C. and I'll be back, I think, tomorrow as well. We've got some cool stuff planned for tomorrow as well. So. But in the meantime, really appreciate everybody tuning in. You have made this a very happy birthday for me in particular because of all of the folks who tune in day in and day out and are really committed to this program. It just, it continues to just astound me and knock me off my feet. All of the love and support that folks share with me and send my way every day, and it. We're. We're building a community here, and it has just been a real blessing for me. So thank you so much. Really appreciate it. That's my birthday gift. But in the meantime, still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'm going to go walk Duke. Happy birthday to me. Have a great evening, everybody. See you later. Bye.