Democratic Strategist Maria Cardona on Kristi Noem not knowing what she is talking about plus Olivia Troye and Michael Fanone join Jim to announce new DC town hall coming very soon!

Summary

Summary of "The Jim Acosta Show" Episode Featuring Maria Cardona, Olivia Troye, and Michael Fanone

Release Date: May 20, 2025

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Introduction and Tribute to Alice Stewart

[00:00 - 05:21]

Jim Acosta opens the episode by welcoming his longtime friend and Democratic Strategist, Maria Cardona. They reminisce about their past collaborations, particularly highlighting the late Alice Stewart, a respected voice of reason in political discourse who passed away a year ago. Maria emphasizes Alice's ability to bridge ideological divides by critically analyzing Trump while understanding the perspectives of MAGA supporters.

Notable Quote:

• Maria Cardona at [04:03]: “We won't ever forget her.”

Critique of the Trump Administration's Competence

[05:24 - 08:55]

The discussion shifts to the Trump administration's handling of critical issues, focusing on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem's apparent lack of understanding of fundamental constitutional rights like habeas corpus. Maria criticizes the administration for appointing individuals she deems unqualified, raising concerns about the implications for American democracy.

Notable Quote:

• Jim Acosta at [07:28]: “Kristi Noem not knowing what habeas corpus is, is downright terrifying.”

Impact on Latino Communities and Immigration Policies

[08:55 - 17:41]

Jim and Maria delve into the detrimental effects of Trump's immigration policies on Latino communities. They discuss the emotional and practical consequences of mass deportations, highlighting personal stories from Latinos who feel betrayed by Trump's broken promises. Maria underscores the Democratic Party's efforts to reconnect and communicate effectively with Latino voters to counter these adverse policies.

Notable Quotes:

• Maria Cardona at [12:44]: “Trump betrayed them.”
• Jim Acosta at [16:01]: “This is what's happening... He is going after the political opposition just in the same way he's going after Latinos.”

Announcing the Upcoming DC Town Hall

[20:34 - 34:02]

Jim introduces Olivia Troye, who announces an upcoming live town hall in Washington, D.C., featuring Michael Fanone. The event aims to address concerns of federal workers and the local arts community affected by current political climates. They emphasize the importance of community engagement and independent media in defending democracy.

Notable Quote:

• Olivia Troye at [21:32]: “We do want it to be interactive. It'll be a town hall style like last time.”

Discussion on Media Integrity and CBS Controversy

[34:02 - 41:12]

The conversation pivots to media integrity, specifically criticizing CBS News for potential bribery involving the Trump administration. Jim draws parallels to historical media manipulation, lamenting the decline of independent journalism and the threats posed by political interference. Maria voices concern over media companies compromising their ethics to survive politically.

Notable Quotes:

• Jim Acosta at [36:09]: “If, if members of corporate media are essentially paying bribes... we got big problems here.”
• Maria Cardona at [38:29]: “They are basically becoming an arm of the state.”

Elon Musk's Withdrawal from Political Campaigns and Its Implications

[31:18 - 33:53]

Jim brings up Elon Musk's recent announcement to reduce political campaign contributions, interpreting it as a potential setback for Republicans. The conversation speculates on Musk's influence and the broader impact of his political disengagement.

Notable Quote:

• Jim Acosta at [32:18]: “It is interesting that he would admit this out loud, that he's feeling a bit chastened these days.”

Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks

[41:12 - 48:56]

As the episode concludes, Jim reiterates the threats posed by Donald Trump's administration to American democracy and the free press. He emphasizes the necessity for lawmakers to act against these threats. The conversation ends on a lighthearted note with a brief, humorous interaction with Michael Fanone, reaffirming the plans for the upcoming town hall.

Notable Quote:

• Jim Acosta at [48:56]: “The current president of the United States is out of control. He's the story right now.”

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Key Takeaways

1. Tribute to Alice Stewart: Emphasizes the loss of a balanced and reasoned voice in political discussions.
2. Administration's Competence: Criticism of Trump administration officials' understanding of constitutional rights.
3. Impact on Latino Communities: Highlighting the personal and community struggles due to stringent immigration policies.
4. Upcoming Town Hall: Announcement of a live event addressing federal workers and the arts community.
5. Media Integrity Concerns: Alarm over potential corruption within major media outlets like CBS News.
6. Elon Musk's Political Withdrawal: Considered a significant factor affecting future political campaigns.
7. Democracy Under Threat: Persistent theme warning against actions threatening American democratic values and institutions.

This episode serves as a critical examination of the current political landscape, emphasizing the need for vigilance, community engagement, and unwavering support for democratic principles.

Transcript

[Jim Acosta]

Welcome, everybody, to the Jim Acosta show. It is Tuesday. Yes, it is only Tuesday. And I took a day off yesterday, so I have no room to complain right now. But as you can see, joining me today is the wonderful, the very talented, my friend, mi amiga, Maria Cardona. Maria, it's great to be reunited with you.

[Maria Cardona]

Thank you so much for having me, Jim. I've been so excited and really looking forward to joining you at your new home on Substack. And congratulations, mi amigo, you have knocked it out of the park. Everyone loves your show. Everyone tunes in, and you are talking about everything that is critical and important and relevant for our lives and livelihoods. So I love that you're doing this, and I'm honored to be on with you.

[Jim Acosta]

Well, I mean, I love that you're with me. And it kind of reminds me of old times. You know, people might remember from my old show at my old place on the weekends. Maria was there just about every weekend. And I think when I moved to weekdays, I think you might have been the first day.

[Maria Cardona]

So we had, I was, I had that honor, absolutely. It was a staple of my CNN contributions, if you will, to be on your show. And as you know, we talked about this. It was a lot of times. It was me and our dear friend Alice Stewart. I love Alice, whom, as you know and I know a lot of people watching us also know last Sunday marked a year since her passing, which I not only still cannot believe, but you and I have talked about this many times. Her voice is dearly, dearly missed, especially with everything that's going on now, especially with the vitriol that, you know, if anything, our politics has gotten worse and more coarse and scarier and more terrifying. And she was just always a voice of reason, somebody that I could vehemently disagree with. But as you know, we were dear friends. All three of us were dear friends. It was kind of a staple of our weekends to spend them together on your show.

[Jim Acosta]

No, it's so true. And I mean, just to refresh everybody's memories, I mean, I've known Alice for, I had known Alice for a very long time when she was working for, I think it was the Rick Santorum campaign. It might even been the Michele Bachmann campaign. This is going back a long ways, when she worked for her presidential campaign and his presidential campaign, don't campaign back in 2012. And Alice always struck me as, yes, very conservative, no question about it, die hard Republican. Nobody's going to doubt that one bit. But she wasn't mean and nasty about It. And she could disagree with you and you get hot sometimes you guys got hot, you had your show, hot mics. But she was never mean about it. She was never cruel, she was never personal.

[Maria Cardona]

That's exactly right. And, you know, for the discourse that was going on, you know, right. When she passed, which was during the 2024 campaign, she was somebody who always had the very credible ability to call out Trump, which was often because we know he was very wrong on so many issues. But she was able to call that out and yet explain to us why what he was saying or doing made sense to MAGA followers. And I think that that is always something that is needed in a discussion. As you know, she and I had our podcast as well, Hot Mics from Left to right, which I need to revive that in, in her honor. But we did exactly the same thing and we had you on the podcast as well. And. And she did the same thing. She would explain what was going on in the Republican Party. She would even call out, you know, the Republicans who did not have the wherewithal, the spine to call out Trump when Trump was wrong, which we know was often, but she really just had.

[Jim Acosta]

There's a lot of that going around these days.

[Maria Cardona]

I know that's why we need her voice so desperately, even now. But I just, I wanted to take a minute because I know that you loved her dearly as well and just honor her, thank her for everything that she did for politics, for the discussion, for the country, and just, you know, say again how dearly, dearly missed she is. And we won't ever forget her.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah. And the thing about Alice is. And I loved her dearly. And when she passed and it was a freak accident, for folks who don't remember, it was just a freak accident. You know, the thing about Alice is, is that she. You could always feel like her warmth, you know what I mean? She was always just so kind. She wanted to give you a hug, wanted to ask how you were doing. And I just, I just love that about her. She was just such a warm, friendly, you know, fun loving gal, you know, and, you know, she was Southern and proud of it. And I love that about her, too. I mean, there are so many things I loved about her and I miss her dearly. And when I think about her, I think about her from. I don't know about you, Maria, but I think about her from time to time. I just do. I think it happens to me all the time. And if I start thinking about it and talking about it too much, I'm gonna get upset. So.

[Maria Cardona]

Yeah, I know. Me too. So let's move on.

[Jim Acosta]

We'll talk about other stuff. Maybe we'll talk about Alice again at the end. But I do miss her dearly. And I miss it just sort of reminds me of like the Reagan Tip o' Neill days, which might be dating me a little bit, to pine for that. I was a kid back then. But, you know, like there was a time, you know what I mean? There just was a time in this city, in this godforsaken city when we could disagree with one another and go out and have a beer or a drink or a cocktail or whatever afterwards anyway.

[Maria Cardona]

That's right.

[Jim Acosta]

We'll talk about that a little later. But I do want to get into this, Maria, because you teed it up perfectly at the top of this. There are so many other important things going on besides what everybody in Washington seemed to be fixated on, which I'm not going to get into. But and that's because Trump is weaponizing government to go after his perceived political enemies nearly every day now. It appears to be an all consuming pursuit on his part and one that is very dangerous for our democracy and the American way of life. And Maria, I mean, one of the questions I have is shouldn't they know what rights they are violating before they violate them? Politico reporting. Earlier today, the DHS secretary, Kristi Noem was was defending the Trump administration potentially suspending habeas corpus, engaging in a back and forth with Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire. A lot of this was about how Kristi Noem did not even know what habeas corpus was. At one point, she described the term as a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from the country. That is not the case. Habeas corpus is what protects Americans from unlawful detention. It protects you from the government coming after you and throwing you in jail and just saying, whoops, we threw you in jail. Sorry, you don't have any rights. And Maria, I mean, that's what's scary about this. There are a couple of things. One is Trump has surrounded himself by a lot of rank amateur types in his cabinet who just have no business. People like RFK Jr. Cash Patel go on and on. No business being in these positions. But for Christine, oh, not to know what habeas corpus is, is downright terrifying.

[Maria Cardona]

It is downright terrifying and incredibly dangerous, Jim, because this is one of the, and I put this on social media as well because I think it's really important for everyone to know what A clown car cabinet of incompetence and chaos Trump has and has surrounded himself with. And when Senator Hassan asked that question, I said to myself, there's no way that the DHS secretary doesn't know what habeas corpus is. Boy, was I wrong.

[Jim Acosta]

I know.

[Maria Cardona]

My goodness. Like, you know, every single day, I think that I can't be surprised by these people. And they continually surprise us with their blatant incompetence and how dangerous they are making every single action that they're taking on the government's behalf to Americans lives and livelihoods. The fact that she didn't know what that is, Jim, and that she is in charge of who gets deported and who doesn't, I mean, that's the basis of habeas corvus. It is, as Senator Hassan said, what differentiates this great country, this amazing democracy that we are fighting tooth and nail to keep from places like North Korea. That's right, Iran or China or Venezuela or frankly, increasingly, El Salvador, for that matter.

[Jim Acosta]

Exactly.

[Maria Cardona]

And so the fact that she couldn't even define it in a congressional hearing should make every American's spine just explode with terror. And it also reminds me of, you know, you talked about weaponization. You also heard this week, I'm sure, that dhs, and they're denying it now, of course, but that DHS was talking about a reality show, Jim.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Maria Cardona]

Where they put immigrant against immigrant in a competition.

[Jim Acosta]

I thought. I thought, what's her name? Over at dhs, the spokesperson confirmed that they were looking at this. Are they walking this back now or what's the deal?

[Maria Cardona]

Well, apparently today. And I think it's because they saw just how it's like.

[Jim Acosta]

Fascist survivor, right?

[Maria Cardona]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. They are kind of walking it back, kind of as much as they walk anything back. But as an immigrant and as the son of immigrants, Jim, this, this. I mean, you and I know what it's like and what it takes for immigrants to come to this country. People who are so quick to denigrate and belittle and insult immigrants. I bet you have never met an immigrant in their life. And as you know, when you are an immigrant, you don't wake up all of a sudden and say, oh, I want to leave everything that I know behind, go to a country where I don't know the culture and I don't know the language for shits and giggles. Right. That's not why that happens. People come here, as you know very well, and you are the product of it, and so am I, for immigrants to give their families A better life. And when people don't understand that, they not only hurt themselves and the discourse in this country, but they hurt the country. Because we're at a point now, Jim, as you know very well, where we need more immigrants, we need more labor, we need more people to take on our industries, and we need more of the trillions, billions of dollars of contributions that immigrants have given to this country thus far.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah. And I mean, I've talked about this before with you, Maria. I mean, immigrants do a lot of the jobs that a lot of born Americans don't want to do. That's just a fact. But one of the things I don't think we've spoken about because, you know, we haven't been on like this in a while, is that, I mean, this should, this should be case closed. If you are a Latino in this country, Latina in this country, what happens to you when Donald Trump is in power. You warned about this during the campaign. I warned about this during the campaign. He made it very clear during the campaign when they were waving the signs, mass deportations. Now at the Republican National Convention, if you have brown skin, if you have a Hispanic last name, if you speak with a Hispanic accent, they're going to want to round you up. People like Tom Homan are going to want to round you up. And case in point, they're ending TPS temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States. And we saw what took place in places like Florida where a lot of Venezuelans and I think this took place in places like Pennsylvania, too. A lot of Venezuelans said, ah, we're going to take a gamble. A lot of Latinos, Latinas, we're going to take a gamble on Donald Trump. You know, they said, oh, we remember how the economy was good. And even though that was bad, bullshit, you know, he wrecked the economy during COVID But this should be case closed for Latinos, Latinas in this country. As to what happens when you put Donald Trump in the White House. This is what happens.

[Maria Cardona]

That's exactly right, Jim. And we talked about this a lot, too. The Democratic Party needed to do a better job of communicating our messages to all of the Latino communities that there are young Latino men, Latinas, you know, Latinos across the board, Latina professionals who necessarily don't necessarily speak Spanish, all of them. Right. We fell short. But I think this represents a huge opportunity for the Democratic Party and we are already engaging on this. Interesting to go back and to have that conversation with Latinos at a critical, authentic level. And Tell them and remind them and convince them and educate them that it is the Democratic Party that historically has given our community and our families and our kids the tools to live a better life in this country. And you know what? Trump betrayed them. He betrayed Latinos in this country when he promised them that he was going to take care of the economy, that he was going to lower costs. And importantly, if you remember, and I've talked to Latinos since then who voted for him, and I'm sure you have too. But when he talked about immigration and deportation, he promised that he was going to deport criminal, dangerous, undocumented.

[Jim Acosta]

He said gang members. That's right, Gang members.

[Maria Cardona]

Right. Rapists.

[Jim Acosta]

Not 4 year old US citizens with cancer or 11 year old citizens with cancer. He's rounding up the families.

[Maria Cardona]

Right. You Latinos are even saying, this is not what I voted for. Right. Latinos who voted for Trump, they're saying, I did not vote for him to deport my abuela. Or we had one, I saw footage of one who was saying he had a Latinos for Trump T shirt on and they were deporting his wife.

[Jim Acosta]

But Maria, you and I talked about this. He lies. He's a liar.

[Maria Cardona]

He is a lie.

[Jim Acosta]

When he goes out there and he says, we're just going to go after the criminals, we're just going to go after ms.13 trend. He knew that was a lie. He wants to go after. And he wants members of Congress to shut the hell up. I mean, they are charging Congresswoman LaMonica McIver over what happened at that ICE facility in New Jersey. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, has said that is a red line. You cannot do that. But this is what's happening in this country, Maria. He is going after the political opposition just in the same way he's going after Latinos. And as I tell people from time to time, you might say, oh, well, this is not my segment of the population. I'm not worried. I'm not so worried about this because he's not coming after my segment of the population. Baloney. Bullshit. It's just a matter of time. If you're not lined up in the MAGA base, you know, you should be, you know, making sure you have all of your things together, all your important things together at home. Because honestly, it's just a matter of time. If they can suspend habeas corpus, if they can go after politicians, you know, judges, judges. This is not good. This is not good.

[Maria Cardona]

Maureen, we heard that argument. Wasn't that argument made sometime in Germany? In the 1940s. Oh, they're not going to go after me. I don't know who that group of people is. That's not me. I don't have to be worried about that, Jim. You know, I was born in Colombia, and I'm a naturalized citizen. My family and I went to Colombia for spring break. And I got to tell you, never in my life did the thought occur to me to have to talk to an immigration lawyer prior to leaving, because who knows what's going to happen when I came back through a port of entry.

[Jim Acosta]

Correct?

[Maria Cardona]

I did. I spoke to an immigration lawyer, Jim, and I had a plan with this lawyer and with my family. And my family. My children were terrified when we were going through that port of entry. I took with me my US Passport and my naturalization certificate, just in case.

[Jim Acosta]

That makes me sense.

[Maria Cardona]

Nothing happened. But can you imagine if I had gotten somebody who believed 1000% what Trump says every single day? It's terrifying, and it should not happen in the United States of America. And it's upon all of us to speak out, to speak truth to power, to push our elected officials, both Republicans and Democrats and independents and nonpartisans. This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue about the survival of our democracy.

[Jim Acosta]

Correct.

[Maria Cardona]

And it is upon all of us. We are all. We all have the responsibility to speak out, because if not, it's going to be too late.

[Jim Acosta]

Well, and we're led by somebody, quite frankly, who is not playing with a full deck. He thinks that the tattoos on Kilmar Albergo Garcia's knuckles are real when they're Photoshopped. This is the latest thing he wants to go. He wants a major investigation, he says, into several celebrity endorsements that former Vice President Kamala Harris received during the 2024 presidential campaign. This is ABC who's reporting this, suggesting without evidence that some of the celebrities were illegally paid for their endorsements. He's talking about Oprah, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce. You know, this is the thing, and you and I've talked about this so many times, Maria. The pettiness knows no bounds. You know, I forget about the Manchurian Candidate. This is the Man Childian candidate. You know, I mean, he, you know, the guy is just, what the hell's wrong with him?

[Maria Cardona]

He goes through the day and through his life. And again, this is what's so frustrating, because we talked about this so much during the campaign, about how he was going to not just focus, but obsess, obsess incessantly over his enemies. Listen.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Maria Cardona]

And he was going to do something about it.

[Jim Acosta]

He said that. He said the enemy within. Yep.

[Maria Cardona]

Yes. And this, this is what this is all about. And it's everyone that you mentioned, but it's also the media. And you better than anyone knows what that feels like.

[Jim Acosta]

Oh, sure.

[Maria Cardona]

And it is incredibly dangerous because whereas before people could say, oh, that's just Trump, it's just Trump being Trump, you know, it's hyper herboli. He doesn't mean any of it. We know now by the gazillion of executive orders and everything he says and does every single day, he meant every single word of what his priority is in this country. And it is not making people's lives better. It is not expanding rights and is not taking care of the most vulnerable. It is not ensuring that everyone has an equal level playing field to try to achieve the American dream. It's none of that. And in fact, he wants to take away rights. He wants to take away the American dream from certain people that don't look American enough. But, yes, let's give it to the white Afrikaners in South Africa.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah. Unbelievable.

[Maria Cardona]

Yeah.

[Jim Acosta]

That could not have been more blatantly racist. I mean, you know, slap in the face.

[Maria Cardona]

A slap in the face of what humanity has gone through globally to get decency, to have democracy, to have equality, and to have fairness in their everyday lives. That is not what Donald Trump wants for any of us, frankly. Maybe for him and his billionaire friends, but that's it.

[Jim Acosta]

Well, Maria, I'm going to see you later on this evening at an event, I believe it's called Latino Talks.

[Maria Cardona]

Yes, let's promote that for a second. It's gonna be fun talks brought to you by the Latino victory. And it's gonna be taking place at the Hamilton in D.C. downtown. D.C. 14th Street. So everyone who's listening, please join us. We're gonna have a lot of these very important conversations, Jim, about what it means to be an American today, what it means to fight for our communities every day, and especially now that we have so many challenges ahead of us. What can we do? I know you're going to be talking about the importance of the free press, how we all need to come out and defend it, and how we all need to come out and speak up. You're going to have a.

[Jim Acosta]

We can't have these media companies bending the knee, paying bullshit settlements like CBS is thinking about doing. My God.

[Maria Cardona]

Right. How everyone needs to speak truth to power. You're going to be on with the great Paola Ramos and Carlos Martina. And I'm really Looking forward to that. And we're going to have other terrific conversations about policy and democracy and organizing and how Latinos can really, really come up this time around in the upcoming elections and in the next cycles and really have voices heard because we all understand what's at stake. And you've seen the polling numbers now for Latinos and Trump. They are spiraling. They have completely deflated, because I think Latinos now understand what a danger Donald Trump is to our community, to our families and to the country.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah. And to me, it's about what kind of country do we want to hand off to our children and our grandchildren? What kind of country do we want to hand off to the next generation of people in this country? And to me, that what makes this country so great is that there are so many of us from different walks of life. That's what makes it so wonderful and so enriching and so rewarding and just. It's why people come from all over the world here. They don't come here because, you know, Trump wants to act like a fascist and lock people up and throw them in a gulag in El Salvador and have these ridiculous cabinet members who don't know what the hell they're talking about. It's. It's because of this wonderful country that we've all built together, generations of us of immigrants have built together, and it has to be protected. It has to be defended. And we're going to talk about that tonight as well. I'm going to slide that in as well. Good to see. And I can only. I can hear Alice now wanting to get in the conversation, saying, can I get in here, Jim? Can I get in here?

[Maria Cardona]

I know.

[Jim Acosta]

I wish she could. I wish she could.

[Maria Cardona]

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Jim. It was such a pleasure. Gracias, Mir Amigo.

[Jim Acosta]

Gracias. Okay. Nice to see you, Mirmana. I'll see you soon. Okay, thank you. All right. That's my friend, Miyamiga Mirmana, the wonderful Maria Cardona. I'm going to quickly go to my pal Olivia Troy, who is standing by. I believe she warned me earlier that she was. She was getting ready. She was. She was going to be ready. She promised she would be ready. I gave her a few extra minutes, so she should be ready. And we're going to get into some of these other headlines. And speaking of speaking engagements, Olivia and I are going to share one with you here in just a few moments. There's Olivia. How are you, Olivia?

[Olivia Troy]

Hi.

[Jim Acosta]

Good to see you. Good to see you. I just caught up with My, my pal Maria Cardona, and you and I have a little thing that's coming up. We might as well. Why, why bury the lead here? Why string people along here? I mean, we could string people along and talk about other stuff. We should just say we're going to do another live edition of the Jim Acosta Show, a town hall, if you will. We're going to do it here in the nation's capital, right here in Washington, D.C. you're going to be a part of it. A little, a little guy named, very shrinking violet type, this guy, Mike Fanone. He's going to be involved. It's going to be a lot of fun. And you've been working furiously on this today. Sort of like the Kermit at the keyboard that we were talking about the other day. Yes, but this is going to be exciting. And speaking of Lincoln behind you, what better place? Lincoln Theater.

[Olivia Troy]

Get super excited. I'm also just excited because I hope that we'll see a lot of people from the federal workforce where my heart is near and dear to and know that this area has been gravely impacted. And I think it'll be a fun night. And I'm sure you'll explain this along the way, but we do want it to be interactive. It'll be a town hall style like last time. And I think it's important, kind of to bring the community together. And Jim, you've been very inspiring in your steps after leaving your previous media career at that place. And what was that called again?

[Jim Acosta]

I don't know.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah, yeah, we don't, we don't talk about it, but I hope that it'll be inspiring for others. And I mean, this is how we're going to get through this is together.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, absolutely. And so it's going to be Monday, June 2nd, in the evening, I think we think around 6:00, something like that. 6:30 maybe.

[Olivia Troy]

Doors open at 6:30 at the Lincoln.

[Jim Acosta]

Theater in Washington D.C. named after that man behind you, Abraham Lincoln. And there's a really cool bust of Abraham Lincoln. I was looking at some of the photos. I don't know if I've ever been there. I've been to the anthem, the 930 Club, all the cool D.C. clubs. But I don't know if I've done the Lincoln Theater. I'm embarrassed to say this because like Obama's been there and other folks like that have been there.

[Olivia Troy]

But anyway, it's an opt in Benny.

[Jim Acosta]

Yes, but it's gonna be fun. And you're right because there are so many Federal workers who are absolutely terrified as to what's going on right now. People who are outside of the Washington, D.C. area, they're like, oh, the Beltway, whatever. No, I mean, federal workers who work at the nih, people who work at the faa, lots of important jobs, who are just absolutely petrified as to what they're going to be doing moving forward. And so we want to have a night for them, an audience for them in, in us and me, you and Mike to talk about some of this stuff. So, I mean, we're going to be, we're going to be talking about a lot of different things that night. I mean, the other thing too is, you know, what's been taking place in the local arts community. There have been people who've been impacted at the Kennedy center and all these different places. So we're gonna, it's gonna be a really fun night, but we're also gonna tackle some big issues that are at play right now.

[Olivia Troy]

We are. You know, I was talking to my national security colleagues and several national security people were walked out of their jobs last week, and I think that went under reported. And they got a phone call at their desk and there was someone there to greet them. And they got escorted out of the building, out of a building that, by the way, I spent many years at, in the front office serving for the director. And that really broke my heart. And I hope that some of those people will be there and hopefully we can lift them up and band together.

[Jim Acosta]

And we should note when you say, oh, the national security system of this country, these are people who prevent terrorist attacks. These are people who are trying to keep like, I mean, Trump says, I'm getting the violent gangs out of this country. These are things that you guys do. These are the kinds of things that you guys work on. And, you know, I think about our friend Miles Taylor, what he's gone through. I mean, we've seen Trump open up a campaign of revenge and retribution against, against people like Miles, against people like Chris Krebs and this. All of these folks in the Washington, D.C. area have been impacted by this in ways that, I mean, just haven't even been calculated yet. So I, I, you know, I'm, I'm really excited about this. I think this is going to be a lot of fun. The one we did up in New York was important. But first of all, we didn't have Mike Fanone there. I wanted to have Mike there. Mike was on vacation with his kids, I believe. And so my thought was, let's get Mike involved in this, too, because I know he has a lot to say as well, but we got a lot of work on our hands. We.

[Olivia Troy]

We do. We do.

[Jim Acosta]

And I need to help.

[Maria Cardona]

Distracted me.

[Olivia Troy]

I was working, and he was like, come on, we got to tell people now. And I was like, okay.

[Jim Acosta]

But I got, you know, as somebody told me a long time ago, nobody's going to toot your own horn the way you can toot your own horn. So we have to toot our own horns here. But we should get into some of this other stuff that's going on. I mean, I talked about this with Ria Cardona. I should get your take on this. The fact that Kristi Noemi does not know what habeas corpus means to me, that should basically say from here on out, they can't suspend habeas corpus if they don't know what the hell it is. I have a feeling if you were to ask Donald Trump to my friends in the White House press corps, free question idea. Ask Donald Trump if he knows what habeas corpus is. Just ask him. Yep. On the spot. There's no way he knows.

[Olivia Troy]

I don't think he does, actually. That's a little bit too complicated. Behind beyond his vocabulary. But he knows it's a good. You know, he probably knows that it's a good tagline because Stephen Miller keeps saying it. And so it's important.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, you would think that's a hot appetizer they serve at Mar a Lago or something. I'll have the. I'll have the habeas corpus, you know. You know, it's a really nice. You know, anyway, I should make jokes, but I don't think he knows what it is.

[Olivia Troy]

I don't think so. But, like, I mean, the fact that cosplaying cowgirl Barbie, DHS secretary, whatever you want to call her, doesn't know what it is, speaks volumes about who's actually running the Department of Homeland Security, which is Stephen Miller and the minions that he has around him. Because she obviously has no idea what's going on, since this is a big initiative that he's proposing and this is what he wants done.

[Jim Acosta]

Well, and that's a good point, because, you know, the other day, there was a story in the New York Times that suggested that Stephen Miller was running the Department of Justice, but I think he's also running the Department of Homeland Security, too. I mean, I think anything that touches immigration, he's. He's in charge. Apologies to Tom Homan.

[Olivia Troy]

I was reflecting on this, especially with the latest ruling on the TPS and Venezuelans and then temporary protective status and what the court ruled on it. And I was reflecting on it because I was thinking, you know, these are all things that I know that were floated and were talked about. These are things that I know were priorities for Stephen Miller in meetings and that were brought up the first time during the first Trump administration. But a lot of these things that were really, really bad were avoided because of the people in the room and people push. And now I'm seeing it basically all come to fruition. And it was just sort of reflective of his, you know, enduring power and his growth into having full reins and control over the areas that he really wanted. And he has that now. And that was, as you know, my biggest fear. But here we are. And so I think we just got to keep advocating and taking a stand and fighting these things. And I think that's what we're doing.

[Jim Acosta]

And while Stephen Miller, I guess, is ascending, there are some who are on the dissent in American politics right now. Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, this is according to the Associated Press, said today he'll be spending a lot less, quote, a lot less on political campaigns, a reversal that could be a setback for Republicans ahead of next year's midterm elections. Oh, gosh, won't that be too bad? He disclosed this decision via video conference. Now, I obviously don't trust Elon Musk. I doubt very seriously that you trust Elon Musk. It is interesting that he would admit this out loud, that he's feeling a bit chastened these days. Everywhere I go in Washington, D.C. when you see a Tesla, it usually has a bumper sticker on it that says, I bought this before Elon Musk went crazy. Or there are even worse, more crude bumper stickers. But he is hated. I thought Daniel Snyder, the old owner of the Washington Redskins and Commanders, was hated in Washington, D.C. elon Musk, I think, may exceed that.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah, if you hear my dog barking, it's because he doesn't like it when people say his name. So he has a strong reaction as well. So please excuse Ringo. When you say Musk around him, he's like, let me tell you how I feel. But I. No, I think, you know, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. I doubt that he will disappear into the night completely. I think he'll be in the reigns behind the scenes and kind of be involved there. But I was also thinking, well, yeah, of course he got what you wanted. I mean, he's lined up for all these contracts. He knows what's going on. He has all our personal information. Apparently he's already given it to his allies in Russia or. That's my superstition and suspicion. Right. I'm just saying that's my personal opinion, like, of things that I'm concerned about. And so the damage is done. He came in with a wrecking ball. He.

[Jim Acosta]

And do we know what happened with all that data? They scooped up a lot of data. I think there were some judges that said, you can't do this. And by the way, but you know the kid, the 19 year old kid named Big Balls, you know, that went on a zip drive or something, I may be using an antiquated term, but I mean, there's no control over what the hell Big Balls did with all this data, first of all. Or any of these Doge kids, they may have hoovered it all up and put it on the dark web somewhere in Timbuktu, probably uploaded to Starlink.

[Olivia Troy]

I mean, the whole company probably has it. I mean, I think, you know, I think he accomplished his goals. This is what he wanted is access and data. So it'll be interesting to see what he launches next. I think that's my greater concern is that, you know, what's the next announcement? Is he going to announce that he's starting a new AI company with all our information? I mean, that's, that's really what I'm thinking about now.

[Jim Acosta]

But instead of 23andMe, it's Elon Musk and me, or I don't know, something like that.

[Olivia Troy]

Don't do that. Yeah, maybe that's what nightmares are made out of.

[Jim Acosta]

That's nightmare fuel. Okay, bad joke, Jim. Bad joke. No, but I saw that and I thought, first of all, he had an incredibly powerful role in the 2024 election. I think to an extent that we still don't understand. I mean, for all the people who are writing books these days about what happened during the 2024 campaign, I got a real good fucking idea. And that is to write about what Elon Musk did during the campaign. That sounds like a great idea for a book.

[Olivia Troy]

There are a lot of theories on it out there too. And so I think that that would be maybe a better focused area to actually get to the bottom of that as we approach another election in the future too.

[Jim Acosta]

I mean, close to a third of a billion dollars. And you know, the other thing that we have to talk about, and you know, I was going to get to this with Maria a little bit, but you know, Marie and I were, we were remembering our friend Alice Stewart and so on, as one year since she passed away on Sunday. And so that was on my mind. I'm glad Maria came on to talk about this. But I do think it's fascinating that there are three Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden and Bernie Sanders, who have been seeking information about Paramount Global's efforts to settle a lawsuit with Trump against CBS News and asking whether the company risks violating a federal bribery statute. In a letter to Paramount Global, those senators said they are concerned that the media company may be engaging this, according to the Wall Street Journal, in improper conduct involving the Trump administration in exchange for approval of its merger with Skydance Media. They want to know whether this is a bribe. This is a bribe attempt. And it, you know the reason why I bring this up, Olivia? Because you and I have been talking about the corruption that's just been running wild inside the Trump administration, the Qataris with Air Force One and so on. If, if, if members of corporate media are essentially paying bribes to or paying money in a shakedown to the commander in chief, we got big problems here.

[Olivia Troy]

That's a huge problem. I mean, if that's what they're doing in an effort to survive, and I say that in quotes, because if that's what you're doing, then you're no longer actually doing true journalism and media. Right. I mean, you've capitulated and you're all in. You're basically becoming an arm of the state. That's what it is. Or at least that's how I view it. Right. If that's what's happening. But I do think that we need to get to the bottom of it. I'm very curious. We just saw the CEO step down.

[Maria Cardona]

Right.

[Olivia Troy]

I think that she just, Wendy McMahon.

[Jim Acosta]

The head of CBS News, stepped down.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah.

[Jim Acosta]

And that's a huge thing. I mean, I, I may be dating myself, but I remember the movie the Insider with Russell Crowe and I think it was Gosh, who played Mike Wallace, famous actor. Gosh, I can't remember his name, guy from Sound of Music. Anyway, great movie, fantastic movie. But it was about when the tobacco industry had influenced CBS to the extent that it was successfully shutting down or trying to shut down 60 minute stories on the tobacco industry and how the tobacco industry was intentionally manipulating nicotine levels. Christopher Plummer, somebody just. Thank you. Christopher Plummers. And then he plays Mike Wallace and is phenomenal as Mike Walsh. For anybody out there who has not seen the Insider, it is amazing. But this is not the first Time. My friends at CBS have gone through something like this, but this, I think, is even more sinister because we're talking about a media company kowtowing, paying a shakedown payment to the President of the United States.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah. And look, they're pretty open about the corruption in the Trump administration. That's one thing that they do. So it wouldn't surprise me. And I wonder how they'll spin this or, you know, how they'll claim it to his supporters and how they'll sell it if it is happening. But I do think that this is critically important that somebody tries to get to the bottom of it, because, quite frankly, this is frightening. And also, where there's one, there's another. Right? That's what we've seen with this administration. And so I'm curious as to what this will lead to potentially. Are there other situations like this where people are being bullied or intimidated and there's sort of a situation going on here like we're seeing here that people are looking into?

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, yeah. And I won't hold you up too long, Olivia, because I know we have a town hall to work on, but, you know, the reason why I bring up CBS is. And, you know, I haven't talked about this a whole lot, but, like, when I was growing up, I wanted to be like Dan Rather. I wanted to be like Sam Donaldson. That was my dream. I wanted to grow up and be those guys. And it was my dream to work for CBS News. I ended up working for CBS News when I was a very young correspondent. But I was always proud of the fact that I had once worked at the Tiffany Network, and this was the place of Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite. Walter Cronkite, who famously was anchoring the news during the Kennedy assassination. He famously went to Vietnam and came back. The war in Vietnam cannot be won. I mean, this is an historic network, and somebody's pointing out I worked at WVVM in Chicago. That's true. But when you have a place like CBS News under the thumb of the President, United States and 60 Minutes, which is the most powerful news magazine in the world, and I had a chance to work with Dan Rather, and it was extraordinary. And Bob Schieffer and a lot of other great people there, it just makes me sad. It just makes me sad to see that this is even happening.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah, well, especially the caliber. The caliber of people of journalism that has been there throughout the years has been critical, and they've covered a lot of important stories. I've certainly been interviewed on 60 Minutes for really critical national security topics. And I think that they do. They've done an amazing job throughout the years. They just happen to get in Trump's crosshairs, all for just doing facts.

[Jim Acosta]

And they've been doing some tough stories. They've been doing some tough stories on him.

[Olivia Troy]

They have.

[Jim Acosta]

And they need to be doing tough stories on him. And even after their executive producer there, Bill Owens, who I know and great journalist, even when he left the, you know, Scott Pelley came out and he gave that announcement, they continued to do these very important stories. And they, and there was a story that came out over the weekend that said, well, they were planning on doing something on the irs. And then they apparently did not do the story in the irs. They. Something else happened. And so, you know, this is very concerning. We cannot have a situation in this country going back to your national security role, Olivia, where the United States sort of drifts toward having a state media system in this country. That's why it's so important that we're doing what we're doing over here at Substack independent media and on YouTube and all these other platforms, podcasts and so on, because independent media is. May just be the last bastion of the free press in this country.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah. And I think this is probably a Trump team's plan. Right. We're seeing it with Voice of America. They're going to start, you know, pushing specific programming on there. I mean, they're really showing their cards. And I think that Trump has always had it out for the media. He's always, you know, I was in the meetings where he tasked things out to correct people on certain networks that were willing to do it. So I think this is just the next step in terms of control, which is what, what these people want. And they want to control the narrative on everything. And I think it's important that there are people out there who are willing to risk it all and continue in the independent space, like yourself. Don't sell yourself short. You named some legends. I consider you a pretty big legend, Jim. I watched you in the White House.

[Jim Acosta]

No, but the other thing that's important, too, is we have to have a place in this country. And I did not mean to go on this tangent, but we need to have a place in this country where important folks like yourself, Olivia, when you have to blow the whistle on something that's happening inside the government, we need a place like 60 minutes so somebody like an insider at a tobacco industry can come forward and say, you know, there's, there are These bad practices going on, we need to have accountability here. And if 60 Minutes is suddenly held suspect in the eyes and the minds of the American people because their parent company paid a bribe to the president, then what the hell do we do? At that point, I guess they. They can go to another network. But 60 Minutes should not be the subject of an intimidation racket. It should not be the victim of an intimidation racket. In. In my view. But. Oh, you know what, What I wanted to do was. And I don't know if our partner in crime, Mike Fanon, is on. Let's just. Before you go real fast, let's if. Can we get him on? I want. He's watching. Sometimes he tells me he's watching. He's always watching. He's Mike Fanone. But the other thing is, I don't know. He may have tuned out already, but let's just. I'm gonna. This is. We're just gonna do this as a surprise and see if Michael will chime in.

[Olivia Troy]

I'm looking at the chat. I'm reading insane. Someone said he was here. I saw him earlier.

[Jim Acosta]

I should have thought of this ahead of time and asked him to do this. But he may not be in a position where he could do this. So we'll see.

[Olivia Troy]

Someone said he's getting a tattoo.

[Jim Acosta]

He may be getting a tattoo.

[Olivia Troy]

That's a valid point.

[Jim Acosta]

I don't know if you saw this, but last Thursday and Friday he was in the tattoo parlor. So Lord knows what he's doing right now. But to read that.

[Olivia Troy]

Should I be worried about that? I don't have any tattoos. I don't even know. Is this happening at the town hall? Is everyone getting a tattoo while this is going on?

[Jim Acosta]

We could get it. We could do that. I don't know. Maybe Mike can hook us up and bring a tattoo artist to the. To the town hall. I mean, that's. That's not a bad idea. I didn't even think about that. That's a very good idea. So you're always thinking, Olivia. That's the thing. I don't know. Mike may have. Mike maybe is pouring out a cold one or something like that, but that's okay. But we do want to reiterate one more time. Olivia and I, Mike Fanone, and we, we are going to have some special guests. So hold on your hats. We don't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet, but we are going to be holding a live town hall, like, program edition of my show with the wonderful and talented Olivia Troy. And the always fun Mike Fanone. And we're going to be talking to federal workers. We're going to be talking to artists in the Washington, D.C. area who have been getting the shaft lately. People who, you know, want to be heard in our nation's capital, who aren't just the beltway insiders in the swamp and so on. Real people doing very important work, whose work need to be. Needs to be highlighted as something that's vital to the future of our country. So that's coming up Monday, June 2nd, at the Lincoln Theater here in Washington, D.C. olivia, great to see you, Mike. I guess I caught Mike off guards there. So we'll do this tomorrow or the next day or something like that.

[Maria Cardona]

All right, great.

[Jim Acosta]

Great to see you, Olivia. Thanks a lot.

[Maria Cardona]

Great.

[Olivia Troy]

Take care.

[Jim Acosta]

All right, talk to you soon. All right. There's Olivia. She's back. She's gonna go back to work. And I don't know if we're gonna stream this one. We will definitely tape it and we will definitely put it up on the sub stack machine and on the YouTube machine and other machines, as I like to call them. A series of tubes and pipes, bells and whistles. I did try to. I know people are saying Mike is here, but I did try to bring him in. He may be indisposed at the moment, so we don't know. Oh, Mike is driving his kids to soccer. Is that what he's saying? Oh, he's driving his kids to soccer. That might be what it is. He's in the car right now with the kids. I mean, Mike, even if you're driving with a soccer and it's a bad angle, you can always pop up. It's true. We could, you know, we could do that. Is he. Is he subs? People are chiming in right now. Is he doing a substack live while driving his kids to soccer? Is that what's happening? That might be what it is. Okay. That might be. He is. He is driving his kids to soccer. I'm sorry, Mike. He says do it. All right, let's see. At least he's not getting a tattoo. I mean, you know, at least we could say that. There he is. He's coming in. This machine kills fascists. There. Hey, Mike, what's going on, man?

[Maria Cardona]

Can you hear me?

[Jim Acosta]

I can hear you. Can you hear me?

[D]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jim Acosta]

Driving. Live shot. I love it. He's on the road. You got to keep your eyes on the road. I don't want to get in trouble at all. Trump.

[D]

Trump's going to prosecute Me for this segment.

[Jim Acosta]

So you and I will definitely go to El Salvador if you get in an accident. So do not do that. We were just talking about this crazy town hall idea that we have for coming up in a couple weeks from now. You're in, right?

[D]

Yeah, no, I'm definitely in.

[Jim Acosta]

Awesome.

[D]

Be there.

[Jim Acosta]

Great. And there are the kids. Which one is back there? Is that yours? Are you driving one of the other kids in? Hello?

[D]

So I got my, my daughter Maymay's with me and then two of her teammates are in the back seat, so.

[Jim Acosta]

Hi, guys. Going to a game or practice?

[D]

Practice, practice. This is every day at 4 o' clock I turn into a soccer mom.

[Jim Acosta]

Oh, there you go. That's all right. And it looks like you got the soccer mom mobile there. So you're good?

[D]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Jim Acosta]

Well, you're looking good, man. Are any of those the new, the new ink that you got last week or is that. I think that was maybe that was on my back. That's right.

[D]

That was a, that was a hell of a segment.

[Jim Acosta]

Well, you said you might have to bring the tattoo artist to the, to the show.

[D]

No, John's great. He. We had a, we had a great conversation. It was a lot of fun.

[Jim Acosta]

Excellent.

[D]

Yeah, I know I gotta give people some, you know, a little light hearted humor before they head into the weekend to try to forget about, you know, all the shitty things that happened during the weeks.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, yeah, we got a lot to talk about. I won't hold you up. I'll let you drive and so we don't get in trouble and you don't go to see cot, but. All right, have fun. Good to see you, man.

[D]

I'd rather go to see COT than cpac.

[Jim Acosta]

Exactly. Damn straight, brother. I like it.

[D]

All right, my friend, I'll talk to you.

[Jim Acosta]

All right, we'll talk soon. All right, bye. Bye. And you can bring all those shirts. There's gonna be Mike Fanone merch at the, at the Lincoln.

[D]

Oh, yeah, we got some new stuff too, man. A couple new shirts and some, some stickers. Perfect. Yeah, it's gonna be, it's fun. They're. They made me laugh out loud, so.

[Jim Acosta]

Family friendly.

[D]

Did a great job. Yeah, well, we got some family friendly stuff and, and then we definitely have some, you know, 21 and over.

[Jim Acosta]

Of course.

[D]

All right.

[Jim Acosta]

We will be serving at this town hall just in case anybody's wondering, so don't worry about that. All right. All right. Good to see you, man.

[D]

All right, take care, Jim.

[Jim Acosta]

All right, see you. Okay. All right. I definitely don't want to get Mike in trouble. He and I are enough trouble as it is right now. But, folks, I really appreciate everybody watching today. My thanks to Maria Cardona. Such a lovely time with her as we remembered our dear friend Alice Stewart. We miss her terribly. I wish she were butting into our conversation and saying she wanted to get her point across. I miss her terribly. And of course, Olivia Troi, who is our Wonder Woman. If we're going to break this down into Justice League, she's our Wonder Woman. And Fanon is, I guess, is he the Incredible Hulk? Is he Batman? He's Superman. Maybe he's Superman. I don't know which one I am. Don't even consider me a part of this because there's just no way I could fill any of those shoes. But thanks for Mike for chiming in as well. That was terrific as always. I do want to say just very briefly at the end of all of this, you know, getting back to the news about CBS and what's happening in in the news right now, it's clear to me that we have a story to cover. It's clear to me that there's a president of the United States who warrants scrutiny right now. But that president of the United States is Donald Trump. He's the current president of the United States. He's the one, as I said at the top of this program, is threatening to suspend habeas corpus even though there are members of his cabinet who don't know what habeas corpus is, as in Secretary Kristi Noema of the Department of Homeland Security. He's threatening to investigate celebrities because they had the audacity to endorse Kamala Harris. What is going on right now when he is shaking down places like CBS in 60 Minutes? What in God's name is going on right now? To me, that is what warrants scrutiny here in Washington, D.C. current president of the United States, who has been and as I've chronicled for years, remains a threat to this democracy, remains a threat to the American way of life and must be reined in. And it is incumbent upon our lawmakers here in Washington, D.C. on both sides to find that path to reining him in. Because as I said with my friend Ali Fauci over the weekend on msnbc, he is clearly out of control. The current president, United States is out of control. He's the story right now. And this reporter is going to cover it. Still. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Have a good night, everybody. Thanks for watching. Bye.