The Jim Acosta Show: "Dictator" Trump with Molly Jong-Fast and Rick Wilson

Date: August 27, 2025
Host: Jim Acosta
Guests: Rick Wilson, Molly Jong-Fast

Episode Overview

This episode opens with continued outrage over both the spate of mass shootings in America and the increasingly authoritarian rhetoric and actions of Donald Trump. Jim Acosta is joined by political strategists Molly Jong-Fast and Rick Wilson to unpack several core issues: the Minnesota school shooting tragedy, the roots of American gun violence, Trump’s “dictator” posturing, the political weaponization of crime, growing authoritarianism and cabinet sycophancy, Gilded Age echoes in modern America, conspiracy-laden commentary about the Epstein files, and concerns over election subversion.

The tone alternates between exasperation, dark humor, and urgent warning. The panel warns listeners not to give in to lies or fear — but to fight for truth and hope.

Major Discussion Topics & Insights

1. Minnesota School Shooting Tragedy

[00:06–04:18]

• A school shooting at Annunciation Church and its affiliated Catholic school leaves two children dead and 17 injured (14 of them children), with the shooter dead by suicide.
• Cultural rot and gun access: Rick Wilson links the rise in shootings to a culture that produces “lost boys” radicalized by online subcultures (incel, 4chan), which glorify mass shooters:
  • “There’s something here that’s bigger and darker about our culture than just the gun.” [01:13, Rick Wilson]
  • Shooter referenced the Christchurch attacker; early evidence shows he may have idolized other shooters.
• Jim Acosta and Wilson emphasize the easy access to assault weapons as a catastrophic factor.

2. America’s Unique Gun Violence Plague

[42:36–end]

• Acosta closes with a passionate monologue condemning the “uniquely American plague” of gun violence:
  • “We have cowards in Congress ... mainly, mainly on the Republican side. 99% on the Republican side.” [42:47, Jim Acosta]
  • Points out U.S. children do “lockdown drills” due to school shootings, emphasizing the profound abnormality compared to other developed countries.
  • Continual failure to pass even popular measures (like background checks) blamed squarely on NRA-captured politicians.

3. Trump’s “Dictator” Rhetoric & Authoritarian Gestures

[05:15–16:07]

• Acosta and Wilson discuss Trump framing D.C. as a war zone, using the National Guard for performative “authoritarian cosplay.”
  • “He has chosen to do this as part of this authoritarian cosplay that he really believes in.” [05:47, Rick Wilson]
• Trump admits at a Cabinet meeting that the “crime” issue is a political tool for the midterms.
• Panel critiques the sycophancy in Trump’s Cabinet (“three hours ... like watching a whole season of The Apprentice”).
  • Molly Jong-Fast skewers Cabinet members racing to out-praise Trump, comparing it to building statues:
    • “We are like minutes away from each one of these secretaries building little statues to him.” [17:52, Molly Jong-Fast]

4. Authoritarian Drift & The Complicity of Institutions

[16:07–31:06]

• Lapses in White House media accountability; “the press corps has just ... shit the bed” by not challenging Trump’s narrative or actions. [16:07, Molly Jong-Fast & Jim Acosta]
• Cabinet members vie for Trump’s favor, even as internal jockeying for succession is underway (“Hunger Games” among Vance, Rubio, et al.).
• Physical weakness and speculation about Trump’s health fuel succession plotting, with Vance, Don Jr., and others angling for loyalty from the MAGA base.

5. Weaponizing Crime and Racialized Politics

[08:05–13:59]

• Trump and GOP use crime as a racially coded wedge issue, with historical context dating back to the Clinton era.
• Rick Wilson notes the economic boom, not policing, most effectively reduced crime:
  • “The number one driver was that the economy was on fire ... if you give people economic hope and economic opportunity, they will take it.” [10:17, Rick Wilson]

6. Polling, Spin, and Trump’s Search for Political Openings

[12:35–13:59]

• Molly and Rick analyze dubious “dictatorship” polling showing supposed support for authoritarian measures:
  • “There is an unsubtle racial coding in the way that they ask some of these questions. And when you look at it, overall, Trump is underwater on crime.” [13:09, Rick Wilson]

7. Gilded Age Echoes, Big Money and Regulation

[30:45–35:00]

• Molly Jong-Fast draws parallels to the extravagance and corruption of the original Gilded Age — rampant inequality, “crypto” super-PACs, deregulation run amok.
  • “Crypto is like the biggest ... Super PAC full employment act in D.C. right now.” [31:57, Rick Wilson]
• The hosts express skepticism that meaningful tech or financial regulation will ever occur.

8. Conspiracy, The Epstein Files, and Government Appointees

[24:51–40:07]

• Discussion of Trump’s refusal/inability to release Epstein files and the installation of election deniers into security positions.
• Rick Wilson exposes DHS appointee Heather Honey as:
  • “A flat out election denier ... she is completely batshit cuckoo.” [24:58, Rick Wilson]

9. Elections, Subversion, and Incompetence vs. Malice

[25:29–29:59]

• Debate over whether Trump appointees are too incompetent to truly subvert democracy – or just competent enough to wreak havoc, push “federal” intervention, and foment post-election chaos.
  • “It’s a feature, not a bug.” [26:20, Rick Wilson]
  • “My man is an authoritarian ... The question is: are they incompetent enough so that we keep our democratic system going?” [29:27, Molly Jong-Fast]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rick Wilson, on Lost Boys culture:
  “There is something that is in this culture, this Internet culture, this 4chan culture, this incel culture, whatever it is, that is leading these young guys with, with access to firearms into this cultural moment ... a lot of them refer to the other shootings. They, they talk about getting a high score, which is the most dark thing I could think of.” [01:13]

• Jim Acosta, on systemic failure:
  “It’s an American plague ... two children killed ... 17 people injured ... it is. It’s an American plague.” [04:18 / 42:36]

• Molly Jong-Fast, on Trump’s circle:
  “We are like minutes away from each one of these secretaries building little statues to him.” [17:52]

• Jim Acosta, press corps’ dereliction:
  “They have shit the bed. Yeah. Then the mattress was replaced and they shit it again. ... Setting Olympic records for not asking good questions.” [16:07]

• Rick Wilson, on the futility of militarized posturing:
  “...part of this authoritarian cosplay that he really believes in. He wants to go into other cities ... frame up the 2026 election as a referendum on crime and safety.” [05:47–06:01]

• Molly Jong-Fast, on media & class analysis:
  “I was just listening to socialist Rick Wilson talk about giving people jobs. I feel like I am fully responsible for radicalizing you.” [10:54]

• On Trump's physical decline and political plotting:
  “I had a person who was close to the White House told me they were trying to cheer Trump up because he’s really upset about a lot of these stories about his health and they're trying to all like, play the game..." [19:21, Rick Wilson]

• Molly Jong-Fast, feminist critique:
  “I do think I just want to be as, as the area feminist ... Harris got so much shit for everything, everything. And J.D. Vance gets shit for nothing.” [21:53]

• Rick Wilson, on election subversion:
  “None of these people have to be rocket scientists to cause terrible damage.” [26:37]

• Jim Acosta, final word on gun violence:
  “Why are we doing this to them? Why? Because of the NRA. Because of the National Rifle Association, a corrupt organization that’s been exposed time and again as just a place where the people at the top ... are just feeding from the trough of the donations that come in..." [41:55]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:06–04:18 — Minnesota school shooting tragedy & analysis
• 05:15–07:02 — Trump’s D.C. crackdown and “authoritarian cosplay”
• 07:13–11:22 — Crime politics, Cabinet sycophancy, job creation
• 12:35–13:59 — Polling and racialized politics on “dictatorship”/crime
• 16:07–19:13 — Sycophancy in Cabinet, press, Trump’s physical decline
• 21:53–23:23 — Feminist critique of coverage/divisions over VP succession
• 24:51–29:59 — Epstein files, conspiratorial appointments, election security fears
• 30:45–35:00 — Gilded Age, regulation, big money in politics
• 42:36–End — Acosta’s monologue on America’s gun violence epidemic

Takeaways

• The crisis of gun violence, especially school shootings, is entwined with a culture producing “lost boys” amid easy gun access, and—uniquely in America—a refusal to pass even elementary reforms.
• Trump’s authoritarian gestures are a blend of vanity, political strategy, and real threat. His inner circle is increasingly sycophantic and riven by ambition over succession, as health rumors swirl.
• The political exploitation of crime as a racially charged issue is an old playbook now weaponized, with policies and messaging designed less for efficacy and more as political bludgeons.
• Warnings abound about appointment of unqualified or conspiratorial figures (e.g., Heather Honey) to key government posts with the probable intent to undermine democracy.
• The regulatory and economic environment is increasingly reminiscent of the Gilded Age, with plutocracy and influence-peddling rampant, now supercharged by crypto and tech interests.
• The hosts urge constant vigilance, press accountability, and a refusal to succumb to deception or fatalism, even as democratic norms are battered.

Final Word:
Acosta closes with a plaintive, urgent plea for political courage and reform on gun violence—and a broader call to defend truth, democracy, and hope against a surging tide of lies and fear.