← The Jim Acosta Show
The Jim Acosta Show
Harry Sisson talks about being targeted in Trump's AI video, plus April Ryan and Brian Karem on Trump tearing up the White House. And Tommy Christopher talks about his Hunter Biden interview.
00:52:00
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- [00:07]
A
All right, welcome to the Jim Acosta show. And it's another day and why. Another day that ends in why, I should say in Donald Trump's assault on American democracy. And now it's an assault on the White House building itself. Have you guys seen this? This is out of the Washington Post. Because of the construction of the new ballroom over at the White House, they're already tearing down part of the East Wing. My guests, to start off the show, my, my former colleagues over at the White House, the big House. April Ryan, Brian Carum. Guys, great to see both of you.
- [00:39]
B
Good to see you.
- [00:40]
C
Always good to be with you. Always good to be with you. Even in this heartbreaking moment.
- [00:44]
A
I know, I know. And I mean, this is what the Washington I. This just hit me like a two by four over the head in the last, what, hour or so. But it says this is in the Washington Post. Demolition crews have begun tearing down part of the White House to build Trump's long desired ballroom, despite his pledge that construction of the 250 million dollar addition would not interfere with the existing building. This is what Trump said at one point. He interfere with the current building.
- [01:12]
C
Lies, lies, lies.
- [01:13]
B
Yeah.
- [01:14]
A
April, your thoughts?
- [01:16]
C
I said it. Lies, lies, lies. Yeah. So here's the bottom line. Here's the bottom line. We already knew.
- [01:23]
B
I.
- [01:23]
C
Okay, you, you guys are saying that it just hit you. I've been mourning this, what used to be the look of the White House for several months now, knowing that this was gonna happen. I was praying it wasn't gonna happen. The White House, that our kids knew, that our parents knew. The optics have totally changed. Right. The East Wing of the White House for people to know. That's where you enter. Typically where guests would enter the White House for like Christmas parties, any kind of thing, celebrations on the South Lawn. And it also housed the First Lady's. And I can think back to the Obama years. It's an old building. Remember, the White House is an old building. And old buildings have rats and mice and stink bugs. I remember the east side, the east wing of the White House when Michelle Obama was there, they had an infestation of stink bugs. And when you tear things down, a lot of stuff starts running and they do. Yeah, stop.
- [02:21]
B
The human variety.
- [02:22]
C
You said that. I didn't say that.
- [02:24]
B
I sure as hell did think about this.
- [02:26]
A
Something stinks, that's for sure.
- [02:28]
C
Oh, my gosh.
- [02:29]
D
Stupid.
- [02:29]
C
So as old as that building is, the history is gone. I think about the people who actually made the central part. The residents slaves. The optics of the White House will be forever changed. For what? What size are they doing? They're expanding it beyond what they said. Here's the problem with this ballroom that the President wants. He wants to mirror Mar A Lago, right? This is not Mar A Lago.
- [02:57]
B
That's what he did. That's what he did. Look at the Rose gard with the Rose Garden.
- [03:02]
C
It's paved over.
- [03:04]
A
Jackie Kennedy.
- [03:04]
C
I'm sure Jackie Kennedy is, wherever she is, not happy. But listen to this, okay? When you think of this, that, that ballroom that you're going to get, that ballroom is. Is how many. How many thousand square feet? First of all, if you have a ballroom, you're going to have to have something to accompany it to be able to serve the people. You can't serve the people with that kind of capacity from that little kitchen in the White House proper. Then the staff to serve. You got to think about. They're not this out. They're not making this out.
- [03:35]
B
This is for Donald Trump's ego.
- [03:38]
C
That's right. And his legacy.
- [03:40]
B
He does.
- [03:41]
A
Yeah, go ahead.
- [03:41]
B
Brian does not want to leave the White House until they roll him out in the coffin and put him in state in that ballroom and charge you a thousand bucks ahead to view him for a week. That's Donald Trump's goal. He will not leave the White House. I. He'll find a way to try and run in 2028. This is all a monument to his ego. He came out over the weekend, said, I. I'm not a king. And then what did he immediately do? Announce the ark.
- [04:05]
A
Exactly.
- [04:06]
B
Yeah.
- [04:07]
A
He's acting like a king.
- [04:08]
B
Well, he.
- [04:09]
A
Yeah.
- [04:13]
B
King and a lunatic.
- [04:15]
A
Well, Brian, I mean, you can take this question, too. And since when is it okay for the President of the United States to unilaterally just start tearing the building apart?
- [04:23]
C
I mean, it's that part that.
- [04:25]
B
Remember what. When it was renovated, there was a renovation. What was it? During the Roosevelt years, I believe. And that had to go through Congress, and that was. There was funds appointed to do it. And there was. There was a lot of concern that. Or was. Yeah. During Truman restoration, that's when it was. And, and then at the same time, not only that, you have to have Congress, you know, approve of it and give the money for it. They were. There was a real consternation over the Lincoln Ball bedroom and all this stuff that was going to be destroyed, and they just rebuilt it back inside the facade. This guy doesn't even care about the facade. He doesn't care about Congress. He cares about a monument to his own failing, healthy ego. And that's what is.
- [05:09]
A
April. I mean, you asked if it's a 90,000 square foot ballroom by, by the way. But go ahead, April.
- [05:14]
C
Yeah, thank you. Because I forgot how many thousands. I forgot how many thousands of square feet. But listen, huge. That's what I'm saying. Where are they going to put the kitchen and the staff? They don't have. Once you start doing this, you have to build more. But let's talk about this. Let's go back to the point that you made about approvals. Now, when President Trump was in his first term, when he was learning the ropes, what he could and could not do and what he could get away with and not get away with, he got approval for that tennis court. Right. But let me tell you this. This ballroom has nothing to do with the White House Historical Association. They have nothing to do with this.
- [05:57]
A
Right.
- [05:57]
C
He has moved on his own. And see, here's the problem. Like they said, there would be nothing happening to the East, East Wing that is still historic. You know, there's no congressional. He's just doing this. So here's the bottom line. The question is, he also said it was going to come out of his pocket. I want to make sure. I want to see if that happens. And I know, but listen. And also I want to say crypto.
- [06:19]
A
Coin, but go ahead. Yeah.
- [06:20]
C
Stop it, stop it. So I want to say this, too. You know, I am still a White House correspondent and like, like, and I'm sorry that you are not with us, Jim, but it's a different day over there in the White House. My credential still works, but sometimes you gotta bait and switch. You gotta, you can't go all the time because they're looking for you. Because, you know, this is that moment. But right now, I'm sitting in Southern California at USC with my class.
- [06:45]
A
And look at that. Great class.
- [06:46]
C
My great class. And this is what they're learning is basically the cross section between independent news and mainstream news. And they're hearing it, they're seeing it live. And Jim is coming to my class in the next hour. And I'm excited about this. I had to, I had to mention that. But let me say this to you guys. I'm very concerned. This is a microcosm of what could happen. An unchecked president doing things that he says won't happen is now happening. He is tearing down a historic site. There's historic preservation. He's tearing down the East Wing of the White House.
- [07:21]
A
Right.
- [07:21]
B
Well, this is symbolic of everything he's done. You talked about him trying to get his hands on the levers of power in his first term. Jim, you and I were, I think you and I were in the. I know John Bennett was there, but they used to remember the first time during his first administration he went and actually didn't understand what Posse Comitatus act was. He put the army out on the border. And we walked in and we said, are you going to get a waiver? Because presidents have done it before, but ask Congress for a waiver. Rare, but it happens. And what did. And I'll never forget these words coming out of Hogan Gidley's mouth. He goes, yeah, I'll get back to you on that hakuna matata thing.
- [08:06]
C
They didn't know how they up on the Hill with Speaker Johnson right now. Did he get back to you yet? He's up on the Hill with Speaker Johnson. Has he gotten back to you yet?
- [08:16]
A
No.
- [08:17]
B
They had no clue what it was. Now he knows what it is and doesn't care. So what you're seeing out of the east wing is an extension of his presidency. He will knock over all norms until you stand up to a bully. And both of you were there, all three of us were. Were there. We knew exactly how to stand up to the bully and you simply stood up.
- [08:42]
C
Second turn, second to do it. Second term is different though. You have to do it strategically.
- [08:49]
B
Let me tell you it straight to his face. The way you did it, the way Jim did it, the way I did it. There's.
- [08:54]
C
Let me say this, let me say this to you, let me say this to you. Democracy is teetering.
- [09:02]
B
It's gone.
- [09:03]
C
This has been an all out lie to say that nothing will be destroyed. And now it's destroyed. And people talk about being patriots. This no matter a president or a party, this is the people's house and you're ripping it apart.
- [09:17]
B
That's for him.
- [09:19]
C
We did not, we did not say yes to it. But here's my thing, here's my thing. Who's paying for this and what is the accountability? This goes to you are.
- [09:30]
B
We all are.
- [09:31]
C
I didn't say I was. Well, you know, hold on, hold on.
- [09:36]
B
We're all paying for this.
- [09:37]
C
People of Harlow, the government is furloughed.
- [09:41]
B
At the end of the day, Donald Trump will not care about any democratic norms. He doesn't care about you, April. Doesn't care about Jim, doesn't care about me. All he cares about is himself.
- [09:52]
A
We saw that first administration and he's bulldozing our Democracy. One wing at a time.
- [09:57]
C
Yes, one wing at a time.
- [09:59]
B
An example of it. And. And so when people say we're in a constitutional crisis or democracy is in peril, I go, no, it's not. It's already gone. This is a dictator state, and you better stand up while you got a chance, because those who are not counted, you will be accountable at some point in time. So what you do, April, what you did, Jim, what we all do matters because we're. This is. We've got to have our voice heard and make sure that people understand that this has absolutely nothing to do with democracy, and it never did.
- [10:33]
C
So listen. So listen. So. So listen. Let me say this to you. If he messes with that White House proper, the residents that built that White House proper, no, I'm telling you, there's going to be a bigger issue. For something that's so costly, it's like Marie Antoinette, let them eat cake. It's like I'm living my lavish life while you peasants are doing your thing. The peasants are having a hard time paying for their mortgage. I picked up a phone and called a mortgage company this week, a couple of them, and they said the line. The phone lines are longer because of the government shutdown. Okay. You've got people out here not getting SNAP next month, right?
- [11:15]
A
Yeah. And that's.
- [11:17]
B
Right.
- [11:17]
A
Military members.
- [11:20]
C
Right. But the president said last week, he said, I pay who I want to pay, didn't he?
- [11:25]
A
He did. He'll say they'll cut the Democrat programs and in the middle of a government shutdown.
- [11:31]
C
And that's against the law of the White House.
- [11:34]
A
I mean.
- [11:34]
C
That's right.
- [11:35]
B
Well, that's true. But here's the thing to April's point, to your point, Jim, when people begin to understand that they're suffering from him, that's when you'll see a reaction, a strong one, and take a look at the gold lame, the gold leaf. It. You know, it makes the White House so.
- [11:52]
C
God.
- [11:54]
B
To me, I swear, it looks like a cheap nail salon in Queens from 1975.
- [11:59]
A
Yeah, it really does. It's true.
- [12:02]
B
Yes.
- [12:03]
C
I want to ask Jim, Jim, if you. If you. If you. If you. If you.
- [12:07]
A
What it is.
- [12:08]
C
But anyways, I want to ask my students, what do you guys think about this? What do you guys. Does it matter? Does it matter to you? Yes. No.
- [12:16]
E
Yes.
- [12:16]
C
Say loud. Say yes or no.
- [12:18]
E
Yes.
- [12:19]
C
They're saying it matters.
- [12:20]
A
Why it matters. It does matter.
- [12:22]
C
And these, these are. These are. These are one or two grad students. Others are undergrad. They are Major. So why does it matter? Why does it matter? Why do you feel it matters?
- [12:35]
E
The White House is symbolic.
- [12:36]
C
The White House is. Say it loud. The White House is symbolic.
- [12:39]
A
Yeah. We can hear it.
- [12:40]
E
Yeah.
- [12:40]
A
It symbolizes our democracy. Yeah. The president of the United States must be answerable to the people. It is the people's house, Guys. I appreciate you coming on, April. I'll see you soon.
- [12:52]
C
Brian, we didn't talk about the feces from the jets.
- [12:56]
A
Well, I'm gonna do that. I got Harry Sisson. He was the guy who got dumped on. In the video.
- [13:00]
C
Tell him he's.
- [13:01]
A
There's Harry right there.
- [13:03]
C
Let me tell you something. I saw you. And Let me. And I. And I. And I. And I like. I don't know if you saw it, but I liked when you said he went after me. Let me tell you something. That feces is a badge of honor, honey. Yeah. I mean, I would never want to do. But can you imagine a president of the United States creating an AI Video?
- [13:24]
A
Yeah.
- [13:25]
C
Where he has came from a crown. And then he's flying a. A. Whatever. A jet. And then he drops feces on peaceful protesters and you will want your face was the main one. That's crazy.
- [13:39]
B
Well, I gotta tell you, it reminded me of this demon in. In Jay and Silent Bob's Dogma.
- [13:45]
C
Excrement. Excrement or feces. We don't have to say that.
- [13:48]
E
We.
- [13:48]
C
You know, especially around impressionable young people at usc.
- [13:52]
A
Okay, guys. April, Brian, great to see you. I'm gonna get Harry in here so he can respond to all those, but.
- [13:57]
C
Thank you, Harry, for what you do.
- [13:59]
E
Tune in.
- [14:00]
C
Tune in Thursdays at 5. Tune in Thursdays at 5.
- [14:03]
A
See with April Ryan. That's right, Brian. He's on Substack, too. Thanks, guys.
- [14:08]
B
Reporter's Notebook on substack. And I'm still got my foot in the real world or the legacy media with Salon. Once a week in Salon and wherever fine podcasts are sold, it's just ask the question. I could go on. Jim, you got a great guest. Good to see you, brother.
- [14:23]
A
Good to see you, man. We'll do it soon. Thanks, Brian. Thanks, April. Great stuff and. All right, we got to get Harry back in here. Well, I'm sure there's Harry. Harry's back. And. Hey, Harry, how you. I had to scramble. You were a little late, so I scrambled and I got Brian in. April. And because of this. This craziness with Trump starting to destroy parts of the White House to build this monstrosity of a ballroom that's the latest monstrosity, what happened to you over the weekend is obviously, you know, clearly just a ridiculous gesture on his part and an offensive one at that. But, I mean, Harry, let's just jump right into this, because I, you know, I'm curious what you think, what. What the last 48 hours has been like for you.
- [15:08]
E
Yeah, I mean, well, first and foremost, Mr. Acosta, thank you for having me back. You know, I'm such a huge fan of you. Oh, man, we can. I appreciate it. Yeah, no, it's been a. It's been a crazy 48 hours. My immediate reaction to Trump's use of that video, you see it on your screen right now, was just disbelief, I think. You know, seeing this, like, what we're watching right now, I could just never imagine coming from a President of the United States or any elected official, and yet this is. This is real footage that he posted on his official social media page, dumping feces on me. Other protesters, the American flag, as you saw in that clip, but just stunning. Just stunning and immature and childish and disgusting. And I'm still in disbelief that this is the reality that we exist in right now.
- [15:59]
A
No, I know. I mean, I described it as band childish in my. In my substack earlier today, and I think he was, you know, he was thinking that he was owning the libs or whatever you want to call it, and, And. And pulling a prank that can make la, you know, make MAGA laugh and so on. But, I mean, the way I describe it is, you know, this is Trump soiling himself. This is Trump crapping on himself, because, honestly, it tees up what. What is, to me, the. The perfect juxtaposition here. I mean, this is what Donald Trump not only thinks about Democrats and progressives and people protesting on, no, Kings Day, this is what he thinks about America. And, you know, he. He shits on his own people on a daily basis through tariffs, through health care premiums, going up, through this government shutdown. I mean, this is. This is a day in the life, it seems to me.
- [16:55]
E
Yeah, I think that's actually a really good point. Yeah, it's. It's always curious to me when a politician, especially a president, tries to attack, like, 50% of the country. And that's exactly what Donald Trump did. I mean, he's taking a dump and both literal and metaphorical in that video, at least on all of us, on 50% of the country. But I think what MAGA has to realize is it's also happening to them. You mentioned all the awful statistics coming out of this administration, terrible policy is not biased in terms of politics. It affects everybody and will affect everybody as it continues. So while everybody else's health care is going up, while military members, you know, not getting a paycheck, federal workers, not getting a paycheck, Donald Trump is posting AI videos on social media. And that really shows you what he thinks about the presidency and how seriously he takes the presidency.
- [17:46]
A
Right. I mean, he was, he was complaining about the no Kings protests and saying, you know, how can they call me a king? I work my ass off. He said something along those lines. Let's listen to that and we'll talk about on the other side.
- [17:59]
B
What's your response to the protests over the weekend?
- [18:01]
C
The no Kings protests?
- [18:03]
A
I think it's a joke. I looked at the people. They're not representative of this country. And I looked at all the brand new signs. Paid for. I guess it was paid for by Soros and other radical left lunatics. It looks like it was. We're checking it out. The demonstrations were very small ball, very ineffective. And the people who are whacked out, when you look at those people, those are not representative of the people of our country.
- [18:27]
E
Mr. President, besides San Francisco, I'm not a king.
- [18:30]
A
I'm not a king. I work my ass off to make our country great. That's all it is. I'm not a king at all. He says he's not a king, but he's tearing down parts of the White House as we speak without anybody really having a say. But your thoughts, Harry?
- [18:48]
E
Yeah, I, you know, I just. Every time I see this guy speak these days, I just baffled. I'm just, you know, it's so depressing and shocking, but everything he just said is false. Like, I don't actually think he said a single true thing in that little statement he just made. No Kings protests. Yeah, it was all. It was all crap. No pun intended. It was. The protests were huge. They were successful. It wasn't paid by. For, by Soros or. I didn't get a Soros paycheck. I don't think anybody watching got a antifa paycheck like they claimed. I went there for free. And that's the thing. A lot of Americans are just pissed off with what he is doing. And the fact that his response to this anger is an AI video where he's dumping on me and other people again, just shows you he's not serious. He doesn't actually care about these issues. And for him to say he's not a king when he's actively ignoring Court orders all the time is just laughable. It's laughable.
- [19:40]
A
That's right. And, and by the way, he said there weren't that many people that showed up. Seven million people estimated in those crowds scattered all across the country. This was, this was way bigger than any inauguration crowd size. Let's remember his second inauguration. They had to move inside because he was so panic stricken that he was going to have a small inauguration crowd again. But anyway, that we'll just put the crowd size thing to the side for a moment because it's a sore point, it's a sticking point for him. But Harry, you also got on social media and said, hey, can somebody over at the White House ask him a question about this? Because you know, like what the is going on. And then the vice president himself, J.D. vance, gets in because I guess he gets involved because what he has nothing to do either and goes after you too. So you had the president and the vice president going after Harry, how old are you, if I May ask?
- [20:27]
E
I'm 23. I'm 23.
- [20:29]
A
23 years old. President, the vice president wasting their time going after you. Totally nuts.
- [20:37]
E
It's exactly right. They are more interested in beef Internet beef with a 23 year old than they are and you know, for example, opening back up the government. I mean, what I just said is a stunning sentence. It's also the reality of the world we live in right now with the president. And my tweet I put out asking, can a reporter just, somebody asked Trump why he posted this. That request has at the time of you and I chatting has still not been fulfilled. I know if you were in the White House, Jim, you would certainly be on this like white on rice. But so far they have not gotten to Donald Trump yet about, hey, what was the rationale of, you know, crapping on Americans.
- [21:13]
A
Yeah, somebody over at the White House needs to ask him that damn question. But they're some of these reporters over there, it's unreal. They are afraid of getting retaliated against and getting tossed out. And so they can't go and they care more about their access than what Trump is doing to this country. It's totally nuts. But then in response to JD Vance, you had a very good clap back, which was what? If you can explain, because not all of our viewers are on the socials all the time. But I thought it was very good.
- [21:41]
E
I said to Vance, I don't, I'm not quoting verbatim here. I said something along the lines of just add me to the signal group Chat. I'll ask him myself. And so far, he's not taken me up on that offer. I'm quite disappointed about that. Yeah.
- [21:54]
A
He didn't have a tart response to that when you said that. No, it's. But it. But let me ask you this, getting back to no Kings, because that's what this is all about. Really. What was your sense of it? My sense of it was I. I was really inspired by what I saw on Saturday. I saw, you know, somebody asked me, were there a lot of young people down there because, you know, folks are worried that it's just, you know, boomers and that kind of a thing, hippies and. And that sort of thing. But no, I. I would tell people there were a lot of young people down in Washington and New York, all over at all of these. Chicago was unreal. Those pictures of Chicago were crazy. But what was your sense of the whole thing?
- [22:33]
E
I got that same question, too, actually, about young people from our friend Don Lemon at the protest. And, yeah, I mean, you know, they were. There were. There's been some discussion online that there weren't a lot of young people. What I saw in Manhattan was overwhelming. I had so many young people come up to me and talk about my work on social media, but also how this is new for them. They're just getting involved now. They understood that the 2024 election was significant, but seeing the repercussions of that election has really awakened a lot of young people. And I went to the first no Kings protest. There were a decent amount of young people there. This one had even more. I was really stunned. And on the final point, I want to make about what the White House has said and the Republicans have said, it's all old people. First of all, not true. But second of all, let's just say, hypothetically, it was old people. They are Americans, and they're also Americans who vote. So I'm not exactly sure why they're, you know, ignoring this large group of people and just saying, oh, they're. They're just part of this one category, which means they're not significant. No. Their reaction to the no Kings protest proves that they know it's significant.
- [23:36]
A
Well, I will say, Harry, I mean, what. What they're really worried about, and I think with that, a video reveals, is here's some images from no Kings on. On Saturday, from our crew, our team. But what they're really worried about, Harry, is losing guys like you. And that's why they attacked you. That's why Trump's meme makers or whoever these morons are. Are they. They went after you because they don't want to lose what they consider to be the podcast bro community. And what they managed to do in the process is elevate you, Harry. I mean, you know, now everybody wants to talk to you and ask you about this crazy meme video, but that's a clear warning sign for them. If young people are starting to show up in droves at these kinds of protests, these kinds of demonstrations, it means that. And the polls have shown Trump's popularity among Gen Z has been plummeting. And so they shouldn't be attacking you, Harry. They probably should be steering clear from you altogether, but they're too stupid to do that.
- [24:39]
E
Yeah, they don't have the brightest working back there in the White House on this social media thing, but yeah, no, I mean, I know that Donald Trump is very aware of the data. I know that his team is very aware of the data. They are seeing Gen Z swing back from him, which unfortunately a lot of young men did vote for Donald Trump. They're seeing young men especially have a, I think over 20 point swing back toward the Democrats or just Democrats generally. And the policy ideas that Democrats have. And if Donald Trump's goal with his AI video and JD Vance's follow up, if their goal was to like silence me or get me to stop or get my peers to stop, then they were sorely mistaken. This has only empowered us more to hold this administration accountable. And I can't tell you how many young people I've had reach out to me be like, this is insane. People who I know are even conservative saying, this is insane. I think people are fed up and I think they know that this is a significant moment in their term where they have millions of Americans out in the street protesting. And also people are just not. They don't feel like Donald Trump has done a good job as president.
- [25:43]
A
Yeah, I mean, I would love to see a Democratic ad maker turn that ad around or that video, that AI video around and create an ad that goes right after how Trump has been handling his presidency the second time around. You know, show him showering Wall street with cash while he's showering foreclosure notices on farms in the Midwest. You know, have them in the Qatari 747 doing this. Not in a Top Gun fighter jet with the, with the. Adam Kinzinger was talking about how the mask didn't even fit his fate. It was totally ridiculous. But, but I mean, that's. That to me is the reality. The Reality is, is that, you know, Trump is vulnerable right now, very vulnerable politically. When Marjorie Taylor Greene is starting to distance herself from Donald Trump, they have a problem.
- [26:33]
E
That's, you know, that's a sentence I don't think you or I would expect to hear or wouldn't have expected to hear when Donald Trump got inaugurated. But, yeah, I mean, if Marjorie Taylor Greene is going out there and saying that things are still too expensive and people are struggling, that's how, you know this administration's in trouble. And that's why I think Donald Trump has been especially erratic recently. I think he has this, this habit of when he begins to panic, he starts to. He acts outrageous all the time. He acts extra outrageous, far more than normal. And you can kind of tell when he goes through these waves of being really panicked about something. It was especially present during his criminal trials when he was really nervous about going to jail for the rest of his life. I think he happens to be in that moment right now because he is chronically online. He does scroll through all of the polling, and he knows that he is vulnerable and that a lot of people are distancing themselves from him.
- [27:22]
A
Yeah. When he's saying, I'm no king, I'm not a king, you know that there he's, he is thinking about this deeply. It is touching him in places that he doesn't like to talk about publicly. But I mean, and the other thing, the other point is, and I kind of made it earlier, but, you know, I'll ask you one more time, and that is, or to expand upon it is, you know, when some of these ass wipes inside MAGA go after you, they're, they're kind of, they're doing you a favor. I mean, you know, when they, when they did that thing over the weekend, I mean, are they new to this? I mean, I thought they were, they were supposed to be good at this.
- [27:59]
E
Yeah. No, I mean, look, I welcome Donald Trump's attacks. I welcome J.D. vance's attacks. It only gets more eyes on our message. And at the end of the day, look, I'm not focused on Donald Trump's pettiness, his attacks towards me. He can come after me all he likes. I don't, I don't particularly care. What I'm focused on is beating maga, winning elections and taking our democracy back from this lunatic. And if Donald Trump wants to attack me in this way and give my message, your message, our message, more attention, have at it. You can make me the fall guy. I have no problem with that. I want to Beat the hell out of Donald Trump in these elections.
- [28:37]
C
All right.
- [28:37]
A
Well, Harry, great to see you. I know you were a little late because you were talking to the Daily Beast. You must have, like, 10 other interviews to do between now and what, tomorrow, but good for you. Way to roll with the punches. As Brian and April were saying earlier. I mean, this is, this is, it's a badge of honor for them to go after you in this fashion. It means that you've gotten under their skin. Somewhere along the way, you did something that, that poked the tiger with the stick, and so that's why they're coming after you. But excellent work as always, Harry. Great to see you, man.
- [29:08]
E
Well, thank you, sir, and likewise. And I appreciate everything you're doing, and thanks for having me on again. I really, I really appreciate it.
- [29:14]
A
You got it. No worries. Anytime, anytime. Just let me know if you got stuff to talk about. We want to hear it. Thanks, Harry.
- [29:19]
E
Yes, sir, will do.
- [29:19]
A
All right.
- [29:20]
D
Good to see you.
- [29:21]
A
And I feel a little old when he calls me sir, but that's okay. I'll take it. That's totally fine. That's Harry Sisson and I. And it's exactly right. When they're coming after you, that means you're doing something right. You're doing something. And so is Harry. Let's, let's turn to my man Tommy Christopher. Tommy's joining us now.
- [29:40]
D
Hey, Jim.
- [29:41]
A
Good to see you, man. You've had a busy day.
- [29:44]
D
Yeah, I'll say.
- [29:46]
A
I, I, I told the audience that you were going to come on and talk about this incredible interview that you did. And for folks who are not being, you know, they're not, you know, paying to be subscribers to Tommy, you're missing out because earlier this morning, you had an exclusive one on one interview with Hunter Biden. Yeah, and I. And it went on for three hours.
- [30:08]
D
Three hours and then some. Listen, but before we move on, though, I have to say, I don't know, you know, that getting Harry Sisson today of all days, that was a really great get for you, too, and I can't wait to watch it. I saw the end of it, but I will, definitely.
- [30:21]
A
I thought I was trying to book Sinatra or something. He had a lot of, he had a lot of guests. He had a lot of things lined up.
- [30:27]
D
I don't know if Harry's still watching, but, you know, he came up during our interview, during my interview with Hunter, so. Oh, good, good.
- [30:34]
A
Yeah. That's excellent. That's great.
- [30:36]
D
Yes. So listen, let me just say, yes, anybody who wants to see the full 3 hour and 15 minute interview with Hunter and it is unbelievably good. Not because of me, because he's a really great interview. Go subscribe. It's only for paid subscribers, but don't pay for the annual subscription, just pay for the month and you'll understand why. Probably next week. So, but yeah, that way you can.
- [31:01]
A
At least you can watch it.
- [31:04]
D
Yes, you can watch the full interview. I'm going to be rolling out clips. I wished I had some clips for you, Jim, because there was, you know.
- [31:10]
A
I, I, we were trying to make it work and, and for whatever reason, because the interview was so long, it got stuck in the substack machine, as I like to call it. But that's it. Yeah, we'll get it on later.
- [31:20]
D
It's still processing coverage. Yeah. And you know, I will probably put out some clips on the, on substack, you know, those AI clips and I'm sure Jim will repost them because that's, he's good like that. But I really wish I, it was a, just, you know, I didn't realize this when I set out to, to interview Hunter, but he doesn't do interviews. And you know, he did that three hours with Andrew Callahan a few months ago in April.
- [31:47]
B
Right.
- [31:47]
D
And so I just naturally assumed, oh well, he must be doing a shit ton of interviews. But nope, this is his first interview. This is the first interview since then. So this is the first interview since Trump started rolling out these indictments. And he had a lot to say about that, about the Comey indictment, the, the John Bolton indictment. Yeah, he made me laugh. But we talked about everything, man, and we talked about how we talked about this video that Trump did and I was the one who brought Harry up because I, you know, I'm just stunned what, you know, that, you know, I don't know Harry, I mean, I know he's an influencer. He's like Adam Mockler and he's a baby. He's like 20. He's like. Yeah, you know, he's, yeah. How, what the, what kind of a small, tiny, petty piece of does this bullies gangs up on? And you know, Hunter made a good point about that. And that'll probably be one of the clips I roll out this week, which is that, you know, what he's doing to Harry is setting him up for, you know, something bad to happen to him. And, you know, I hadn't thought about that.
- [33:05]
A
I, I thought to be on the receiving end of death threats and all this sinister that you and I know about. Yeah, that, that is what he does. It's like with Tucker Carlson and some of these. Do they come after you? So they, that way they unleash their, their social media goons on you. But, you know, Tommy, the thing I wanted to ask you about though is there are a couple of things. One is there was, and I didn't see the other interview that you're referencing that, that Hunter did, so forgive me if I'm behind the curve here, but Hunter talks about George Clooney.
- [33:38]
D
Yes.
- [33:38]
A
And, and I thought that was because I was watching this morning as one of your paid subscribers and he talks about George Clooney kind of throwing Joe Biden under the bus. And that New York Times op ed that basically said this is not the same Joe Biden anymore. And that was sort of the beginning of the snowballing. In addition to that.
- [33:57]
D
Yeah, it was Clooney. As far as I'm concerned, Clooney was the nail in the coffin. And we talked a lot about Clooney. There's one little piece that I'm going to hold back, but I did ask him, I, you know, because, you know, he started out, he was very gracious about Clooney. You know, he was like, you know, I understand what I understand, he's a great guy, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you know, he talked about how much it hurt. And I asked him if he's forgiven Clooney. He was like, no, not yet. I have not forgiven him. So, yeah, man.
- [34:30]
A
And, and Tommy, the other thing that I thought was interesting was he was pretty upfront about the fact that his father had, you know, lost a step. I don't know what the term was, but he said that he was slowing down. But he was adamant that this did not affect his performance as President of the United States. And he kind of reiterated something that I had heard from a Biden advisor not that long ago, which is it was difficult for them to pull him out of the race early 2024 because the polls were showing Trump and Biden were kind of neck and neck. I mean, Biden was a little bit behind, but he wasn't way.
- [35:10]
D
Yeah, this is one of the reasons why I wanted to talk to Hunter because, yeah, he is such an effective messenger for, for Joe Biden, for Democrats, for people like us, Jim, you know, and, and yeah, he, you know, he laid it out how not only that, but this is a, you know, he talked about how the President Biden had the most successful midterms of anybody since the 1932, and he had all this. This string of successes. And, you know, when he was talking about it, I almost got ptsd because I remember watching the coverage and. And people were like, well, you know, Biden does have all these wins. And they would just roll off win after win after win after win after win. And then they'd be like, but he's old. He's getting old. And I'd be like, what does the guy have to do?
- [35:57]
B
Or.
- [35:58]
D
And also they would always be like, but inflation. But inflation was higher everywhere else in the world. And I was like, what does the guy have to do? And Hunter talked a. That he. You know, and then. Listen, there's another part of the interview that I don't get, how much of it I know Jim was there, and it was really great to have you there, Jim, because.
- [36:18]
A
Yeah, yeah. Which I did not expect at all. But I.
- [36:22]
D
He got name checked, and I was going to bring that clip. I really wanted to. I'll get it for you tomorrow, though. But, you know, I don't know if you saw this part, but did you see the part where we talked about Vice President Harris?
- [36:33]
A
I did see that. Where he. He.
- [36:36]
E
He.
- [36:36]
A
Hunter was saying that they were hurt by Kamala. Is that what you're talking about? When Kamala Harris.
- [36:41]
D
Yes.
- [36:41]
A
Went after Biden in that debate and said that little girl was me and so on. It sounds like Hunter Biden was still hanging on to that.
- [36:49]
D
Yeah, well, actually, I wasn't talking about that part, but, yeah, we should talk about that. We talked about that. Or I basically, I just. Earlier, maybe you weren't around for that part. I asked him about the book, about her new, you know, the. Oh, the.
- [36:59]
A
The Kamala Harris book. Yes, I did.
- [37:00]
D
Yeah. In the book tour. Okay.
- [37:02]
A
Yeah, go ahead and talk about that.
- [37:03]
D
Yeah. Because, you know, when I asked him about the debate, he was like, yeah, of course we were pissed off, you know, but when I asked him about. Yeah. About the. The book, and he says he hasn't read the book, but, you know, the things that he's heard, you really have to see it because the. Just the. The. The look of, like, hurt and like the hush that falls over him when he talks about it, because, you know, it's kind of like the way I feel, too. Like, I thought the two of them were like ride or die, and their. Their relationship was so strong, and, you know, I. I could see the hurt in his face, and I can only imagine what the President must be feeling. Yeah. And I, you know, I. I do think that some of the hurt. Some of the comments that she's made have been massaged by the press into being worse than they are. But she's definitely, for sure, surprising me with the stuff that she's saying. And I understand that she's trying to, you know, whatever she's speaking, her circumstances.
- [38:00]
A
Yeah, that's how I look at it.
- [38:02]
D
He also, he didn't seem like he wasn't angry at her and he didn't begrudge her whatever. But, you know. Yeah.
- [38:10]
A
One point that he made to you was how Joe Biden prizes loyalty. That loyalty is extremely important.
- [38:18]
D
Yeah.
- [38:18]
A
You know, it's fun. Yeah.
- [38:20]
D
You know, it was. And I started to get. I kept saying to him that I could talk to you all day about each one of these subjects. And when he said that, I really wanted to go off on a tangent because it's something I've been thinking about for a long time. The Democrats don't understand loyalty. You know, I mean, I said that Democrats are known as triangulators, but they also, they really just don't understand when people criticize Trump for loyalty. I think that they, they missed the mark because it's not that. It's not loyalty that's a problem. I think that's something people like about Trump because. But he's not actually particularly loyal. The problem with Trump is the, the blind loyalty and the, the pricing of loyalty above all else. That, you know, letting George. What's his face, George Santos go because he votes Republican or whatever.
- [39:02]
A
Right.
- [39:03]
D
I think loyalty is a quality that people like in Joe Biden, and that was, I think, what set him apart from a lot of other. And I think that's why people like Vice President Harris is. I don't, I still don't think she's necessarily disloyal. I think she's trying, you know, she's trying to accomplish. She's trying to explain what's going on and trying to maybe. Course. Correct. I don't know. Yeah. But I think that's one of the things that people like was their relationship. I mean, like, you know, people who voted for, for Vice President Harris, there's a lot of them. She saw her as, as a ride or die, as a Biden. Right. And that's why people say, well, how could she say I wouldn't be. Do things different than Joe? And she could handle it better. But she, if she, if she had appeared in this disloyal in the slightest, and it would have hurt her so much. Right. More, you know.
- [39:56]
A
No, she was walking a tightrope. There's no question about it. And I, the other thing that is always astounding to me and, and I wish we had a clip to show everybody, but we don't. We'll try it tomorrow. Play clip of Tommy's interview tomorrow is how much Hunter Biden sounds like his dad. This is just something that was just occurring to me, just sort of, I know it's not an important thing or anything like that. He really sounds like Joe Biden, basically a carbon copy, younger version, you know.
- [40:24]
D
And I, I was also amazed at, you know, he, he looks really healthy. I don't know if you noticed that, Jim.
- [40:31]
A
Yeah, he looks a lot better. He looks much healthier now. And he talked about how he's trying to clean up his act for his.
- [40:36]
D
Kids and yeah, I don't think he looked unhealthy. I don't want to sound like I thought he would look unhealthy or anything before, but like, he just, he, you know, I, thinking about this interview, I was like, you know, I, I really hope that, you know, his recovery is going well. And we talked about that at length and it really does seem to be going really well. He seemed, he looks good, he sounds good. And yeah, you know, he's everything. I thought, you know, I really thought that he would be a good, effective. That's why I wanted to talk to him because, and we also talked obviously about the, the book Original Sin and he had, Yeah, I don't have to say about that.
- [41:13]
A
He was not happy with that book, obviously. And you and I talked about this before. Yeah, I mean, it, I, I, I get why they're, they're pissed. I mean, but I think at the same time, the thing about that, that particular book is I think it backfired in the sense that I think delivered a lot of sympathy to Joe Biden. And I think in time, it's sort of like the Carter presidency in only one sense. I know there's many differences, but in that, yes, it was a depressing defeat for Democrats, but in time, I think people will come to appreciate Joe Biden's presidency and see that there, there were some accomplishments there that are going to stand the test of time.
- [41:55]
D
Yeah, no, definitely. And you know, and you talked about.
- [42:00]
A
How much you like Joe Biden and, and yes. How you didn't always used to be a big Biden guy, but that you ended up liking.
- [42:06]
D
No, actually, you know, and I didn't want to get, you know, because I don't talk about myself because he, he was, you know, but like, I actually, I didn't want to hide this from him, but I was actually, like, when, when the primary first started, I was sort of like, doing like, you know, sort of like anti Biden stuff. Like I'm. And not, you know, as a. Not out of, like, malice or anything, but like, they were. I had genuine problems with some stuff, you know, and. And I was converted. I actually, there was a really. You know, I don't know if this is going to end up being one of the clips, but there was a. You know, I told him about how one of the things that really turned me around about. About President Biden was this moment during a very small gathering outdoors. And you might have seen this. I'll probably put it on media. And he saw an eagle fly by, and he just got really, like, wistful and he said. He said, I think that that's Bo. You know, that's. That, you know, that, that it was his son flying by. And I just thought, you know, what a beautiful moment and what a. Just, you know, his decency was what was what won me over, you know, and I kept saying that that was sort of a theme. It was. Was that his decency is really. Yeah.
- [43:17]
A
Yeah. A lot of Americans can relate to what he's gone through in his life. I mean, the tremendous losses that he has suffered in his life and he was still able to rise to the presidency. I mean, not a lot of people can. Can say that.
- [43:31]
D
That's right.
- [43:33]
A
But, Tommy, great stuff. We'll be looking for the interview.
- [43:36]
D
Yeah. Oh, look, there's also. Sorry, but watch out. We also talked about the state of the media, the state of your old employee or cnn. I'm not going to get into that too much, but we talked about. Did you see the Scott Jennings thing?
- [43:49]
A
Which one?
- [43:50]
D
We talked about Scott Jennings for a little bit.
- [43:52]
A
Okay, I didn't see that.
- [43:54]
D
All right, well, see, that'll be news to you. Maybe I'll make that one.
- [43:56]
A
Okay. That's a good tease. It was three and a half hours, Tommy. I can't. You know, I'm a busy guy.
- [44:01]
D
No, I know. I was. I was impressed that you showed up. I was really. I know, right? I was impressed that you showed up and, and you got a shout out. So that was cool.
- [44:09]
A
I was fascinating. I was fascinated, I have to say. And I was. There was a part of me that was wondering, is he thinking about maybe running for something in Delaware? I just, you know, that's my other.
- [44:19]
D
Tease is I did ask Hunter. I asked Hunter about running for president, and that is something that that you're going to see.
- [44:27]
A
Okay. Interesting.
- [44:28]
D
All right, I'm teasing. Well, you have to. Have to watch the interview to find out.
- [44:33]
A
You are a big tease. But, Tommy, good to see you, man. Really appreciate it.
- [44:38]
D
All right, Jim, thanks for having me. And thanks for. Thanks for, you know, helping to promote the. The interview. Appreciate.
- [44:44]
A
No, you got it. I. I thought it was a coup, man. I'm. Congratulations.
- [44:47]
D
Yeah, it really was.
- [44:48]
A
Great job. Great job.
- [44:49]
D
Yeah. And if you're watching Hunter. Thank you, buddy.
- [44:52]
A
Yeah, we'll be looking for it. All right. And I'll say, hunter, why didn't you.
- [44:55]
D
Come on with me?
- [44:56]
A
But anyway, no, Tommy, good to see you, man. Thanks, thanks.
- [45:00]
D
All right.
- [45:00]
A
Good to see you. All right. Yeah. I mean, we were trying desperately to get a clip from Tommy's interview today. I don't know if it has something to do with the Amazon, like, web shutdown. Apparently, all hell broke loose today. You know, if Donald Trump doesn't want to be accused of acting like a king who sits on his throne and doesn't do all day, maybe he could fix that so the goddamn Internet doesn't go down in the United States of America, the wealthiest, most powerful country in the history of the world. But I do want to go back to what I was talking about earlier, and that is the story in the Washington Post about what Trump is doing to the White House, what Donald Trump is doing to the People's House. White House begins demolishing east wing facade to Bill Trump's ballroom. And you know, they're saying it's going to be $250 million. I'll believe it when it's done. And wasn't he just the other day giving a bunch of shit to Jay Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, for their big construction project? Wasn't he saying, oh, you know, cost overruns and how can you be in charge of the Fed when you're doing all of this stuff? And here is Donald Trump literally tearing down a part of the White House to build this gigantic offensive ballroom. 90,000 square feet. I know that sounds like a. A misprint or something like that. That's what the Washington Post says. A 90, 000 square foot structure. This, according to the Washington Post, that would nearly double the footprint of the main building and the east and west wings. He had suggested at one time that this would not affect the existing White House. He said, quote, it won't interfere with the current building. It won't. It'll be near it but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing Building, which I'm the biggest fan of. It's my favorite. It's my favorite place. I love it. Those are quotes from Donald Trump back in July. And then look what he's doing to the side of the damn building. He's totally out of control. Are there any Republicans in Washington who are going to stop him? I mean, you know, his supporters defaced the Capitol on January 6th, and now he's defacing the White House. Is anybody going to step in? Is anybody going to call down to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and say, oh, by the way, why are you tearing the shit out of the White House? But it's another day that ends in Y and Donald Trump's assault on American democracy. And today the assault is on the People's House itself. I mean, I, I can't, you know, I will tell you, and April Ryan was mentioning this when I talked to her a little while ago. There were lots of events over at the White House that I've attended over the years. Barack Obama had the White House Christmas parties. Donald Trump would not hold White House Christmas parties for the press because he hated the press that much. But I was able to go to the White House Christmas party when Barack Obama was president, when Joe Biden was president. And you enter the White House through that area and it is, it's an amazing, awe inspiring sight. You go inside the People's House, you see all the beautiful decorations. It is basically running through where the first lady has an office. Not that Melania is at the White House very much, but it is where the first lady historically goes to work, if she goes to work, and to see that portion of the building. And you could tell that the White House is not promoting this. They're not putting out tweets and videos of them bulldozing parts of the White House. This was a, this, these were pictures that were obtained by the Washington Post, I suppose, from somebody maybe inside the Treasury Department, because it's the Treasury Department that looks out and down onto the East Wing of the White House. So this is clearly not something that they want out there. And to me, I just have to ask the question, does this mean any President of the United States can do whatever he or she wants to that building? Is that how it works now in Washington, D.C. it sounds like a king. Sounds like something a king would do. For all of Donald Trump's cries over the weekend that I'm not a king, I'm no king, he sure as hell is acting like one. My thanks to April Ryan. My thanks to Brian Cara My thanks to Harry Sisson and my thanks to Tommy Christopher. We had a lot of stuff today. Harry was running a little late, so we brought in Brian in April to talk about the White House being part of it, being bulldozed. I just thought that was kind of an emergency and something that's near and dear to my heart. It is not what the American people voted for in November of 2024. They did not vote for Donald Trump to act like a king and start ripping the shit out of the White House. It is unreal what is taking place right now. And I just wonder is if anybody's going to stop him. Who's going to stop, who's going to stop Trump from tearing up the White House and the way he is? It's the question I'll leave you with tonight. My thanks to all of you for watching. My thanks to everybody for tuning into our special live coverage over the weekend, our no Kings coverage with Don Lemon and Joy Reed. We had hundreds of thousands of people tuning in on my channels and Joy Reed's channels and Don Lemon's channels. And we were just really proud of all of that coverage. It really was an amazing day for all of us, and I know it was for all of you. We had, we went on for some four and a half hours almost in bringing that coverage to you. And I ended it with a beer over at the Irish Times there on Capitol Hill. You know, you know, it was a nice way to end the day. But anyway, in the meantime, still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Thanks again for tuning in. I'll see you next time.