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- [00:00]
Justin Jones
Foreign.
- [00:06]
Jim Acosta
Welcome to the Jim Acosta show. And it is election day for some Republicans who are quaking in their boots as Donald Trump's revenge tour is coming for some in the gop. Let's discuss with our old pal, former Republican Congressman, now Democrat, Joe Walsh. Joe, great to see you.
- [00:25]
Joe Walsh
Hey, Jim Acosta. It's always good to see you. And I love to watch your show every single day. And you like me, man, I, I go into, I wake up every morning and do my show in whatever mood I'm in. And I'm just so pissed off today. Like this 1.8 billion dollar taxpayer funded slush fund.
- [00:45]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, we gotta do that. Yep, I know, but, but I, I
- [00:49]
Joe Walsh
should stop myself because.
- [00:51]
Jim Acosta
No, no, no, it's okay. Well, we could, we can start, we can certainly start there because that is absolutely, absolutely outrageous. I do want to get into Thomas Massie and how he's up against it in Kentucky. And then Trump just came out and said that he's endorsing Ken Paxton in Texas. And that is, I mean, so much for John Cornyn, the incumbent Republican senator. You know, and this is why I want to get into. And that is, you know, you line up behind Trump, you do his dirty work up on Capitol Hill, and you still get shiv in the prison yard. I mean, that's kind of what it looks like. But since you mentioned this slush fund, I mean, I've been calling it the goon squad slush fund. I think others have too. And that's what it, that's basically what this is. And today Todd Blanche was defending it. JD Vance was defending it. But Joe, your thoughts?
- [01:36]
Joe Walsh
Well, and again, you may disagree with my take, but. No, please, this is, this is what pisses me off. You know, I don't even, Jim, I don't even fucking blame Trump for this shit anymore. Donald Trump is a fascist monster. He believes he can do anything he wants. Whose fault is that? That's the fault of my former political party. I'm so tired of us blaming Trump. Right? Everybody yells about Trump every day. He's who he is. But doggone and every Trump voter, every Trump follower, every one of my former Republican colleagues in Congress, every one of my former right wing media colleagues, God damn it, they're all to blame. They created this monster gym. They created a guy who believes he can do whatever the he wants, they're to blame. And, and we need to point fingers at them.
- [02:28]
Jim Acosta
No, it's Trumpenstein, no question about it. And he's now roaming the countryside, terrorizing the villagers and that's, that's basically what's happened. Thomas Massey's in the way and, you know, Bill Cassidy was taken out over the weekend. But just to, just to keep going on on this thread on this slush fund that was created by I guess by the Justice Department to allow Trump to drop his lawsuit against the irs, which was a crock of shit. Trump was not paying his taxes and he got pissed because somebody leaked it. But JD and they're just twisting themselves into pretzels explaining this, this we have JD Vance, I think we have JD Vance at the briefing today attempting to explain this and doing a very bad job of it. Let's, let's watch this.
- [03:12]
Jon
If we have $8 billion fund set up, weaponization fund is being called, why should taxpayers be paying to settle a $10 billion lawsuit that was brought by the president of the United States? And should people that attacked the Capitol building and assaulted police officers, should they be eligible? Should they receive money, should they receive money from this phone?
- [03:37]
JD Vance
Mr. Well, let me say a couple things about that. First, Jon, I think in some ways the media has misrepresented what this is actually about. This is about compensating Americans for the lawfare that we spend saw under the last administration. And by the way, anybody can apply for it. Republicans can apply for it, Democrats can apply for it. As you know, the president United States has pardoned a number of Democrats who he felt were actually subject to this lawfare. I mean, if Hunter Biden wants to apply for this particular fund, he is welcome to it's going to go through a normal process where we vet everything, where we try to identify he's so
- [04:08]
Jim Acosta
full of shit, I can't play the whole sound bite. I just had to get to the Hunter Biden. So he's not going to answer the question about the police officers who are attacked by the Trump criminals who attacked the Capitol on January 6th. Joe. But I mean, we also have to say Hunter Biden was targeted by Donald Trump. That's why he was impeached the first time. I mean, you know, they've gone after Jim Comey. That's law. I mean, it's just the hypocrisy knows no bounds.
- [04:33]
Joe Walsh
And you know what, Jim? I guarantee you, J.D. vance privately and I read an article today that Republicans, Senate Republicans are livid about this slush fund. Them I don't want to hear about any more any another Senate Republican who's privately livid, like they're privately livid about taxpayers paying for his illegal ballroom. Screw that. They did this to themselves. Again, we've so normalized who he is. Could you imagine if President Barack Obama picked his personal lawyer to be the Attorney general? I mean, start there and his ag, they've formed this slush fund and friends of Trump's are going to oversee the fund. I mean, this is just, this is horrible, horrible stuff.
- [05:24]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. No, and at this point, there are no Republicans, I don't think, who are going to step out of line and, you know, say that this is not right. I mean, we should go and talk about what's happening today in Kentucky. Donald Trump and his administration. I think the Secretary, the Secretary of War, as he calls himself, Pete Hegseth, was out in Kentucky campaigning with Thomas Massey's opponent, this Ed Gallein. Ed Gall. I don't know how to say his name. But I mean, this is, this is Trump taking the revenge tour to Kentucky and trying to take out Thomas Massey because Thomas Massie wanted the Epstein files to be released. That's why Trump is pissed at him. We're at war.
- [06:06]
Joe Walsh
There are men and women under Hegseth's command right now who are on a battlefield across the world. And this Secretary of Defense is campaigning in Kentucky. I mean, again, wrong, unheard of. But again, he works, Jim, for Trump, who will give speeches in front of our uniform men and women and just get political and partisan and rip Democrats. I mean, all we are so far down this hole that to so many Americans, having the Secretary of Defense campaigning while we're at war, people are just going to gloss over that. Now, now look, and again, maybe you disagree with me on this. Bill Cassidy, who I served with, he deserved to lose. This guy knows who Trump is. And he tried to play both ways with Trump and kind of love him and kind of sort of love him. You can't do that with Trump. You, you either full on oppose him or you full on adore him. And Cassidy never had the courage to full on oppose him.
- [07:10]
Jim Acosta
Exactly.
- [07:10]
Joe Walsh
Thomas Massie generally has.
- [07:13]
Jim Acosta
That's right. That's true. No, and, and Bill Cassidy, I mean, he voted for RFK Jr. For HHS Secretary to sort of make up for the fact that he voted for the impeachment, you know, when Donald Trump deserved to be impeached and removed and convicted in the Senate and blocked from ever running for the presidency again. And you know, Cassidy did the right thing back then. And, and you know, Joe, I mean, John F. Kennedy could never write profiles encouraged today because just, he wouldn't. You wouldn't be able to fill a book. You would, you couldn't fill a chapter.
- [07:44]
Joe Walsh
You know, look, Jim, everybody, like former Republicans and current Republicans like me, we've all had a choice to make in this Trump era because damn near all of us know he's unfit. So you either say what you believe and risk losing it all, or you appease him and get down on your knees and embrace him. You can't go halfway on that. Nikki Haley never learned this. Mike Pence has not learned this. Mitt Romney, a bunch of them. You either stand in the public square and say he's a threat to democracy and the rule of law. As a Republican. And by the way, Jim, if you say that like I have an Adam Kinziger has, you do lose everything. But, but, but, but. Or you get down on your knees and love him. Cassidy never had the courage to say what he believed about Trump. Thomas.
- [08:39]
Jim Acosta
He's also. He's also an example of. Not to cut you off, Joe, but he's. He's an example of. Some of these Senate Republicans in particular think, well, if we just sit tight until the storm passes, the storm will pass, and then we'll be okay. We'll get to the other side of this. Bill Cassidy is an example of how that philosophy does not work for everybody. John Cornyn is another one, because now Trump's coming out in favor of. Of Ken Paxton in that primary. So this, and, you know, this, this is what a lot of Republicans say. We just hunker down, get through this. We'll be okay.
- [09:12]
Joe Walsh
Hey, Jim Acosta, it is amazing that you just said that.
- [09:16]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [09:17]
Joe Walsh
Here's why. Because eight years ago, when I first was thinking about and then came out against Trump, I. I was bombarded by my former Republican colleagues in the House, including Paul Ryan and Jim, they all said that. Paul Ryan told me back then eight years ago, Joe, Joe, hang in there, man. This storm's gonna pass. Oh, my God, Jim, that just brought back ptsd. That's what they were telling me eight years ago.
- [09:47]
Jim Acosta
That's incredible. But it's true. It's what they think. And, and, you know, once you let fascism in, in the door, authoritarianism in the door, it's sort of like the vampires in that movie Cent welcome them across the threshold, all hell breaks loose. And that's what's happened. And I just can't believe, you know, what's going to happen in Texas. This almost reminds me of that Christine o' Donnell race where they get behind the wacko and then the wacko loses, when you could have had a race where you could have won and Seems to me that Trump's getting behind Ken Paxton. I don't know, maybe he's putting his finger in the air and saying, you know, John Cornyn was going to lose that, so I better get behind the winner. But Ken Paxton is exactly who James Talarico wants to face in that Senate race.
- [10:28]
Joe Walsh
I agree, but I also think Trump right now, because he's had a bit of a run lately where the Republicans he's endorsed have won. And again, Trump's stupid, so now he thinks he can do anything. I think in a normal year down in Texas, Paxton beats Talarico. Texas Republicans have baked in what a bad guy he is. I want Talarico to win. I'm just calling on my fellow Democrats around the country. Don't get super giddy about this. Paxton is still going to be damn tough to beat, even in a year like this.
- [11:06]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, no, I agree with you. It's going to be very tight. And Texas is a, you know, deep red Republican state now. There's no question about. They haven't had a statewide Democrat, I think, since the days of Ann Richards and Lloyd Benson. So, I mean, it's been a very long time. And you know, the other thing, Joe, that we should get to. You mentioned the ballroom earlier. I want to get into this because the other thing that everybody is ignoring in Washington, or they're afraid to say it, and in particular the corporate media, is that this ballroom project is a crock of shit and it's basically being pushed by Trump because he is losing his marbles. We. I think we have a little bit of video. He took the media out for a little tour of the ballroom project and he was going on about how the project is going to help protect Washington from drones. I think. I think that's what he's saying. It doesn't make any sense, but we should play it. We should play this.
- [11:59]
Donald Trump
We have all. It's all sealed and all of that you see is totally sealed, and we use it as a drone port. You can have unlimited drones up there, and drones are what's happening right now. Thank you.
- [12:11]
Jim Acosta
I don't know what he means. If he means that it's DC is going to be drone proof or they're going to launch drones from up there. I don't. I. That doesn't sound right to me, Joe, that you could have drones being launched from the roof of the White House. Is he trying to justify having military spending for it so he can somehow pass it, get it built that way? I don't know. It doesn't make sense.
- [12:34]
Joe Walsh
Who knows? He's whacked in the head. And Jim, this is why I always tell people to watch you every day, because you've done a great job, Mr. Independent Media, of covering this ballroom and the reflector pool and his stupid arch and all of that stuff in D.C. and you've also done a great job covering the fact that, that he's losing his marbles. Your former employer, Legacy Media, they, they like, ignore this issue. He's losing his mind every day and that's not being covered by Legacy Media. And Jim, again, I just like Fetterman was on over the weekend saying, of course we need the ballroom. Excuse me, Trump doesn't have the legal authority to build whatever this is going to be.
- [13:19]
Jim Acosta
Right.
- [13:19]
Joe Walsh
Like we just gloss over that.
- [13:22]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, well, and you mentioned John Fetterman. I mean, I think this is why they, the Democrats need to win a state like Texas, because I think Fetterman, there's, there's a lot of talk in scuttlebutt in D.C. that if the Democrats somehow take the Senate by one vote, Fetterman will just flop over to the Republicans. Maybe, maybe I should have him on and ask him that. I shouldn't just say that without checking with him. But, but I mean, you know, I, I think a lot of people are worried about that in D.C. but the ballroom project, Joe, you're absolutely right. To me, it's, again, it's another line in the sand for people that, which side are you on? Should the President of the United States be able to unilaterally knock down part of the White House and then build a ballroom with this nebulous witch's brew of public financing and private donors chipping and the whole thing is a, is a fucking mess.
- [14:11]
Joe Walsh
It's a mess. It's our House. It's not his. He doesn't have the legal authority to do it. And I'm telling you, whoever wants to be the Democratic nominee in 2028, this is the red line. Like, like this is, this is the grossest example of this authoritarian in that White House. And, and whoever the Democrat nominee is has to pledge that whatever is built is coming down because we do not do palaces in America. And I don't want the Democrats to get weak need on this. They have to. This is their stand.
- [14:46]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, there's no question about, and you mentioned the Reflecting Pool and the Arch and everything else. Joe, again, you know, when you were a part of the Tea Party Caucus and the, you know, and the Tea Party movement that swept into Washington, I Mean, people got pissed at Obama because he was continuing the bailout policies that George Bush started to get us out of the Great Recession. So we didn't have a Great Depression. People were pissed about. And I get why people were pissed about it. They were like, where's my bailout? I understand all that. It's kind of water under the bridge. But if Obama had been like, I'm going to knock down part of the White House and build a ballroom, and I'm going to build an arch, and I'm going to. You know, they tried to redo the reflecting pool, but it wasn't to make it blue like a swimming pool. It wasn't like a goofy Mar A Lago ripoff thing. But if Obama was doing all of these nutty things, you guys would have been up in arms and it would have been pitchforks and torches time.
- [15:35]
Joe Walsh
The Tea Party, Jim. Donald Trump is the very thing the Tea Party said they feared.
- [15:44]
Jim Acosta
Yes.
- [15:44]
Joe Walsh
And then, oh, by the way, then the Tea Party became maga, so forget about it. But he's the very thing we said we feared, Jim Jordan and I. Man, you remember back in the day, Acosta, if Barack Obama even thought about grabbing his pen to write an executive order, Jim Jordan and I would call a press conference and we'd scream, that's right. This guy, this guy is a literal tyrant. Doing that a thousandfold. But they've all bought into it. But, Jim, this day is really important in that if he's able to take down Thomas Massie, who I served with, who's been there forever and has developed a real independent reputation in that district in Kentucky, if Trump's able to make this even close and, or take Massie out, that's just, again, a reminder. This is Trump's party. I, I think it already is. And his hold on this party, stronger now than it was even four years ago. And, and still Americans don't quite realize that.
- [16:50]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, no, and I'll keep saying it. I mean, the reason why he, he hates Thomas Massie is the Epstein files.
- [16:56]
Joe Walsh
Bingo.
- [16:56]
Jim Acosta
I mean, that. That's it. That's it in a nutshell. And so I don't know why the Republicans, they don't get pissed about that, but it is because. And you talk about this all the time, Joe, when you are on your fabulous substack and other places, you talk about how this has become a cult. It's not really a political party, it's really a cult. And there was one congresswoman this morning, Maria Salazar of Florida, who I think she's in hot water, she may lose her seat if there's a big damn tidal wave, blue wave, and she may get taken out because she's down in the Miami area. And anyway, she was sounding like a Trump cultist at a press conference this morning. We should just listen to this. I can't believe this came out of a congresswoman's mouth, but this is what she said.
- [17:36]
Maria Salazar
So listen. It's in the hands of two entities, God the Father and Donald Trump. God the Father on earth and Donald Trump on Earth. And I know, Pastor, that you have a great relationship with our president, that I've told him every time I've seen him, that the Lord saved him in Butler, Pennsylvania. Tell me if who else could have just made him turn his head right on, right in that millisecond and save his life? So the Lord put him back on at the Oval Office. So like you said, the Lord is the only one. And I keep on saying it. And once again, I sent the message to our president, whom we support. You are the only.
- [18:19]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, she's.
- [18:20]
Maria Salazar
Could have.
- [18:21]
Jim Acosta
She's. That's the nutty cult stuff, Joe. And I mean, I, I guess, I don't know, I feel like I'm howling into the wind here or pissing up a flagpole. Just by pointing out that other people have survived assassination attempts as politician doesn't mean that God saved you. Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt far more serious one, by the way.
- [18:39]
Joe Walsh
Yeah.
- [18:40]
Jim Acosta
And lived to continue out and serve two terms in office. And so I'm, you know, this whole. And my other retort to when people say this is like, well, maybe he was saved, but not for the reason you think, not for the. Maybe it's to show all of us that we shouldn't have a cult like dictator as president of this country.
- [18:56]
Joe Walsh
It just. Jim, I was a Republican damn near my whole adult life.
- [19:01]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [19:02]
Joe Walsh
It just devastates me when I hear this stuff. And, and again, I'll say what I said at the beginning of our conversation. I don't blame Donald Trump for thinking he's God or Jesus Christ or divine. When you hear people like that every single day telling you this stuff when, when, when Republican members of Congress treat you like a God. I mean, even if I, if it, like if I were Trump, Jim, I'd begin to think I can do whatever I want. I can make three 700 stock trades in a month. I, I can do whatever I want. I'm divine. I'm a God. I can try to overthrow an American election. I, again, in a weird Way, I don't blame Trump for this. They've made him think he's a God, these Republicans. Right.
- [19:57]
Jim Acosta
And he wouldn't be the first dictator or dictator wannabe who, who thinks he's God, you know, and, or cult leader who thinks he's a God. I mean I, sometimes I think we're in sort of the Branch Davidian phase of the Trump cult and they haven't quite burned it to the ground yet, but they're getting close. And I, you know, my, but my sense of it is, is that, that at this point they're, they're sort of laying the kindling at their own feet because I, to me, I don't understand why they don't realize how crazy some of this sounds. Like creating a slush fund. 1.776 like 1776 billion dollar slush fund that lawfare victims are going to, I mean people who can't pay for their gas right now or their groceries or their house payment or any of that stuff, they, they, they must look at what's happening in D.C. and just say it's time to flush the toilet. It's time to throw these bums out.
- [20:56]
Joe Walsh
I don't think about Americans financial situation, he said, not even a little bit. Remember Donald Trump said that a week and a half ago. And Jim, to your point, not one Republican has condemned it.
- [21:11]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [21:12]
Joe Walsh
Privately they're all scared shitless because they know they're going down in November. But none of them have publicly condemned that. None of them publicly condemn the ballroom. None of them publicly condemn this slush fund. They've made the calculation that Republicans are going down in November. But they're Republicans and they still want to win primaries and they still want to keep power. But Jim, the other point is to, to Paul Ryan and everybody else who for the last eight years has said don't worry Joe and don't worry Jim Acosta, the storm's going to subside. This, this thing called Trumpism, maga, like it's metastasized beyond Trump.
- [21:55]
Jim Acosta
Yes.
- [21:55]
Joe Walsh
The next Republican Party nominee is going to be Trumpy is going to be maga. This thing's beyond Trump now.
- [22:02]
Jim Acosta
Yes. And I saw a preference poll, just I can't remember which outlet did it of. I think it, it might have been the New York Times and forgive me if I'm getting this wrong, but it laid out the Republican candidates, potential Republican candidates for President 2028 and who the preference would be. And J.D. vance is pretty, he's, he's kind of head and shoulders above the rest of the pack right now. And he may be, you know, slimier than squirrel snot on a doorknob, but he, you know, to the Republican Party, it's sort of like, well, what else are you going to do, Don Jr. It has to be somebody who's Trumpy and MAGA and, and passes the cult smell test and, and can act as sort of an enforcer and have the big donors say to the people in the primaries, like, if you don't get behind this guy, you're going to get primaried and you're going to lose your race.
- [22:51]
Joe Walsh
There's, there's no room in, like, it ain't coming back. I'm older than you, Jim, but my lifetime, it ain't coming back. Nikki Haley could never get a part Republican nomination. Mitt Romney, Mike Pence, Joe Walsh, Adam Kinziger. Those days are done. You're looking at J.D. vance, Don Jr. Tucker Carlson. It's going to be a wackadoodle MAGA person because that's where the party is.
- [23:13]
Jim Acosta
No, you're right. No. And, and it could be Tucker. There's no question about it. I, you know, I think his, his negatives are pretty high, his unfavorables are pretty high. But, you know, I just, I think today is going to be very interesting. If Thomas Nazi, I think you're right. If Thomas Massie could somehow survive tonight, that makes Trump seem vulnerable. He, he kind of starts to look and sound like a lame duck and, you know, I mean, he's lame in a lot of ways, but, you know, the lame duck tag, I think will be put on him to some extent if, if, if he can't pull it off tonight. I don't know. I, my sense of it is, is that they will pull, they will primary Tom Massey and he'll lose. But I, I could be wrong. I don't know.
- [23:56]
Joe Walsh
I, I'm, I'm generally with you. I, I, it was easy for Trump to take out Cassidy. Thomas Massey's, who I know well and I like, is a unique animal, though. He's, he's been there a long time and he's really carved out an independent niche. I thought it was a mistake for Trump to put so much into taking Massie out. But Jim, to your point, it looks like it's going to be close either way. And if it is really close either way, I, I, I still think that's a victory for Trump. If he takes Massey out, then forget about it.
- [24:32]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, there's no question. And, and the Republicans, you know, this all too well, having been a member who had to run, you know, they, they see it as, they don't have much of a choice. They have to survive the primary in the hopes that maybe Trump can put Humpty Dumpty back together again and they can somehow eke out something in, in the midterms.
- [24:54]
Joe Walsh
Yeah.
- [24:55]
Jim Acosta
And a lot of these guys are in bright red Ruby districts. Ruby red district. So why would you piss off the, the MAGA voters and lose your seat on principle? I mean, I'm speaking about this in Washington speak, but this is what goes through their minds. And I don't even. That's the calculus.
- [25:10]
Joe Walsh
Yeah. Jim, they don't even think about a general election. It's all about winning the primary, period. And they know, like, I know and you know, this is a MAGA party now. MAGA ain't fringe. MAGA is the party. They know that. So, you know, they'll take a hit this November. The party will. But each of them individually will survive. And they're already talking and thinking about 28 because Lord knows my new party, the Democrat Party, has real issues. They're going to win this year because of Trump. But a lot of Republicans privately believe that if the Democrats don't get their act together, 28 will be a much different years. So they're all making that calculation now.
- [25:52]
Jim Acosta
And Joe, I've seen you make some comments about this recently that you are a little worried about the Democrats, that there's a lot of internal backbiting and infighting going on. That. And I heard this from Carville the other day over the Israel Palestine issue, that there's just, there are a couple of issues here that could, that could hurt the party heading into the fall. If they let this, you know, have a debate on this stuff, it's totally fine. But if it, if it flares up to a point where it, it damages the party's chances of retaking the Senate, I mean, the House should happen, but if you damage your chances in the House to the extent that you have a slim majority in the House, then that may not help you very much with all the redistricting. But over on the Senate side, you could lose a seat here or there because of some of this stuff.
- [26:37]
Joe Walsh
Democrats need to remember that most Americans despise both parties in, in fact, right now the Democratic Party approval is lower than the Republican Party approval rating. And it goes back to like, like Americans. Most Americans do not want a fascist, authoritarian America. That's maga. But most Americans don't want a far left America that like, embraces some socialist stuff, not to put a stupid label on it. And the only hope Republicans have is in 28 that most Americans despise Republicans a little less than they despise Democrats. So somehow Democrats need to reconnect with where most Americans are. There's a ripe opening because of what my batshit crazy former party's doing.
- [27:34]
Jim Acosta
Right. And I think some of it with the Democrats right now is there's no national figure who leads the party. Joe Biden does not lead the Democratic Party to some extent. I guess Barack Obama leads the Democratic Party, but I don't get the sense that he really wants to lead the Democratic Party. He would like the party to get its act together. And so you do have this battle between maybe the AOC Bernie side and the more pragmatic moderate wing, you know, your Andy Bashir types, maybe your Josh Shapiro types and that kind of Rahm Emanuel, for example. And I don't know if that necessarily has to get sorted out right now on the Democratic side. Like you can have, you can have the debate as long as the debate does not become all consuming and ultimately self destructive. I think that's the issue for the Democrats right now. Like aoc, she could talk about these issues, it's fine. But some of that's not going to work in Kentucky and, you know, the Midwest and that sort of thing.
- [28:29]
Joe Walsh
I don't want, Jim, I'm with you. I don't want that Democratic debate now that Trump sucks. Trump slush fund, Trump ice. This is all about Trump. I don't want Democrats talking about the party after the midterms. That's when Democrats need to have a really good public open fight about who we are as a party. And, and they need to be unabashedly public about that. But that's all after the midterm. Right now. It's just Trump is bad and that will win them the House and maybe the Senate.
- [29:02]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, well, Joe, always appreciate the insights. I like that. You came in hot today, man. You were coming in hot. You were fiery.
- [29:10]
Joe Walsh
Jim, I'm sorry, you're with your kids and grandkids.
- [29:13]
Jim Acosta
They should be mellowing. Mellowing.
- [29:14]
Joe Walsh
I don't have time for my grandkids right now. I'm so pissed off. Jim, it's this slush fund. This. Yeah, like, come on. This should be the headline everywhere that it should be.
- [29:27]
Jim Acosta
No, it should be. It is absolutely sickening what, what Trump is getting away with right now. And the thing that I, I, I was about to let you go there, but the thing that makes me gag is that he was rightly Prosecuted.
- [29:43]
Joe Walsh
Yes.
- [29:44]
Jim Acosta
After January 6th. And he was rightly prosecuted for having classified documents at Mar a Lago, in the bathroom, in a, in a club where there are people milling around. And I mean, you could open up a closet and be like, oh, there's a bunch of classified documents about North Korea. That's nuts. And other people have been prosecuted for this stuff. And so he calls it lawfare and they call it that. It's government weaponization. Merrick Garland waited forever to launch the January 6th investigation. Does anybody, does anybody not remember? Does anybody remember what happened? I mean, they, it's not, this is not a mystery.
- [30:21]
Joe Walsh
Hey, Jim, I need to say one more thing. I loved back in the day going on CNN with you because I loved you on cnn, but I am so glad that your independent voice is out here doing your thing because you're kicking butt. Keep going, man. Thank you for your voice.
- [30:38]
Jim Acosta
Thank you, Joe. Thanks for your voice. Let's do it again soon. Check out Joe on substack everywhere. He's at. He's, he's terrific. And Joe, we'll do it again soon. Thanks so much.
- [30:46]
Joe Walsh
Thanks, Jim.
- [30:47]
Jim Acosta
Really appreciate it. And you know, another thing that we need to talk about, and I mentioned this on the show yesterday, is that we're starting this series of reports. It's going to continue right up until the midterms because the threat to our democracy is so stark and so real. I've been calling it defending the vote because what Trump is doing right now and his forces are doing right now is essentially they're met, they're meddling in the midterms right now. Like, it's not like, oh, is he going to meddle? No, it's happening right now. He and his people have called various governors and state legislators all around the Deep south, in particular, to engineer congressional maps that favor the Republicans to sort of limit the damage over in the House of Representatives. And it is starting to work. I mean, we saw the Virginia Supreme Court say, no, you can't have, Texas can have redraw their maps, but no, Virginia, you can't do that. And in Tennessee the other day, they, they had a redistricting process there that essentially eliminated a, the last African American minority congressional district in Memphis. And one of the state lawmakers fighting against that is Justin Jones, and he joins me now. Representative Jones, great to see you.
- [31:58]
Justin Jones
Good to see you too, brother.
- [32:00]
Jim Acosta
Thank you so much. And I got to see you recently at the substack party, and you're making the Rounds. But you're very busy in Tennessee these days.
- [32:07]
Justin Jones
Yeah, I mean, we are in the midst of, you know, the largest attack on black voting since the end of Reconstruction. We're seeing Republicans, maga, Republicans trying to turn back the clock of history. And so we just were in Montgomery with thousands of folks across the south rallying. There's gonna be a big rally in Jackson, Mississippi, tomorrow. But we are standing together in Southern solidarity in this moment.
- [32:25]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And I was looking at some footage. I mean, just over the weekend. Yes, folks were in Montgomery on this issue. They were marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. We can show some of that footage, Justin. I mean, it's. It's inspiring to see this, but in a way, it's. It's. And there's you at the state capitol burning a Confederate flag. God bless you for doing that. But to me, it's. It's frustrating. It's maddening. I should say that this is still even necessary. We should have made strides as a society where this isn't necessary anymore. And yet it is. Yeah.
- [33:00]
Justin Jones
I mean, you know, what we're recognizing is that there are forces who represent the new generation of George Wallace and Bull Connor. You know, their names are Governor K. Ivey, Governor Bill Lee, Governor Landry, Governor DeSantis, Governor Abbott. They represent this new generation that is antagonistic towards civil rights and making true the promise of multiracial democracy. That's really what's under attack now. Now, in my state, for example, every one of our nine congressional districts of majority white, even though black and brown voters make up 25% of our population, what we're seeing is surgical precision to craft out, you know, to cut out the voices of black and brown communities and really representing, you know, darker times in our history in which people like me could not even serve in elected office. That seems to be the goal of this MAGA movement to, you know, remove elected officials who represent that plurality of diverse voices that would make our democracy real for all Americans.
- [33:52]
Jim Acosta
And, Justin, I want to ask you about that image of you burning the Confederate flag there in Nashville. Why. Why did you do that? What was the message? What was going on in that moment?
- [34:04]
Justin Jones
Well, this was right after the vote was taken. And so when I walked into the Capitol that day, it was 2026. And when I walked out off the House floor, it was pre1965. What we saw was something that my grandparents told me about, you know, when they left Tennessee to move to. To Chicago during Jim Crow, fleeing systems of white control. And that erased their voice. And that would burn crosses in front of their yard if they tried to register to vote. And so that flag was a message to say that we will not go back. And I know that a lot of my Republican colleagues were up in arms. The speaker of the House was up in arms. And I would say to your viewers into this country, it is telling when people are more concerned with the burning of a Confederate flag than they are with the burning down of our democracy. You know, that flag represents the old South. We represent a new south that is multiracial, multi generational. And that was a message in the capital Rotunda. You know, Tennessee was one of the first states that passed Jim Crow laws in the 1870s. And so it was a message saying that we refuse to go back to that time and the south will not rise again, but it can rise anew. We can build a new south together.
- [35:02]
Jim Acosta
It's so true. And, you know, I like Tennessee. I've been to Nashville many times over the years. I used to be a local reporter in Knoxville. Been out to Memphis. I know the state pretty well. And, you know, Tennessee always struck me as one of those states that had been making a lot of strides in this area in terms of diversity, minority representation and so on. And to see you having to burn the Confederate flag to send the message to these folks, this will not stand to me is extraordinary. And, you know, here we are, not to go on a tangent, but in Washington, they're passing a slush fund for January 6th rioters. And among those rioters and insurrectionists were people carrying the Confederate flag through the Capitol on January 6th. I mean, that is. It's kind of where we are as a country right now. This white supremacy, white nationalist mentality has made a comeback because of the person who was in the White House, essentially, and the movement he started.
- [35:57]
Justin Jones
Definitely. I mean, to see, you know, January 6th and to see folks carrying the Confederate flag through the Capitol, I think was a message. It should disturb the conscience of this nation. And now to see this new generation of neo Confederates taking over state legislatures. You know, Donald Trump called the governor of Tennessee personally the day after the Supreme Court decision, saying, I want you to break up this district. Called him personally, and within three, at a special session, they gave us a map. We had less than 24 hours to see the map. It was voted on in committee. Then the next morning, not even a whole day later, it was voted on on the House floor. I've never seen something move so quickly, but it was because Donald Trump, when he says, jump that's what they do. And he represents, you know, I call him the grand wizard in chief, things that his administration is doing to give this slush fund to insurrectionists, people who committed acts of violence against this nation. It reminds me of the end of Reconstruction, and I think it's not alarming to say that. I hope folks study history, because we were in a point like this before where we had multiracial democracy in the south, and then between the end of the 1800s until 1960s, you had no black lawmakers because they had enacted these systems of terrorism and of rehabilitating and trying to appease Confederates. I mean, this is what we saw in our history here. And so I think our message to this nation is that we are in a battle for the heart and soul of this democracy, and we must choose a side. Donald Trump represents the darker history, but we do have something that represents what we can be as a nation. And Tennessee has that dual history. We're the birthplace of the kkk, but we're also the birthplace of the Nashville student movement, where John Lewis and Diane Nash and some of our greatest Americans trained and led the movement for civil rights. We're the first Southern city to desegregate our lunch counters. We're the city that gave, you know, we're the city that gave women the right of suffrage, that final vote. And so we have that better history, but we also have that darker history. We have to choose what will we be in this moment.
- [37:42]
Jim Acosta
You're. And one of the things that you just said, there are a couple of things, I mean, that jump out to me. One is, is that a lot of this has been directed by Donald Trump himself. People need to understand this. You know, he pressured the governor of Colorado to free Tina Peters, to you know, to essentially give her clemency and let her out of prison, even though she had been a part of this effort to overturn the 2020 election. And he does this. He has gone state by state. You're absolutely right. In the south to try to pressure these lawmakers and these governors to do exactly what they just did in Tennessee. And I used to cover the State House of Tennessee a long, long time ago. I don't think legislation ever moved that fast before that. I can remember it always. It takes forever.
- [38:24]
Justin Jones
Yeah. I mean, there was no deliberative process, no discussion. The speaker of the House, actually, I don't. I don't know if I can pull it up, but yesterday he just took a picture. He was at the White House with Stephen Miller, the Speaker of our House. And so, I mean, this is, this is who, this is who we're, we're dealing with here. And so I don't know if you can. Let me see if I can pull it up.
- [38:43]
Jim Acosta
If you can pull it off. Yeah. No, but it makes sense because Stephen Miller, you know, they've been saying, oh,
- [38:47]
Justin Jones
Stephen, this is the speaker, the White House giving a proclamation to Stephen Miller for the partnership between Tennessee and Stephen Miller, that's who's directing policy in Tennessee. And they said it's not about race. But we know that Stephen Miller is an avowed white nationalist. He represents, you know, a policy agenda that is rooted in attacking communities of color. And this is who the speaker of the House went to to celebrate this attack on black voting rights in Tennessee.
- [39:14]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, I mean, it's a real high watermark for white nationalism in this country right now. They've sort of hit Yahtzee, it seems to me. And, you know, I don't want to get people all riled up, but, you know, I, I grew up in Virginia and I used to have these debates with friends, you know, because I'm a little older than you. And, and I would tell people, you know, why, why would you be on the side that lost? I don't understand that they lost. You know, it's sort of like, you know, when, when the Patriots beat all those teams in the super bowl, are you going to go with the Patriots or you go with the team that lost in the Super Bowl? I mean, it's sort of like, why are you doing this? And it is something that has always kind of stuck in my mind as being illogical. You know, the, the Confederacy, they're, they, they were losers from a historical standpoint. They lost. They were defeated. Why cling to it? It doesn't make any sense to me.
- [40:03]
Justin Jones
Yeah, I mean, it's rooted in this mythology, the same mythology that Donald Trump wants to talk about, about making this nation great again. You know, we are forward thinking. They're thinking about this romanticizing of the past that never existed, a Southern aristocracy, a time in which people like me, again, cannot serve an elected office. I mean, this is what they want to bring us back to. When they say we want to take this nation back, they're taking us back to a time we don't want to go to. And so I think, you know, my message to the nation, though, Jim, is that, you know, the south is the front line in this battle for democracy right now. It's been with this, you know, during slavery and the Civil War, to the civil rights movement to now this is a front line of our democracy, that the Republicans have a Southern strategy, and we need to have a Southern strategy of how do we move this nation forward and invest in places that they've neglected. And so I think we're seeing. We had the governor of Mississippi talking about the last black congressman. Mississippi has the largest black population of any state in the nation. They only have one black congressman. And the Mississippi governor said, we're going to end the reign of terror of that congressman. And the language they're using, it harkens back to the Confederacy. Tennessee, and I think, you know, terroristic language. Yeah. And to give you a visualization of our maps in Tennessee, because I don't know if people realize how ridiculous they are. So you have the Memphis district, which is over 50% black population now connected to a county 300 miles away as a way to dilute that vote. It goes 300 miles away. And so that community's not gonna have representation. In my city in Nashville, where we have black and brown communities, I represent the most diverse district in our state. Driving from one Krispy Kreme in Nashville to one right on the outskirts in Brentwood, 30 Minute Drive, you pass through five congressional districts. That's how maps are. They make no sense. And their only objective is to dilute and to effectively eliminate the voices of black and brown voters in Tennessee. And so I just want to give that visualization because this is what they're doing all across the South. You know, in Mississippi, South Carolina is getting ready to do this. Louisiana stopped an election to do this. I mean, it is absurd. And it's something that should alarm. Alarm everyone across the country, because so goes the south, as goes the nation. This is just the tip of the spear. If we don't stop it here and fight it here, it's going to spread to other states in our union.
- [42:04]
Jim Acosta
No, you're so right. And, Justin, is it possible that they could end up dummy mandering this and that you could have. Maybe your colleague. Is it Representative Pearson, could he. Could he potentially win a congressional district? Could somebody like that win a congressional district? Because they foolishly diluted the Democratic vote to the. To the extent that you could get some competitive races. Forgive me for just spitballing here, but is that possible?
- [42:29]
Justin Jones
Yeah, I mean, I'm hearing the numbers. We know that they've been planning this before the Supreme Court decision came out. They planned through all the scenarios. What we do have a chance to change because, you know, I believe in, in, in, in Looking strategically but still looking with hope are there are state house districts that we could flip. I really believe that, you know, problems have a super majority. And people say, well, you know, we're paying attention to what's happening in Washington, these federal races, but it's the state legislatures who are redrawing these maps and so much. The state legislative seats can change with a few thousand votes. You know, in my state, you can win an election with a few thousand votes. And so that's where we can invest and build infrastructure. There's seats in our legislature that can flip if we invest in them. And I know, I know, we know Washington and D.C. is the big thing that everyone sees on national news. But to anyone in these southern states or, you know, across the country, I would say pay attention to these state legislative races because those, I mean, I won my race by 281 votes. Just to give you an idea of how these races flipped. And so we need people to look at like there's an opportunity to break these super majorities in the state houses. And if we do that, we can stop this redistricting because that's where it's coming from. It's coming from the state level. Even the congressional maps are drawn at the state level. And that's kind of something that we remind people of in this moment.
- [43:40]
Jim Acosta
Well, Justin, maybe you should run for these congressional seats. I know these state seats are important, but I don't know if you've thought about it at all. All, but you could do it. I think.
- [43:50]
Justin Jones
I appreciate you, brother. I think, you know, Michael, if we get 10 seats in the legislature, we break the Republican super majority. That if we do that, that would be a great day. You know, my first term, I got expelled for protesting. I just, I remember got stripped of my committees by the speaker of the House for protesting again. But it just shows how fragile they are. And I want to say if anybody wants hope in this moment, if these people were powerful, they wouldn't have to cheat to win. If these people were powerful, they wouldn't have to be so intent on silencing voices of dissent. You know, this is a very fragile power structure. And in the south we have a saying that a dying mule kicks the hardest. And this mule of white supremacy, of attacking multiracial democracy is losing hold on its power, which whites lashing out in this death rattle to try and take everything down with it. But I think there should be hope in that, that if our vote didn't matter, particularly to folks in the south, they wouldn't be trying so hard to craft out our vote. And so this should just be confirmation that if we build a multiracial coalition, we can shift the south and we shift the South. If we shift the south, we can shift this nation. And so the more that they attack us, the more that they cheat and try and do these racial gerrymanders, I think it's just confirmation that we're on the right side and that if we continue to organize, invest in these places, not just North Carolina and Georgia, the swing states, but in all places in the south, the Deep South, I do think that we'll see something that they haven't seen in a moment in our history. This huge shift, this huge earthquake of transforming a region that they feel like they have a power hold on. And we're seeing it. I mean, in Montgomery, I cannot tell you it was emotional being there. I was with Bernice King, Dr. King's daughter, on the steps of Montgomery Capital. And you saw this generation coming together, saying that we will not go back and that we've seen these forces before. We defeated them before, and it's our time now.
- [45:29]
Jim Acosta
I think the time is now. And I think that what's taking place across the Deep South, Republicans better be careful because I think they may bring about their own reckoning with what they're doing right now. And it's starting, I think, in Montgomery and Selma and your defiant stand that you took in Tennessee, and it may sweep across the south in a way that the Republicans did not expect. And you know, Justin, when you go out there and do what you do, it really is inspiring. So thank you so much for coming on. Really appreciate. Good to catch up with you again.
- [46:03]
Justin Jones
You too, brother. Thank you so much.
- [46:04]
Jim Acosta
Thank you, brother. Thank you so much. That was, you know, that's, that's, that's the future right there, folks. People like Justin Jones, who, who understands these battles because he is on the front line of those battles and so, so are so many others. I mean, look again at what took place in Selma, Alabama, over the weekend where, where people are having to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge because representation is being taken away from people in this country as we speak. It's happening across the Deep South. Donald Trump, you heard it exactly right from Justin Jones a few moments ago. Donald Trump is personally calling governors, state lawmakers, his people, people like Stephen Miller, you know, reaching out to these state legislators in an attempt to, at the very last minute and almost the 11th hour, redraw these congressional maps so they can somehow limit the damage or prevent the Inevitable, which seems to me is the inevitable at this point, that the Democrats will take back the House of Representatives and be able to announce congressional hearings, announce investigations into all of the corrupt, authoritarian stuff Donald Trump has been doing since coming back into the White House building ballrooms, knocking down part of the White House. All of this stuff, the Epstein files, all of this stuff has been covered up by the Republicans. All of it. And you have Todd Blanch starting a slush fund for Trump stormtroopers. That's what he's done. He's launched a slush fund for Trump stormtroopers. People like the January 6th rioters and insurrectionists. All of that needs to be investigated. All of that. We have to get to the bottom of all of it. We have to get to the bottom of why they're launching it. You know, you want to talk about lawfare? JD Vance is talking about lawfare from the White House briefing room today. I mean, does he smell what he is shoveling? Donald Trump going after James Comey. Donald Trump going after Letitia James. The Trump Pentagon going after Senator Mark Kelly. It has been one example of lawfare after another. J.D. vance brings up Hunter Biden. Donald Trump got impeached the first time because he wanted Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine to find dirt on Hunter Biden to find dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine. That's why Trump was impeached in the first place. And J.D. vance is saying that somehow Hunter Biden is eligible for this crazy slush fund that they created. Come on, come on. You think the people that Donald Trump appoints to the slush fund, that they're going to approve money going to Democrats and all of this. Give me a break. Nobody believes this. And so that's why they're, they're, they're terrified of the Democrats coming in, into power. And that is why they're doing everything by hook or by crook to engineer these, these congressional maps. So they favor the Republican Party. And I just, I, you know, to me, and I agree with what Joe Walsh was saying at the beginning of all of this, when I spoke with Joe about this, Joe is exactly right that, you know, this is a party that is all about Donald Trump, and we'll just have to see what takes place in Kentucky. Maybe Thomas Massie does emerge victorious. Maybe he does survive this primary challenge, and maybe this is the beginning of something in this country. And, and I, but listen, it's hard for me to be optimistic at this point. It's hard for me to be optimistic about the Republican party. At this point, when you have members of Congress even now comparing Donald Trump to a God, of course Donald Trump thinks he can build arches and ballrooms and turn the reflecting pool a different color. Maybe he thinks he can walk on the water of the reflecting pool. He's been convinced that he is a God by the members of his own party, the members of his own cult. And so, make no mistake, when Trump gets behind somebody like Ken Paxton, When Trump gets behind somebody like Ken Paxton, you know that. I don't know, is that a sign of strength or of weakness? Is that Donald Trump putting his finger to the wind in Texas and saying, well, it looks like Ken Paxton is gonna, I better get behind the guy who's gonna win? Is he, is he, is he, is he rolling the dice there? Why not get behind John Cornyn, the incumbent? Maybe he's getting behind Ken Paxton as, as a sign of weakness because he knows that Ken Paxton might win that primary. I don't know. But it seems to me that, that, that the members of this party, the members of this cult are not coming to grips with what is staring them in the face. And what is staring them in the face is a President of the United States who ain't right. He ain't all there. I mean, I, I, I sort of feel like maybe we should play the video again of Donald Trump standing in front of the construction project of the ballroom talking about the drones. I, I defy anybody to, let's play this, let's play again.
- [51:19]
Donald Trump
And all of this, you see, is totally sealed, and we use it as a drone port. You can have unlimited drones up there, and, and drones are what's happening right now. Thank you all.
- [51:32]
Jim Acosta
I guess he had the wherewithal to end his, his comments there because maybe he even realized how nutty they sounded. Did he say drone port? I don't even know what he's saying there. Does anybody know what he's saying? They're going to be drones taking off from the roof of the White House. Is that what he's saying is going to happen at the White does. Earth to Maga. Earth to Maga. Earth to the White House. Earth to the Republicans up on Capitol Hill. I defy you to listen to Donald Trump's comments standing in front of the ballroom talking about drones in a drone port. I don't know. Is that what he said? And somebody come, please come back to me and explain to me what in the world he was saying there, because it seems to me we just had another example today from the president of the United States of that, that he's just losing his marbles. He's got drones spinning on, spinning around in his head. He's droning on. You might say he's got, there's something not right. And so of course, they've got to go out there and re engineer these congressional maps. Of course they got to go out there and disenfranchise minority voters, black and Latino voters. Of course they have to do all of those things because what else do they have left? His poll numbers are in the tank. He has not convinced anybody outside of his cult that the war in Iran is a good idea. And he's talking about ballrooms and drones. Earth to maga, Earth to the White House, Earth to the Republicans up on Capitol Hill. You might want to, you might want to put in some phone calls. You might want to get on top of this before it's too late. And, and maybe it already is. It, it sounds like it is. But in the meantime, my thanks to Joe Walsh for joining me today. My thanks really, again, to Justin Jones, the state representative from Tennessee, just an amazing individual and a shining example of the leadership that we can have in this country. This vision that he laid out of a multiracial democracy in America, the America that we were becoming in this new century that abruptly came to a halt because of Donald Trump and maga. I still think it's possible. I still think it's possible because of people like Justin Jones. So I appreciate him coming on as well today. In the meantime, still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you next time.