← The Jim Acosta Show
The Jim Acosta Show
Live on the streets on a gorgeous day in DC with TX Senate candidate Colin Allred, Olivia Troye and Michael Fanone
00:48:13
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- [00:00]
Jim Acosta
Welcome everybody to the Jim Acosta show. It's another day that ends in Y and Donald Trump's Epstein cover up. This week. He's trying to distract the public with two new things. He's announced today that he is taking over the Metropolitan Police department in Washington D.C. of course, at the end of the week he is apparently going to be meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska of all places. So the Russian dictator will be on American soil thanks to Donald Trump. Here to talk about all these distractions and the COVID up and so on is Colin Allred. He's a former congressman. He's also running for the Senate in Texas, which is going to be a very interesting race, especially if Ken Paxton gets that Republican nomination. Could help turn Texas blue. But Colin, great to see you. Thanks for coming on.
- [00:45]
Colin Allred
Hey, Jim, I'm glad to see you, brother. Thanks for having me on.
- [00:48]
Jim Acosta
You bet. Hey, great, great to have you on. I guess first of all, we should just jump right into this thing that Trump announced today that he, he's taking over the Metropolitan Police Department, the D.C. police Department. And you know, crime is at, you know, it's a pretty steep, in the state of, a pretty steep decline in D.C. right now. It's better. It's around a 30 year low at this point. It's down. Violent crime is about down 26%. But there's something bigger going on here, obviously. I mean, he's trying to distract from the Epstein files and this is the latest thing. But your thoughts on this?
- [01:23]
Colin Allred
I mean, it's upsetting to me because I was there on January 6th and I saw the Metropolitan police respond incredibly bravely with no National Guard support. Right. You know, they came in as, you know, Jim, you, you can remember what happened that day and they held the line. They had, you know, hundreds of officers who were injured that day. They had the officers who, he died as a result of the actions that day. And these are folks who, you know, I think saved my life that day. And they still won't put a plaque up on the Capitol commemorating and, you know, thanking the officers, even though the Congress we passed that, that they should do that. And this guy who pardoned the people who attacked those officers now says that he's going to take over that the police department to clean up the streets. I mean, it's unbelievable. And I agree with you. I do think he's trying to distract, I do think some distractions are more dangerous than others. And when you see there's a consistent trend here, the trend is just towards, you know, more and More power grabs, more and more, you know, activity that is dangerous and I think removes the safeguards for our democracy. It's all trending in the same direction.
- [02:43]
Jim Acosta
That's right. Well, and I'm here in the middle of D.C. right now. I thought instead of doing it inside, let's go outside. And I will tell you, I mean, there is no state of emergency here in Washington D.C. i mean, you look.
- [02:55]
Colin Allred
You look well, you look like you're fine, right? Yeah.
- [02:58]
Jim Acosta
I mean, well, I mean, It's August in D.C. as you know, Colin. I mean, half the city leaves town, they're all at Ocean City or Virginia beach or the Outer Banks. They're not here. And so why Donald Trump feels that he needs to do this, it's not right. What happened to, I guess this kid that worked at Doge who goes by the name of Big Balls. That's his name. But quite frankly, this is kind of a small ball. Small Balls, if you will, move on Donald Trump's part. And I think you're right, distractions can be dangerous. I wrote a substack about this earlier today and Trump earlier today at his news conference was hinting that other cities were next. He mentioned New York, he mentioned Baltimore, he mentioned Oakland. And there are a lot of red state cities that have high crime, by the way, you know, states that are run by Republican governors. But I, I think you're right that there is, there is a danger to this, that this could continue.
- [03:51]
Colin Allred
Yeah, well, it took what, two months for him to have the Marines in la? I mean, you know, that, that to the extent they had a disruption then in la, they have bigger disruptions when they win the World Series, you know what I mean? Like, and now we got to send in, you know, the Marines. And you know, I think we all feel this way, which is also just that I respect law enforcement and you know, like I said, especially the D.C. police, I, I honestly believe that they saved my life. You know, on January 6th, that mob was right there at the doors of the house floor. You know, this Jim, I thought I was gonna have to hold a door while my colleagues escaped, but because they were out there, you know, basically having hand to hand combat, right, we were able to get out, know. And so to me, that's the thing that also just bothers me so much because I remember the National Guard sleeping in the capital's hallways. I remember, you know, how dangerous that time was. And for now, this to be, you're going to be about law and order after you pardon these people. I just find the whole thing to be outrageous. And again, to your point, I mean, what are we talking about here that, you know, you should be. There's a lot of things for the President, United States to be focused on. This is not one of the issues he should be focused on. We have municipal leaders who should be doing this. We need him to focus on affordability, on bringing costs down for working people. We need him to use our convening power as a country to bring some of these conflicts around the world to an end. He's exacerbating them instead of bringing them to an end. And I just find the whole thing to be. Like you said, he is trying to distract from something, but the trend is in one direction.
- [05:32]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, no, it's a creeping authoritarianism. And I mean, we should note he is a convicted FELON. And on January 6, he tried to overturn a free and fair election by inciting an insurrection that resulted in countless police officers, both in the Metropolitan Police Department, in the Capitol Police Department, being brutalized. Our friend Mike Fanon was beaten and had to tell these people, hey, I have kids. You got to stop this. And yeah, you know, Mike. And who knows? What would. I mean, members of Congress could have lost their lives. There's no question about. As you said, you guys were definitely in danger that day. And on top of that, you know, he's talking about bringing in the national guard into D.C. on January 6th. He failed to bring in the National Guard in a timely fashion. They showed up at what, five or six o' clock that evening. So, you know, the hypocrisy is just. It could be photographed from orbit, I think.
- [06:26]
Colin Allred
Yeah. And also, I mean, I think it's part of also what they're trying to do here in Texas. And I'm not trying to connect things that are unconnected. I think they're. It's all part of a trend, which is, you know, you just, you try and rig an election so that you don't have accountability for what you've been doing. You try and do power grabs and take away the voices of black and brown communities that are going to be silenced by this gerrymander on top of a gerrymander in Texas. We're already. Jerry.
- [06:51]
Jim Acosta
Yes.
- [06:52]
Colin Allred
Right. And so now they want to gerrymander it even full. Even more. And what's the target districts? Just like you were saying about the cities that are being targeted. What are the targeted districts? It's majority minority districts. Right, right. And that's what they want to. That's what they want to take and Carve up creatively enough so they can steal five seats here. And it's all part of a trend. And I just think we all have to, to say it. You know, listen, I, I think that there are people out there who voted for this president believing that he was going to help lower their costs. I was raised by a single mom, Jim. She was a public school teacher. We didn't have a lot of money. We used to count our blessings when we swiped her debit card at the grocery store and it went through. I think there's a lot of folks out there who are hoping that somebody was going to help lower their costs in a time when they're working harder for less. And they thought, well, maybe he'll do it. Maybe we'll go back to how the economy was before COVID hit. And they have gotten nothing but lie to their costs, have been raised by this, this bill they passed. This is going to be a very expensive Christmas for working families because of these tariffs. And all the time it's just to gather power for himself and for his friends and then to use it to do what? To enrich themselves, to enrich their buddies, to enrich their special interests. I mean, we have to talk about this because working people were sold a bill of goods and the Democratic Party got to get back to our working class roots.
- [08:11]
Jim Acosta
I agree with you 100%. I was raised by a single mom, too, as a matter of fact. And yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, I still have been. My dad around and, you know, he and I are still buddies to this day, but my mom, you know, she was my hero growing up. Worked in restaurants and so on. And so we understand that, too. And to think that it is kind of remarkable that, you know, they passed this, they call the big beautiful bill. It's, it's going to end up being a big ugly blunder, I think, next year. But, you know, it, it, it really sends a lot of money to the very wealthy in this country. I mean, they're the ones who are making out like bandits as a result of that legislation. And yet Trump sold himself as this savior to the working class. And they're just getting the shaft, whether it be with Medicaid being cut and the affordability problem in this country not getting tackled and so on. He's got to threaten the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Interest rates would have already been declining by now, and we just stuck with the economy that Joe Biden handed off to Donald Trump, but he had to screw that up, too. And so I think the Distractions, I think, to some extent because of Epstein, but they're also because of his failed record. He's just. I've said this many times. Where are the wins he has? He can claim he has this one legislative win, but everybody hates it. So is that a win? I don't know, but I think you're right. And how are people feeling in Texas about this power grab? He says I'm entitled to five congressional seats. Give me a break.
- [09:34]
Colin Allred
Yeah. I gotta tell you, you know, I did voting rights as a voting rights lawyer before I ran for Congress. And over a decade ago, when I was doing that, you know, it seemed very subtle back then. In fact, you know, sometimes it was hard to prove that what they were going to do was going to make it harder for folks to vote. And so we had to bring in experts and all these things to try and prove our point. This is the exact opposite, where it's so blatant that everyone can see it. And I think that is a strategic error from them because it's really pissed a lot of people off here. We had a rally in a black church for the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights act in Fort Worth last Wednesday. Just packed to the gills, people fired up, people upset about what they're doing, knowing, and many of the folks knowing and telling stories about how in that community, which was black community, they've been fighting for decades just to get the congressional seat that they have, and that now they're trying to take it away. Right. And I mean, this is something that is very, very translatable. People can see it, they're feeling it, they're upset about it. And, you know, I want to thank our state legislators for giving us giving this time.
- [10:45]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [10:45]
Colin Allred
For people to be aware of it by taking the step that they've taken. They may still be successful passing these maps, but they have. They were going to pay a price for it now, because I think people are waking up to this, and this is what I think we have to wake up to all around the country. And I. I really feel this, Jim, is that, you know, a lot. In a lot of cases, people felt on their backs up to this last election, and I now think folks are starting to stand up and get some, you know, stiffening their spines a bit and realizing that, you know, not only is what he's doing bad for the economy and it's unpopular, but that if we don't fight right now, then we may not recognize our country.
- [11:22]
Jim Acosta
I think you're absolutely right. And I, you know, people Will say, well, I didn't vote for this. I didn't vote for this. And it is the one thing I have a bone to pick with because we, we knew what was being voted for when Donald Trump got put back in the White House. I mean, you know, this is somebody who has a track record of not respecting democracy, of not taking care of working people. And, you know, I do think you're right in that, you know, that affordability issue hurt the Democrats. In the end, it was just enough, and maybe some cultural issues were just enough to shift things over to the Republicans and Donald Trump. But I, you know, I do think it's going to take a huge effort. And you're in Texas right now. And so I just have to wonder, what are the prospects for turning Texas blue? Because, I mean, I think, you know, I was talking to Greg Cassar, the congressman from the Austin area last week, and he, he's one of these members of Congress might lose his congressional seat because of this redistricting stuff. I mean, will people of color show up to vote? You know, there's that Charlemagne, the God quote about losing people to the couch. How do we make sure we don't lose people to the couch next time around?
- [12:34]
Colin Allred
Colin, such a good point. And, you know, listen, in my voting rights career, I've been doing this for, you know, a while now, and what I mean by this, I mean, is that we need to, to not only get people engaged, but get them out to vote. And that's been a tough task in Texas, let's be honest. Like, the laws are set up to make it difficult to vote here, and they gerrymander our districts so that you have, you know, fewer competitive races. And, and then you also then, you know, throw in that you purge people from the, the rolls right before the election starts, go after the biggest cities and make it difficult for them to vote in the big cities. And you end up with a structure that does make it difficult. But we have to accept that and understand that here in this state, we have a chance in this Senate election to no longer have a senator who's too weak or one who's too corrupt to represent us, whether it's John Cornyn, Ken Paxton, anyone else, that's the choice that we have here. And listen, I always tell people, forget about, like, turning us blue. Right? We don't need to. We need to have somebody who actually cares about us. Right. And, and yeah, I think there's, there's the focus on the partisan aspect of it, and I understand that. Right. But what I'm sick of, as a Texan, because we have had a long tradition of Texans who actually care about Texas first is that we've got this spineless bootlickers who represent us now. Right. Like, I've never seen Texans be so compliant to DC as these folks in this state legislature who were told, okay, redraw your maps four years in, they're like, okay, you know, since Texas do that. You know what I mean? And then we got John Cornyn over here pretending like he's. He wants to be, you know, Donald Trump's, you know, ball boy, you know, carrying his stuff around on the golf course or something. I mean, like, yeah, like, Corner. You've had 20 years of service, and this is how you act. And don't get me started on Ken Paxton. It all comes down to they're so weak and they don't have enough of their own, you know, kind of charisma, but their own also ideas and their own ability to lead. But they're just following.
- [14:39]
Jim Acosta
They're. They're in fear.
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Colin Allred
Yeah. They're.
- [14:41]
Jim Acosta
They're in fear of the leaders.
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Colin Allred
You know, this about Texans. We just don't. We just. We have a long tradition of not producing people like that, you know.
- [14:49]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
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Colin Allred
Who are independent minded, who you might not agree with everything they're going to say, but they're going to look out for Texas first. And these folks have stopped doing it. You know, to me, that the focus has to be not on, you know, turning us blue or something like that, but not getting as a representative who will care about us. And I think it's what we can do.
- [15:06]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And when John Cornyn the other day is. Is requesting FBI agents to go round up state lawmakers in another state. Are you kidding me? I mean, this is how you want to go out? This is how your career. I mean, come on, man. This is where I want to say, come on, man. Because, like, that's. How is it even legal to send the FBI after state lawmakers? And another. It just. Where. What's happening to this country? How can that. How can something like that happen? But he's obviously in fear of Ken Paxton. You want to do whatever Donald Trump wants.
- [15:37]
Colin Allred
Yeah. He wanted to get the headline that he got. Right. And listen, you know, breaking quorum is a completely legitimate legislative maneuver.
- [15:45]
Jim Acosta
Yes.
- [15:46]
Colin Allred
For the history of our country, whether it's Abraham Lincoln or whether it's, you know, like we people trying to break quorum is a common tactic. Right. It's not illegal. It's also not criminal. But John Corn. And I. And I. I don't, you know, I'm not really very spiffy, but I've just been thinking. I don't know if he's lost his mind or his spine, but I think it's probably a little bit of both. Right. You know, and like, he just. I mean, come on. Like you said.
- [16:09]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
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Colin Allred
At this point in your career, stand on your own business and be like, listen, I've got a career of service. I've got a career delivery, if you. If you believe that. I don't think he does, but of delivering. And I'm going to run on my record. Don't run on trying to be, like, the biggest follower of someone else.
- [16:27]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
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Colin Allred
I think you would get more respect if he didn't do that.
- [16:31]
Jim Acosta
Exactly right. That's exactly right. And I mean, and. And I bring this up all the time. John F. Kennedy's book profiles encourage, you know, you will be remembered over the course of time if you stand on principle. And the ones who kowtow and just do this sort of, you know, take the weenie route of things, they don't really get remembered for very long. But, Colin, great to talk to you as always. Thanks so much for doing. I don't want to hold you up, but that was. Really appreciate your time. Let's. Let's do this again. Let's make sure we keep doing this absolute.
- [17:03]
Colin Allred
Jim, listen, thank you for what you're doing, brother. You know, I think that you're going to make it there in D.C. you seem like you're safe at the moment.
- [17:10]
Jim Acosta
I feel fine. I'm just. I'm just bracing myself here, you know, just in case, you know, I've got my dog Duke with me, my little rescue beagle, just in case we.
- [17:18]
Colin Allred
The. The attack beagle. Oh, yeah, that.
- [17:20]
Jim Acosta
That, exactly.
- [17:21]
Colin Allred
That'll keep you safe.
- [17:21]
Jim Acosta
He's ferocious, let me tell you. He's down here taking a nap under this bench that I found here in this park. So. Yeah.
- [17:27]
Colin Allred
Oh, the attack beagle is taking a break. I see. Okay.
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Jim Acosta
He's resting just in case.
- [17:32]
Colin Allred
Yeah.
- [17:33]
Jim Acosta
Good to see you, Colin. Thanks a lot.
- [17:34]
Colin Allred
Appreciate you, buddy. Thank you, sir.
- [17:36]
Jim Acosta
All right. Really appreciate it. Thank you. All right, let me. Let me just see. I think Olivia Troy is standing by, and I think I saw folks clamoring for Mike Fanon. I think Mike Fanone might be out there. So let's. Let's say hi to Olivia real quick. Let's get her checked in. Duke is down here, but if I touch my. What I'm most Concerned. I'm not concerned about my safety at all. What I'm concerned about is touching the iPhone on this iPhone stand in this public park and knocking it over and just turning this whole thing into a shit show. But Duke is down below right now. He's. He's down there. He's keeping an eye on things. There's little Duke right there. Yes, I'm wearing shorts. Yes, I'm wearing my Birkenstocks. It's very. It's. It's. It's just scary where we are right now, here in. And I don't want to say where we are because it's just that dangerous, you know, at any moment, you know, another person might walk a dog or. There's a guy over there. There's a lady in a. In a Boston Red Sox cap. She's got her. He's got her air pods on over there. There's a nice elderly couple sitting on a park bench. Guy enjoying a snack. You know, I'm glad they're sending in the National Guard. You know, it's a good thing they're sending in the FBI. Somebody just asked, where's your ak? I. I did not. I don't have it today, actually. I don't own an ak. I don't even have one of those. But. But, yeah, no, it's. We're. We're in a park right now, and. And Duke is here just in case I just. Just in case some stuff goes down. Duke is here just to keep us safe. All right, we're waiting for Olivia. I saw Mike Fanone. He might have been lurking as well. Was Michael Fanone lurking in the. In the whole thing here? Let's see here. There's Mike. Let's see who. Who gets in here first. It might could be. Oh, no. There's Olivia right there. Hey, Olivia. Oh, my goodness. Our White House correspondent Olivia. How are you?
- [19:24]
Olivia Troy
How are you?
- [19:25]
Jim Acosta
I'm doing great. What's happening?
- [19:28]
Olivia Troy
Thank you.
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Jim Acosta
I see that giant car dealership, American flag behind you. You must be at the White House.
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Olivia Troy
Here I am. My old stomping grounds. It feels a little weird, but here I am. I'm in Lafayette Square hanging out and.
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Jim Acosta
Are you safe right now? Is everything okay?
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Olivia Troy
I am totally safe. Everyone's having a good time out here. I was just talking to the Secret Service guys. I had the guy. There's a guy out here that sits out here and plays national anthems that I apparently didn't see during my tenure in the White House, but he just played the Mexican national anthem for Me, because I told him I was Mexican American.
- [19:59]
Jim Acosta
Oh, don't tell Trump that.
- [20:01]
Olivia Troy
You know? I know. And I was like, oh, man, do they know that it's me, like, queuing it up in front. This is how I get escorted off.
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Jim Acosta
If Stephen Miller finds out they're playing the Mexican national anthem. They will. They will send in the Air Force. The Stealth bombers will be flying over. And there's Mike Fanon. Mike. I think Mike's chiming in too, but he's. He's escaping DC at this moment because it's just that dangerous here right now. Mike, how are you?
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Mike Fanone
I'm good. I'm actually on my way into the city.
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Jim Acosta
Oh, you are? Okay.
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Mike Fanone
Very good. But then I'll be. I'll be leaving for. For Charm City. So Baltimore, which also mentioned.
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Olivia Troy
Nice.
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Mike Fanone
Trump also mentioned in his speech today, but he said it's too far gone, that even the US Military and him taking over local law enforcement, there's nothing that he could do to solve the problems of Baltimoreans, which is fine by me, especially since I plan on relocating to Baltimore. I'd prefer that Trump stayed the fuck out of. Of that city.
- [21:03]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. Are you going to an Orioles game? Is that what it is to get some boogs barbecue or something, or. No, I'm actually.
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Mike Fanone
I will be joining the Dropkick Murphy's tour beginning in Baltimore. They're playing tomorrow night.
- [21:17]
Colin Allred
Cool.
- [21:18]
Mike Fanone
And, yeah, it's a natural. Natural association, as I think they hate Donald Trump almost as much as I do.
- [21:30]
Jim Acosta
Well, and, Olivia, where you are right now is where, you know, Trump tried his dictator moves the last time around when he was president, the first time they tried to clear Lafayette parks or get hold of Bible upside down in front of the church. You're right by that. And it looks absolutely terrifying where you are. It looks like there are some nice tourists laying out some blankets for a picnic, and the usual protesters, the four or five protesters who were there all the time and that sort of thing.
- [21:53]
Olivia Troy
Yeah, there's people taking pictures. You know, I mean, I was actually thinking back on that, and I was like, you know what? I'm gonna go back and stroll down there. The last time that he was trying to bring the military into D.C. and everything was Lafayette Square when he cleared it out. And I was here that day, and I remember walking the grounds at day. There were peaceful protesters, and then I just remember Bill Barr, the whole parade that they did, and then clearing everyone out that day, and that was a pretty dark day. That was actually the day, by the way, that the Day after is the day I walked in the first time and why I shouldn't quit right now.
- [22:25]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, no, I remember I was there in the Rose Garden. You could hear the, the, you know, there weren't grenades going off or there were some kind of rounds that were going off. I think that's when they were firing off the chemical dispersants. But, Mike, before your signal goes out, because who the hell knows what's going to happen here, we're testing the bounds of substack.
- [22:43]
Olivia Troy
Yes.
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Jim Acosta
Your thoughts on Trump federalizing or trying to take over the Metropolitan Police Department. That's the department you served under. And I mean, all of the other bullshit, you know, hypocritical things that he said today.
- [22:57]
Mike Fanone
Well, yeah, I mean, there's a, there's a lot to dive into first. I guess I'll start with his justification for taking over the city's police department. And I mean, essentially taking democracy away from the residents of Washington, D.C. who already don't enjoy a lot of the privileges that, and really rights that the rest of us, you know, that live outside of a federal city of the District of Columbia do. But essentially, you know, he cherry picked some statistics going back as far as 2023, when the entire country was seeing a spike in violent crime, specifically homicides, and use that as somehow a justification for calling in the National Guard and taking over the city's local law enforcement agency. I got to point out the irony here in that this is the same police department that responded to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to fight off Donald Trump's supporters who attacked the Capitol trying to prevent the certification of a free and fair election. And in doing so, injured more than 140 police officers, myself included. And further diving into the irony, Trump calls up the National Guard for absolutely no reason other than a junior staffer got his ass kicked, you know, in, in what was a crime involving two 15 year old juveniles. And now we have the National Guard responding. But an insurrection at the Capitol was not justification to bring up the National Guard in Trump's eyes.
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Jim Acosta
Right. The National Guard didn't show up until what, five or six o' clock that day. And it was like, it was like.
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Mike Fanone
After 6pm I mean, it was over. The other thing that is, is like, you know, best case scenario, this is a overpriced theatrical event, you know, in which Trump will bring up the National Guard, which has absolutely no law enforcement capabilities in the District. I mean, even on January 6, when they were there, during, throughout the day, they were directing traffic. If Donald Trump does utilize them in some other fashion, it would be wholly illegal as they are now federal troops. They are not National Guard troops. They have been activated by the President. That makes them active duty military that have now taken over yet another city in America. And it's, you know, I gotta point out too that it's. Trump does this because it's, he sees Washington D.C. as, as low hanging fruit. You know, it's another community that many Americans don't give a shit about. His supporters certainly don't give a shit about Washington D.C. they see it as a liberal city run by liberals, just like Los Angeles, who Trump recently deployed the military and, you know, didn't go as far as taking over the law enforcement agencies there, but he saw an opportunity here and it should be a preview to other democratically run cities that this is coming to a theater near you. And.
- [26:37]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, I know it's true. And Olivia, you remember the last time he did this, after George Floyd, he actually, he asked Mark Esper, can we shoot protesters? Mark Esper said that? He said it, yeah.
- [26:51]
Olivia Troy
No, I mean, he did. That was known throughout the White House. This was discussed amongst the Cabinet. Many of us were appalled. He actually said it. There was talk about what was happening in Minneapolis too. And this was an ongoing thing with Donald Trump and he pretty much thought it was within his right. And so I think there are no Mark Espers in the room right now. There are no people of that, I would say good moral character that are pushing back on this, which is why I think that's how we are here today. And to Mike's points, like, the concern for me right now is the dynamic between how this is going to work, because I'm very curious to see like, who's actually in charge, how are they going to interact with the law enforcement entities. And I just think that it could be potentially a recipe for disaster because where are they taking orders from? How are they responding? And I also think there's a lot of potential for like bad things to happen. Right. The misuse of law enforcement in many ways. And back in 2020, I will say this, and I, you know, I'll say this to Fanon, like my understanding talking to some of these people and getting the phone calls, by the way, from the FBI and others who were complaining to Mike Pence's office about this was that they were being misused and that they didn't agree with what was happening because it wasn't what they are meant to do. It's not their roles. And so there was A lot of tension there between the agencies.
- [28:08]
Mike Fanone
Yeah, I mean, that's a great point. You know, the federal agencies that they've called up, the FBI, the atf, the dea, all of these agencies are investigative agencies. Right. These are not streets. They're not street props. They don't deal with street crime. You know, we. I, as somebody who worked on federal task force with literally every single one of the agencies that's involved, you know, in this propaganda ridiculousness.
- [28:42]
Jim Acosta
They'Re the first.
- [28:42]
Mike Fanone
People to admit we're not street props. We've partnered with local law enforcement because we need their knowledge, their skill set, and we provide federal dollars and federal resources that local law enforcement agencies can't afford and don't have access to. And so this is really like when you see all these FBI agents walking around, I know it's just a costly performance. They're not doing anything. It's not going to result in anything substantive. I saw the other day that they put out, you know, that we made this arrest where we recovered a gun and some drugs, and that this is all a result of Donald Trump's, you know, efforts to clean up the city. Well, guess what? When I was a cop, I made four arrests like that every single night.
- [29:32]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [29:33]
Mike Fanone
You know, so I. And get. And they paid me like, $70,000 a year to do it. God knows how much they're paying to bring in all these agents and all this other, you know, crap. And if that's the best that they've got to show for it, I had to. I hate to break it to you, but there's a lot of guns in Washington, D.C. just like there's a lot of guns in every major city in this country. Many of them are possessed illegally. You're literally spending millions of dollars a day to take grains of sand off the beach. So congratulations, Donald Trump and the rest of your clown show, you know, actors and actresses that you've assembled, you're doing nothing other than making the American people terrified to walk their own streets.
- [30:20]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, yeah. No. And, Olivia, I mean, this is all a giant distraction. And yet he has, you know, to Mike's point, he has Pete Hegseth up there, who may be running off to run for governor of Tennessee because he's been humiliated as the Defense secretary. You have Jeanine Pirro, you know, who was, you know, basically, you know, what did they call her? Wine box? Jeanine Pirro on Saturday Night Live. I mean, she's the U.S. attorney, and, you know, that's a joke. They were glad to get rid of her. Over at Fox. And this was a whole. I mean, you have Cash Patel looking especially nervous today, probably because he still knows what's in the Epstein files and you know it. I think Mike's absolutely right about this. This is like theater of the absurd, that these people are running the show. But it doesn't make it any. You and I were talking about this earlier today. It doesn't make it any less dangerous because all it does take is a viral, violent moment to light a spark. And then Trump has the ability to go in and crack some skulls, as I pointed out in my substack. Crack some skulls to hide his skeletons.
- [31:24]
Colin Allred
Right?
- [31:24]
Olivia Troy
Yeah. It's perfectly laid out.
- [31:26]
Colin Allred
Yep.
- [31:27]
Olivia Troy
And I think. And I. But. And that's what they want, right? That was what they wanted back in 2020. They want those images. I think that's why they did it in California. This is the whole playbook, the Trump playbook that they do. And it's interesting that you picked up on Cash, because I was picking up on that, too, during the press conference today, because usually when he's really nervous and he's, like, in over his head, he speaks really rapidly and he stutters, and he seemed very nervous in that moment. And then he kind of went off on a tangent, and all of them were basically doing, like, a little sidestep up there. It was like the grand performance for Donald Trump, and they were just trying to please him while they navigate this. But we all know that it's just another distraction, and really, we should just be asking, like, okay, so when are you going to release the Epstein files and what's the next step in that? And I really, you know, I. I really wanted the press in the room. And I'll say this not just to be nice to you, Jim, but if the. Jim Acosta back in the day, if he was in that press room, you would have been pressing us left and right. I just know you. I've seen you. You would have been like, okay, so.
- [32:30]
Jim Acosta
Why did I just.
- [32:31]
Olivia Troy
Not. January 6th, like. Yes, exactly.
- [32:33]
Jim Acosta
Exactly. And I also just want to ask, Mr. President, what's with you in the Epstein files? Why are you in the Epstein files? What did you do? Just tell. What did you do? We're going to find out.
- [32:48]
Olivia Troy
Yeah. Why are you so scared that you have to rule out the National Guard and the FBI to D.C. and you're pulling them off, by the way, from other responsibilities? Because the FBI should be focused on counterterrorism, domestic terrorism, like keeping our American people safe, and instead, now we have them here in D.C. on. In our nation's capital, which is a beautiful day.
- [33:08]
Jim Acosta
It's beautiful. I know. I love this. Duke's having the time of his life. He's just resting down here. Looks like Mike's about to get off his train. We might have to let Mike go, but there's Duke. Duke is having the time of his life. Yeah, He. You know, he's learned. People are like these days. And Mike's about to get off his train. Here's the thing. All right, Mike, we'll let. We'll see you get. We'll let you go. Mike, Thanks a lot. Good to see you, bud. He's probably got to go. He's got. He's got people to see, things to do.
- [33:37]
Olivia Troy
But, Olivia, somebody just said that you would have been tossed out of the press room. I probably agree with that because you would have asked the hard questions. I would have been sitting in my office if I were still there, and I would have been like, ooh, ooh, this is awkward. How's he gonna do that? But I was just waiting for that. Because if there were easy ones to lob or just basic things like I was saying, right? Like, just ask, like. Well, when these agencies had a problem in 2020 and there were actual protests going on and that things were heated in the city, none of that is happening right now. As you can see. Like, I drove around the city today. You and I were in communication throughout the day. I don't see any of it.
- [34:13]
Jim Acosta
So, like, people are wise. People are wise to Trump's tactics now, because look what happened in la. Yes, he sends the Marines into la, he does this stuff in la. Nobody freaks out. Nobody overreacts. They had that deal where they sent all the mounted officers into. Into MacArthur park, and there are little kids who were frightened and had to run inside because, you know, the. The mounted police were there for no goddamn reason. And the mayor had to show up and say, get the hell out of here. There's. What are you doing here? And so he failed in LA, and now he's trying in D.C. and he just want. He just wants that one protest that gets out of control so he can cause this giant distraction. So we'll talk about. So we won't say Jeffrey Epstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Jeffrey Epstein.
- [34:54]
Olivia Troy
What are his senior advisors doing right now? They're manufacturing the crisis for him. Right. Stephen Miller posted on social media, he's like, we must free dc. Like, we're back to the liberate phase. Remember, it was Liberate Michigan during COVID.
- [35:06]
Jim Acosta
Liberate the Epstein files. That's what I'm saying.
- [35:09]
Olivia Troy
I know we were going to liberate Venezuela, but it still hasn't happened, so.
- [35:13]
Jim Acosta
That's right.
- [35:14]
Olivia Troy
I mean, it's. And it's also the same herbiade, which is kind of pathetic. It's always, it's always rigged law and order, like, liberate this, free this.
- [35:24]
Jim Acosta
I call, I call them the CNC president. You pull the cord. This, this is a distraction. You know, this is the, you know, here's the military. You know, this is.
- [35:33]
Olivia Troy
But I'm watching people comment and, you know, everyone's Epstein Epsy nephewing and they're right, that's what it should be. That is our problem.
- [35:39]
Jim Acosta
That's what this is.
- [35:40]
Olivia Troy
Keep bringing it up. And the fact that they want to.
- [35:42]
Jim Acosta
Go away and you and I haven't talked about the fact that he would bring Vladimir Putin to Alaska. He's a war criminal. The fact that he would bring Vladimir Putin to Alaska. He wants to start the week with this, with DC and tormenting Muriel Bowser and end the week with trying to own the libs on, on Putin and all of that stuff. And it's just pathetic. It is so obvious and pathetic. He's run. His bag of trips is empty. He's done.
- [36:10]
Olivia Troy
Yeah. And it's pathetic on, on another level as well is the fact that he's also really selling out our country to Putin by doing this. Right. I mean, he's meeting them in Alaska. I always said, I always said that if Donald Trump come back, came back in his second term, Putin would come to America. And he is apparently so.
- [36:32]
Jim Acosta
And Sarah Palin will be able to see her. Sarah Palin will be able to see her from our house or something, whatever that is. Remember when she probably. Yeah, I remember that.
- [36:41]
Olivia Troy
You betcha.
- [36:42]
Jim Acosta
You betcha. Can I call you Joe? Yeah.
- [36:46]
Olivia Troy
But the issue with that is that in Russian propaganda, what they're going to say is, you know, that Alaska was theirs anyways. Right. So, I mean, that's. This is all manufactured by Putin. So in Putin's eyes, he's got to win. And like.
- [36:59]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [36:59]
Olivia Troy
And today I really wanted someone to ask, so do you reject or denounce the gift that he gave you to the intelligence community to that CFA CIA official? Like, those are the questions we should be asking Donald Trump, because really it's about does he stand with our intelligence community or does he stand with Putin? Because that's what I would be asking him right now. And that's the meeting and tone of the meeting that he's walking into this week. But again, he does want this fanfare. It's all happening at the same time, you know, DC's under siege, as you can see.
- [37:29]
Colin Allred
He's.
- [37:30]
Jim Acosta
The car dealership flag that they put up at the White House is blowing in the breeze so majestically.
- [37:36]
Olivia Troy
Everyone's walking around. Hi, everyone.
- [37:39]
Jim Acosta
Folks on their bikes behind you, they look like they're having a great time. I mean, it's. It is a beautiful. If you're in the shade, it's quite lovely. There's a breeze. Matt, would you say it's quite lovely? Duke is. Duke is just. I mean, he's having the time of his life. Sadly, Duke has learned not. People are like, oh, where's new? He's learned not to bother me during the shows anymore. And I haven't said anything to him. He just, like, learned like, okay, Dad's gonna go talk into his phone for an hour. I can't bother him. I'm not gonna get any treats. I'll just leave him alone. So that's. This is Duke's life now. At four o' clock every day, he's pretty much, like, taking a nap.
- [38:11]
Olivia Troy
I know your assistant is slacking on the job, just so you know.
- [38:16]
Jim Acosta
We just go ahead and goof around the rest of the day is what happens. But he does get playtime. It's just not during the show anymore, but. Well, Olivia, great to see. We'll keep talking. And I just. I'm so glad that you're safe. I'm just glad that nothing's happened to you.
- [38:30]
Olivia Troy
Thank you.
- [38:32]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, yeah.
- [38:33]
Olivia Troy
I mean, I just, you know, so make sure everyone can see. I don't know.
- [38:37]
Jim Acosta
Wow. I hope everybody's okay where you are, because, I mean, that looks. That looks wild.
- [38:42]
Olivia Troy
It's really intense here. Yeah. Lots of rebellion, lots of attention happening around me.
- [38:49]
Jim Acosta
Anything could happen at this moment right now. Anything. Like, somebody could come and steal this.
- [38:54]
Mike Fanone
Smart water from me.
- [38:55]
Jim Acosta
I'm so scared. I'm so glad Daddy Trump is keeping us safe, because I could lose this bottle of water at any fucking moment right now.
- [39:04]
Olivia Troy
That's absolutely true. The only thing is, I'm not going to call him Daddy.
- [39:09]
Jim Acosta
Isn't that what Tucker Carlson said? Daddy's coming back and he's going to give us all a spanking. Dude, that's so gross.
- [39:16]
Olivia Troy
That is creepy.
- [39:18]
Jim Acosta
It's super creepy.
- [39:19]
Olivia Troy
Again, Epstein files. Again.
- [39:21]
Jim Acosta
Epstein files. Yes. You know, the next president should lower the giant car dealership flag and raise the Epstein files on the flagpole.
- [39:31]
Olivia Troy
Exactly. Exactly.
- [39:34]
Jim Acosta
That's what I would do. I would have a.
- [39:36]
Olivia Troy
You know, I feel like I do have to say this, though, because I have to counter Pam Bondi's talking points during the press conference today.
- [39:44]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [39:44]
Olivia Troy
When she's like, we have beautiful monuments here. We want families to come and be safe in our city. I just want to let you know that there are a lot of tourists walking around. I actually drove past the monuments earlier.
- [39:55]
Jim Acosta
Yes.
- [39:55]
Olivia Troy
It is beautiful in D.C. it is safe. You should come. You should tour here. Don't be scared. Like, we'll be here. If you come in, you know, make sure, like, you wave, Let me know if you're coming into town. Half the time, I'm, like, putzing around on the boat, on the river. So I just want to make sure that people understand that what manufactured performance happened and, like, on that stage earlier today is not accurate.
- [40:19]
Jim Acosta
That's right. And this reminds me, we need to do a boat show. We need to do a show on the boat. We'll figure out some kind of way to do that, but we need to do that.
- [40:29]
Olivia Troy
We will. We will. I talk to Mr. Lincoln all the time. That's where I go. I talk to Abe, and I ask him every time, what happened to the Republican Party.
- [40:39]
Jim Acosta
I know. And what does Abe say? Does he say anything?
- [40:42]
Olivia Troy
Oh, depends on who's talking.
- [40:47]
Jim Acosta
Depends on how many beers are in the cooler that day. Anyway, not that I'm.
- [40:50]
Olivia Troy
Okay.
- [40:51]
Jim Acosta
Not that I'm saying that that goes on, but anyway.
- [40:54]
Olivia Troy
All right.
- [40:54]
Jim Acosta
Well, I love you. I'm so glad you're safe down there. Thank you. If you want to hang out, I'll come down and walk you to your car. Matt and I might need people come to walk you this far.
- [41:04]
Olivia Troy
Yeah, but I actually might need it because of the person that's inside the White House, not because of a freedom. Who's outside the.
- [41:11]
Jim Acosta
You know, in that shot behind you, the only felon, I think, is the president inside the White House.
- [41:18]
Colin Allred
Yeah.
- [41:18]
Jim Acosta
That's the only felon in the general area where you're staying right now, by and large.
- [41:23]
Olivia Troy
Yeah. Yeah. The person that probably made me the most uncomfortable in meetings is the one sitting back in there right now. So here we are. But I'm gonna enjoy the grounds. It's been a while since I've been back to the White House. It's good to be back. Thanks for having me as your White House correspondent, a title I never thought I'd have in my life, but here I am.
- [41:40]
Jim Acosta
Chief White House Correspondent Olivia Troy. Thank you very much. You did a Great job. It's a great shot, too. You did a great job. Okay.
- [41:48]
Olivia Troy
I did it myself. Thanks.
- [41:50]
Jim Acosta
Thumbs up, four stars. Bye, Olivia.
- [41:53]
Olivia Troy
Take care.
- [41:55]
Jim Acosta
Okay. Great job. I don't know what to tell you folks. Listen, you know, it's a dangerous time right here in Washington, D.C. and I'm a little worried that there's a guy that's went by on a lime bike. You know, I'm a little worried he, he's not wearing a helmet. That's the one thing that he's not doing correctly right now. Listen, I don't mean to make too light of the current situation. I do sometimes succumb to wanting to just laugh at Donald Trump. It just is kind of wired into my DNA at this point. I, I will say, though, since I'm standing in Washington, D.C. if you really want to do something for Washington, D.C. give people the vote here. Give people the vote. This is the city. This is the District of Columbia. It is the District of Taxation without representation. And it is a place where people live. They pay their taxes. They don't have voting members of Congress, they don't have voting United States senators. They literally live hoping that the people in power up on Capitol Hill will somehow make it so they are getting the services that they can get through the D.C. city government. And Muriel Bowser, some people like her, some people don't like her here in the District. She's had a pretty successful run as the mayor of Washington, D.C. she's got a deal that is emerging to get the commanders, the Washington commanders, a new football stadium and so on. And of course, there are problems here in Washington, D.C. nobody's going to say there's no crime in Washington, D.C. that far from it. But violent crime, as I said earlier on in the program, down 26% over the last 12 months. Murder, homicides, down 11% over the last 12 months. Crime is going down in Washington, D.C. d.C. Is doing a pretty good job of running itself these days again. Is it perfect? No. Do crimes happen? Yes. I feel bad for the guy, the big balls guy that got assaulted the other day. I don't. Nobody should make light of that. But you know, if you're out at 3 in the morning, as my mother used to say, nothing good happens after 2am Stuff can happen. But this is a, this is a place where people, for decades now, generations now, have been clamoring for statehood, clamoring for home rule, clamoring for the ability to determine their own destiny. People here, they're Americans just like anybody else. Can you imagine in Your community, wherever you live, if you're watching us from North Carolina or California or Nebraska or New York or wherever, and you didn't have an elected member of Congress or you didn't have a United States senator to hold accountable, they have a D.C. delegate, Eleanor Holmes, Norm. She's beloved in D.C. she doesn't have full voting rights. There's a state senator here doesn't have full voting rights. People here in Washington, D.C. have been dealing with this for some time. If people did have those kinds of elected representatives, one would think you could hold those folks accountable. One would think they might be able to do a pretty decent job of getting the kind of services that, that you need here in Washington, D.C. services for the homeless, services for people who have mental health needs, more police, more cops on the streets, more firefighters, more first responders, more social services for at risk kids. All of that we take for granted. In areas where you do have elected representatives here in Washington, D.C. they have to go up to Capitol Hill and hope that they have the ability up on Capitol Hill to help take care of this city. D.C. government does this to some extent, but it's just not the same if you live across the Potomac river in Virginia or if you live across the D.C. maryland line. In Maryland, it's a totally different situation. You have an elected member of Congress, you have governors, you have senators and so on. So very different situation. Not to get on a soapbox there, but I will get on a soapbox because D.C. has been dealing with quite a long time now.
- [46:16]
Mike Fanone
I do want to wrap it up.
- [46:17]
Jim Acosta
Because I'm kind of running out of battery power out here. But thank you everybody for watching. Really appreciate it. Thanks to Duke, who bravely just, I think he did not move the entire time. He's. Duke's doing good. He's got a little thing of water right here. So we've been keeping him refreshed just.
- [46:34]
Mike Fanone
In case Duke needs some more water. He's got some more water right there.
- [46:38]
Jim Acosta
Duke's been keeping an eye on things, just making sure that we're safe here because, you know, Donald Trump, he's, he's taken over the D.C. police Department. And so we thought we'd, you know, head out on the streets just to maybe highlight to some extent the absurdity of what took place earlier today, that the President of the United States, with all the problems that are going on in this country and around the world, saw it fit to go after Washington D.C. me a break. We know it's a distracting. If you want to liberate DC Liberate the Epstein files. Because if you liberate the Epstein files, something tells me Donald Trump might not be president anymore. And then America will truly be liberated. All right. Well, that's all for today's show. Really appreciate everybody tuning in and Duke's patience as well. He's now camped out under the bench there. I'm going to get going, but in the meantime, still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. My thanks to Pollen All Red, Olivia Troy, Mike Fone, Mike Fanon coming in live from the B, from the bus or the train or wherever he was on. That worked, too. So we did a bang up job here for Monday. But thanks, everybody for watching. Really appreciate it. See you next time. Have a good night. Bye.
- [47:44]
Colin Allred
Bye. It.