Live with Jim Acosta

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Jim Acosta Show – Live with Tara Settmayer Release Date: May 12, 2025
Host: Jim Acosta
Guest: Tara Settmayer
Location: Virgin Hotel, New York City

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1. Introduction and Webby Awards Celebration

The episode opens with Jim Acosta welcoming Tara Settmayer to a special live edition of his show from New York City. Tara shares exciting news about her team attending the Webby Awards, highlighting their recent win.

• Jim Acosta [00:08]: "Welcome to a very special and very brief edition of the Jim Acosta show..."
• Tara Settmayer [01:02]: "This is the first year that my organization won because we're new..."

Jim congratulates Tara and her team, acknowledging the suspense surrounding their award acceptance.

2. Donald Trump's Alleged $400 Million Qatar Plane Grift

A significant portion of the discussion centers on former President Donald Trump's alleged acceptance of a $400 million plane from Qataris. Both hosts label this act as a grift and discuss its implications.

• Jim Acosta [01:49]: "Donald Trump accepting a $400 million plane from the Qataris and claiming somehow this is not a grift..."
• Tara Settmayer [02:08]: "This is not a thing. Okay, like, you don't do this. There's no such thing as a legal $400 million gift from a foreign government."

They delve into the legal and ethical concerns, referencing the Emoluments Clause and the potential for foreign influence in the U.S. government.

• Tara Settmayer [03:01]: "They weren't thinking of $400 million luxury jets, but they were thinking of equivalent to that back in the day."

3. Emoluments Clause and Foreign Influence

The conversation highlights the significance of the Emoluments Clause in preventing foreign governments from exerting undue influence over U.S. officials through gifts or favors.

• Tara Settmayer [02:58]: "Air Force One should never be from a foreign government anyway. Boeing has traditionally done this. This is an American company."

4. Hypocrisy in Political Reactions

Jim and Tara critique the double standards in political reactions, particularly how similar actions by different administrations are perceived differently.

• Jim Acosta [03:22]: "What if Obama were to take a free Air Force One from the Middle East? Some country in the Middle East... John Hannity would have a stroke."
• Tara Settmayer [03:37]: "They would do chapter and verse documentaries on the corruption of this. If it were Barack Obama..."

5. Trump's Grifting and Meme Coins

The duo discusses Trump's ongoing grift tactics, including the introduction of meme coins linked to his presidency, which they argue facilitate direct corruption.

• Tara Settmayer [04:53]: "He is the grifter in chief."
• Jim Acosta [04:42]: "He wants to give out this, what, a VIP raffle? To come to his golf course and take a tour of the White House..."

6. Democratic Strategies and White House Grift

Jim emphasizes the need for Democrats to focus on the corruption within the White House, suggesting that maintaining integrity is a unifying issue for all Americans.

• Jim Acosta [04:17]: "Every Democrat and any, I mean really, you know, red, white and blue blooded American should agree on, which is that the White House should not be for sale."

7. Immigration Policies and Racial Underpinnings

The conversation shifts to recent immigration policies that appear to favor white Afrikaners from South Africa, exposing underlying racist motives.

• Jim Acosta [05:24]: "We shut down the borders. People can't come into the country anymore. Unless you're an Afrikaner..."
• Tara Settmayer [05:52]: "This whole thing started from some conspiracy theory about these lies about white farmers in South Africa being attacked..."

8. Historical Context of Afrikaners and Influential Figures

Tara provides historical context, connecting current Afrikaner immigrants to their Nazi roots and influencing figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.

• Tara Settmayer [05:52]: "Elon Musk's grandparents were Nazis that escaped Canada to move to South Africa with apartheid..."
• Tara Settmayer [06:00]: "Peter Thiel lived in a town that was modeled after little like Nazi Germany town."

9. Power of Independent Media and Webby Awards Significance

The hosts highlight the importance of independent media in today’s landscape, celebrating the recognition by the Webby Awards and its role in empowering creators.

• Tara Settmayer [07:21]: "The Webbies have been around for 29 years, but they've really emerged over the last 10 or 12 years because of the Internet and social media..."
• Jim Acosta [07:24]: "It's kind of incredible what's happening. It's a moment."

10. Event Celebration and Closing Remarks

As the episode concludes, Jim and Tara discuss attending the Webby Awards, expressing excitement over the event and the notable personalities expected to attend.

• Jim Acosta [07:57]: "So Tara and I are going to race down to the Webbies. I'll try to shoot some pictures..."
• Tara Settmayer [08:14]: "I'm so mad at Snoop for what he did. So selling out and performing at Trump's inauguration."

Jim wraps up the show with heartfelt congratulations to Tara and her team, affirming the significance of the evening.

• Jim Acosta [08:36]: "Reporting live from New York, this is Jim Acosta with the Great Tara. Congratulations to Tara and her group..."

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Notable Quotes:

• Jim Acosta [01:49]: "Donald Trump accepting a $400 million plane from the Qataris and claiming somehow this is not a grift..."
• Tara Settmayer [02:58]: "Air Force One should never be from a foreign government anyway."
• Tara Settmayer [04:53]: "He is the grifter in chief."
• Jim Acosta [04:17]: "The White House should not be for sale."
• Tara Settmayer [05:52]: "These are the people we're dealing with here."
• Jim Acosta [07:24]: "It's kind of incredible what's happening. It's a moment."

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This episode of The Jim Acosta Show delves deep into political corruption, the implications of foreign influence in American governance, and the rising significance of independent media. Through lively discussion and sharp critique, Acosta and Settmayer provide listeners with a comprehensive analysis of pressing political issues, all while celebrating achievements in the media landscape.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, guys. Welcome to a very special and very brief edition of the Jim Acosta show, live from New York City. And I have a special guest sitting with me right now. It is the lovely and talented Tara Settmayer. Hey, Tara, how are you?

[B]

I'm great. We're all glammed up because we're getting ready to go to the Webview Awards.

[A]

Very cool. And congratulations to you. Thank you and your team for this spectacular award that you guys are. We know if it's going to happen or we're all waiting in suspense.

[B]

Well, we won. Know that we won. It's a matter of whether we were going to go on stage to accept it or not. But we put in our five word acceptance speech, and I can't give it away yet because it's going to be broadcast, and I don't know where I'm going to have to figure that out, but somewhere. But yes. So we're excited about that.

[A]

Shouldn't it be, like, on YouTube or. Hey, how about substacks? Should be something like that.

[B]

We should tell the Webby Awards. You guys got to get a substack.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know. I've been a couple years before, but this is the first year that my organization's won because we're new and thanks to your audience that voted for American Girl. Really, really helped us win. So thank you again, everyone, for making this happen. And yeah, our five word acceptance feed. You're gonna have to wait to find out what that is.

[A]

Excellent. Okay. And just so everybody knows, this is not my palatial palace, like, mansion in New York City. No, we're at the Virgin Hotel in New York City. We're about to head down to Cipriani's or something like that. So I had to get all Guss. No denim shirt today. Nothing. No polo? No. No jeans. Oh, wait a minute. I just wear shorts. No jeans. Oh, exactly. No.

[B]

We're glammed up today.

[A]

And look how beautiful Tara looks.

[B]

Thank you. Thank you. I'm a little hot right now. I'll calm down.

[A]

A little warm. We're going to make this fast, but we have to hit a couple of headlines. One is my favorite outrage of the day, air grift. 1.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Donald Trump accepting a $400 million plane from the Qataris and claiming somehow this is not a grift, this is not a scam. But of course it is his latest scam.

[B]

So this is not a thing. Okay, like, you don't do this. There's no such thing as a legal $400 million gift from a foreign government. You don't understand how outrageous this is. A Air Force One should never be from a foreign government anyway. Boeing has traditionally done this. This is an American company. This is Air Force One. And the national security implications aside of having someone else give them, just give us their plan. But when you're in government, you have to catalog everything. I mean, they would make you, if you got like a brooch or a watch for like a statue that had value over, I think, $200. Yeah, you would have to catalog it. And sometimes you have to give them back like it was on loan, and you have to give it back if it was too high of a value because of the emoluments clause. They don't want foreign governments buying influence. So.

[A]

Well, the founders thought of this about this.

[B]

They weren't thinking of $400 million luxury jets, but they were thinking of equivalent to that back in the day. So this is crazy. And I don't know how we're going to allow this, but I know that there are Democrats in Congress that are very upset about this. And I don't want to hear shit about Hunter Biden, the Bidens, laptops, anything of that when they're talking about grips and corruption. Get the fuck out of here.

[A]

I was just thinking about this day. I wrote about this in my substack a little bit. What if Obama were to take a free Air Force One from the Middle East? Some country in the Middle East, I can just hear the heads exploding. John Hannity would have a stroke.

[B]

They would do chapter and verse documentaries on the corruption of this. If it were Barack Obama, they did that when he wore a tan suit and saluted a Marine with a macchiato in his hand. So the hypocrisy on the right is insane. And this trip that Trump is on is really just about lining his own pockets. I actually have a substack out right now called the Presidency is not a side hustle. And that's what Donald Trump is conducting himself like. The presidency, some side hustle. And that. The White House is like a vending machine of whatever grift that he wants. His sons are running around the world with these crypto bullshit deals. I mean, selling out everything. And the American people have no idea. This is not to benefit us, it's to benefit them. No.

[A]

And I've been saying that this is what the Democrats need to focus in on. They can't decide on tactics. Should we be too aggressive? Should we have town halls and Republican districts? They don't Know what to do. This is one thing that every Democrat and any, I mean really, you know, red, white and blue blooded American should agree on, which is that the White House should not be for sale. It's not your personal rift that you can just exploit on a daily basis. You mentioned the, the meme coins.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, he wants to give out this, what, a VIP raffle? To come to his golf course and take a tour of the White House. A private tour of the White House. Buy enough of his beam coin. That's a joke.

[B]

And Bloomberg did a story last week about how the majority of the people buying this meme coin, and I talk about this in my substack, they're foreign businesses. So this is like direct corruption. He is the grifter in chief. And we thought it was bad in the first administration. It's 10 times worse this time around because nobody is watching what's going on. And we have an Attorney General who is just signing off on everything because she's terrible and says, oh, yeah, this is fine. Accepting a $400 million jet or whatever the hell. This is all fine, folks. It's not fine.

[A]

Yeah, and it's just a matter of time before he starts to raffle off seats on the Qatari Air Force One. I mean, I think we should. That'll be coming soon. The other thing I have to tackle really quickly is, okay, we shut down the borders. People can't come into the country anymore. Unless you're an Afrikaner, a white Africaner from South Africa. Did you see this shit?

[B]

I saw it. I mean, you see, Are you kidding me?

[A]

This is white, right? I mean, just sort of blatant Afrikaners.

[B]

And this whole thing started from some conspiracy theory about this, these lies about white farmers in South Africa being attacked by, by, by black South Africans, which is again, a conspiracy theory. Bullshit, racist bullshit. And Tucker Carlson liked to talk about that, of course. And so it's so obvious what they're doing now. And this whole thing, you have to remember that we've got a lot of these South Africans that have Nazi roots, like Elon Musk, like Peter Thiel. These guys, they, they come from. You know, Elon Musk's grandparents were Nazis that escaped Canada to move to South Africa with apartheid because they felt more at home. These are the people we're dealing with here. And Peter Thiel lived in a town that was like, modeled after little like Nazi Germany town. It's crazy. A lot of people don't know this. So it kind of informs you as to why? What their worldview is here?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

These are the people in Trump's orbit.

[A]

Yeah. My question is, why do you care about this particular group of individuals? I think, okay, wait, they're white. It's just making it blatantly obvious. I mean, this is your own. This is just out in the open, crazy racist stuff. All right, well, we don't want to end on that kind of a note because that's. It's far too depressing, and we need people to fight back against this stuff. But at the same time, tonight is also about just this power of the independent media revolution in this country. I mean, Snoop Dogg is going to be there. Walton Goggins is going to be there. Sarah Sedmeyer is going to be there.

[B]

The Seneca Project is.

[A]

I mean, it is. It is kind of incredible what's happening. It's a moment.

[B]

It is. I mean, the Webbies have been around for 29 years, but they've really emerged over the last 10 or 12 years because of the Internet and social media and podcasting. Even the Midas guys, they won Podcaster of the Year this year. Last year was Julia Louis Dreyfus. And, I mean, it's just. I mean, it's. It is really a good time, and it is, in this moment now, highlighting creators and the importance of. Of that freedom and independent media. So it really is quite an honor, and we're glad that you are our guest at the Senate stable.

[A]

So excited to be here. And this is as long as I can hold up a phone with my arm for this amount of time. So Tara and I are going to race down to the Webbies. I'll try to shoot some pictures. If I can get a picture with Snoop Dogg, my night will be complete. I love hanging with you, but I need a picture with Snoop Dogg.

[B]

I'm so mad at Snoop for what he did. So selling out and performing at Trump's inauguration.

[A]

But that's a good point.

[B]

Right? So money and about that.

[A]

But, you know, so maybe Walton Goggins, if I can get.

[B]

Walton Goggins is having a time.

[A]

He's having.

[B]

He's been snl, White Lotus, there's a Met Gala, and now the Webbies. He's having a great. He's got great management.

[A]

That's so true. It's so true. All right, well, everybody, we're going to have fun tonight. No big show that goes on for an hour, and I keep talking and talking, giving you my take on things. I'll do that tomorrow, but in the meantime, great to see you signing off. Reporting live from New York, this is Jim Acosta with the Great Tara. Congratulations to Tara and her group, and we'll talk to you later. See you guys later. Bye.

[B]

Bye.