Olivia Troye wears a "TACO" hat and Michael Fanone tells us what he really thinks of Kash Patel.

Summary

Episode Summary: Olivia Troye Wears a "TACO" Hat and Michael Fanone on Kash Patel

Release Date: May 29, 2025

In this lively episode of The Jim Acosta Show, host Jim Acosta engages in a spirited discussion with co-host Olivia Troye and guest Michael Fanone. The episode delves into a variety of pressing political topics, infused with humor and sharp commentary. Key segments include Olivia sporting a quirky taco hat, an analysis of former President Donald Trump's tariff strategies, Elon Musk's exit from the Trump administration, and a critical examination of Kash Patel's role in the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol riot.

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1. Taco Hat Antics and Trump Tariff Strategy

[00:00 - 02:23]
The episode kicks off with Olivia Troye donning a distinctive taco hat, sparking a humorous exchange about taco preferences. Jim Acosta quips, “[Olivia] is wearing a taco on her head just to get everybody up to speed. Traders on Wall street have an expression for how to trade stocks these days. It is Trump always chickens out T a C O, meaning he will slap tariffs on countries before backing down.”

Key Points:

• Taco Thursday: Acosta suggests expanding traditional Taco Tuesdays to Thursdays, humorously tying it to Trump’s tariff tactics.
• Wall Street Slang: The acronym TACO stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out," referencing his inconsistent approach to tariffs.
• Federal Appeals Court Ruling: A court has allowed Trump’s tariffs to remain in effect temporarily after a previous ruling blocked several of them.

Notable Quote:
Olivia reflects on Trump's reaction, saying, “He's always wanted to fit in, and that's the first thing that I thought of. I mean, here he is, he's the President of the United States, and people aren't taking him seriously in what is supposed to be his strength. I say in quotes, which is business.”

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2. Elon Musk’s Departure and the Fallout from the Trump Administration

[08:00 - 16:19]
The conversation shifts to Elon Musk’s exit from his role as a top advisor to Trump, with Acosta and Olivia expressing skepticism and criticism. They discuss Musk’s public denouncement of the "Big Beautiful Bill" and the probable impact on his reputation and Tesla, mocking his involvement with the Trump administration.

Key Points:

• Musk’s Criticism: Elon Musk publicly criticized a significant bill, which Acosta views as a strategic move to salvage his tarnished brand.
• Department of Government Efficiency Exodus: Musk’s departure is accompanied by other top officials, raising questions about internal disarray.
• Impact on Tesla: The hosts joke about the implications for Tesla, suggesting Musk’s statements might lead to further brand damage.

Notable Quote:
Michael Fanone states, “I'm a serious journalist, you know,” in response to a joke about wearing a taco hat, highlighting the show’s blend of humor and serious discourse.

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3. Upcoming Live Town Hall Event

[09:02 - 43:08]
Jim Acosta promotes an upcoming live town hall at the Lincoln Theater on June 2nd, featuring a lineup of notable guests including Michael Fanone, Harry Dunn, Tara Settmeyer, Miles Taylor, and Rosie O'Donnell. The event aims to address issues related to the federal government workforce and the impacts of recent administrative changes.

Key Points:

• Guest Lineup: The town hall will host whistleblowers, federal employees affected by administration policies, and high-profile figures like Rosie O'Donnell.
• Focus Topics: Discussions will center around the mistreatment of federal workers, the fallout from the Trump administration, and the broader implications for national governance.

Notable Quote:
Acosta enthusiastically shares, “We're going to have a lot of fun. We're gonna light it up,” emphasizing the event’s dynamic and engaging nature.

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4. Kash Patel and the January 6th Riots Investigation

[23:44 - 33:59]
A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to scrutinizing FBI Director Kash Patel’s handling of the January 6th Capitol riot investigation. Acosta and Fanone express deep concerns over Patel’s approach, accusing him of attempting to rewrite the events of that day and undermining the truth.

Key Points:

• Patel’s Claims: Kash Patel promises a “definitive answer” to the controversial aspects of the January 6th events, which the hosts view with skepticism.
• Law Enforcement Integrity: Fanone questions the legality and ethicality of Patel’s statements, emphasizing the importance of truthful and transparent investigations.
• Propaganda Concerns: Both Acosta and Olivia highlight the dangers of allowing the FBI to engage in what they perceive as agenda-driven distortions of historical events.

Notable Quotes:
Michael Fanone boldly states, “Cash Patel is dangerous. That's the issue,” underlining his critical stance on Patel’s leadership.
Olivia adds, “This is someone who is, I still believe is a dangerous individual that shouldn't be in the role that he's in.”

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5. Broader Political Climate and Public Sentiment

[33:59 - End]
The episode concludes with reflections on the current political environment, particularly the erosion of support for Trump among traditional Republican bases and the rising disillusionment with both major parties. Acosta and Fanone discuss the shifting dynamics in Virginia and beyond, noting a decline in Trump’s influence and the broader implications for American politics.

Key Points:

• Virginia’s Political Shift: The hosts observe that areas once leaning Republican are now showing significant frustration and a decline in support for Trump.
• Public Discontent: There is a growing sense of anger and disappointment among federal workers and the general populace towards administrative policies and leadership.
• Future Outlook: Acosta and Fanone express concern over the future of American governance, emphasizing the need for accountability and integrity in public service.

Notable Quote:
Jim Acosta poignantly remarks, “There’s no question about it. This is a propaganda campaign that is going to be rolled out. They’re going to try to discredit the stories that were written about January 6th. They’re trying to basically discredit reality.”

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Conclusion

This episode of The Jim Acosta Show offers a blend of humor and hard-hitting political analysis. From discussing the symbolism behind Olivia Troye's taco hat to critically examining the actions of key political figures like Kash Patel and Elon Musk, Acosta and his guests provide a comprehensive look at the current state of American politics. The promotion of the upcoming town hall underscores the show's commitment to addressing critical issues affecting federal workers and the broader populace.

Upcoming Event:
Live Town Hall
Date: Monday, June 2
Location: Lincoln Theater, Washington, D.C.
Featuring: Michael Fanone, Harry Dunn, Tara Settmeyer, Miles Taylor, Rosie O'Donnell, and more.

Join Jim Acosta and his guests as they delve deeper into these topics, offering insights and fostering discussions aimed at uncovering the truth and advocating for meaningful change.

Transcript

[Jim Acosta]

Welcome, everybody, to the Jim Acosta show. It is Thursday. That is Olivia Troy wearing a taco hat. Gosh, I can't imagine why you would do something like that. It's a lovely taco.

[Olivia Troy]

Thank you. Thank you. I love tacos.

[Jim Acosta]

I love. And what you're wearing is kind of one of my favorite tacos. I have to say that I'm a bit of a hard show. I'm like a little kid when it comes to taco taste. I. I mean, yes, if you take me to a fancy Mexican restaurant, I'll order the fancy Mexican food, but there's a part of me that loves the hard shell taco like we had when we were kids with the ground beef and all the junk on top. Like, that, to me, is the best.

[Olivia Troy]

I'm like, totally into the shredded cheese on it, too. It's my favorite thing I do.

[Jim Acosta]

I love that the shredded cheese adds sort of like, I don't know, it almost looks like Trump's hair a little bit with the shredded cheese there. It's. It's orange, right?

[Olivia Troy]

The orange.

[Jim Acosta]

It's disheveled. Yeah.

[Olivia Troy]

My mother calls it pelos de elote.

[Jim Acosta]

Ooh.

[Olivia Troy]

Which is cornhair. That's what she calls it.

[Jim Acosta]

Cornhair. I love it.

[Olivia Troy]

That's why she calls it.

[Jim Acosta]

I love it. Well, I mean, it's Thursday. Maybe we should call it Taco Thursday. Who says tacos should only come on Tuesdays? And Trump seems to want tacos every day. And a federal appeals court is going to let him, at least for now. And of course, for those coming back from a cave and wondering why Jim and Olivia are talking about tacos and why Olivia is wearing a taco on her head just to get everybody up to speed. Traders on Wall street have an expression for how to trade stocks these days. It is Trump always chickens out T a C O, meaning he will slap tariffs on countries before backing down. So buy the dip is basically what they're saying, or perhaps you would call it guacamole and reap the rewards when he lowers the tariffs and the stocks then go back up. And as I was saying a few moments ago, it seems Trump wants to continue to chicken out. A federal appeals court is allowing Trump's tariffs to stay in place after issuing a of a US Court ruling yesterday that blocked several of Trump's tariffs from going into effect. The New York Times reporting that one day after the court did this, he and his top aides were rushing to resuscitate the tariff agenda all day long today, which I guess resulted in this Federal appeals court ruling. Olivia, your thoughts on all of this with. With a taco on your head. And the memes have been outstanding, by the way. This is serious analysis here.

[Olivia Troy]

Yes, I, you know, I think, man, you know, this has got to be making him really mad.

[Jim Acosta]

He's got to be pissed.

[Olivia Troy]

Oh, he is furious. I mean, there's ketchup flying all over the place in the White House right now. I mean, that's just got to be really. And you know, who else?

[Jim Acosta]

Or Cholula, for that matter. But anyway, I'm sorry, Cholula.

[Olivia Troy]

But I. I bet you Stephen Miller's pissed, too. You know, the.

[Jim Acosta]

Stephen Miller is probably very pissed today. Yeah.

[Olivia Troy]

All the taco jokes, too much Mexican stuff. Too much, you know. Yeah, I was thinking about that.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah. He might be upset for other reasons, but we won't get into that.

[Jim Acosta]

Might be, might be, might be.

[Olivia Troy]

We'll see. God, I need the popcorn for that. If it plays out anyway. Yeah, you all can dig into that on your own. We're not going to get into it.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, but they're pissed about the tacos. There's no question about it.

[Olivia Troy]

They certainly are. And I think it's also embarrassing for Trump because to have this be the talk of his business peers, and this is what's circulating around, and he's always wanted to fit in, and that's the first thing that I thought of. I mean, here he is, he's the President of the United States, and people aren't taking him seriously in what is supposed to be his strength. I say in quotes, which is business. And they claim they have this strategy on the tariffs, and that's what they've said all along, that we'll reap the benefits. You'll see it. It's coming. It's coming, it's coming. Well, now here we are.

[Jim Acosta]

And now we've got.

[Olivia Troy]

Floating around.

[Jim Acosta]

No, And. And I. I love that you brought up the faux strength of him being good at business, because it's always been a faux strength. It's always been bullshit. A bullshit taco, if you will. And what is being revealed once again. Because, you know, as you know, others have said we are the United States of amnesia, people forgot that he wasn't very good at business the first time around. And so we're relearning these lessons the second time around. But it's amazing. It's sort of like Jurassic Park. Nature finds a way. When the traders on Wall street within a couple of days have figured out, okay, here's how to trade stocks When Donald Trump is in the White House.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah.

[Jim Acosta]

And it's. Trump always chickens out, man. When he was asked about that in the. In the Oval.

[Olivia Troy]

Oh, he was pissed.

[Jim Acosta]

What do you think of that response? I mean, his response to that reporter from cnbc, which, by the way, a tip of the taco hat to the CNBC reporter. Yes, yes. Thank you so much. Extra tacos for her, however she wants them. Chicken, shrimp, fish, tacos, you name it. No, but the way he responded to that, it was almost nonsensical. I mean, his comment was just all over the place, and it clearly. It clearly pissed him off.

[Olivia Troy]

I think it was rage. It's all. And that's also, you know, it was so evident, you could almost see the anger stewing. And like, I can only imagine the conversations right afterwards that took place, having been in the room sometimes for that. You know, he is sitting there going like, how are we going to get back at that person for this? I mean, that's. That's where his rage is focused on right now. It's not the fact that they're only asking a fair question, because this is very.

[Jim Acosta]

That was a nasty question. You should not have asked that question. You know, it was all that stuff. And what makes me feel good when I see these things, Olivia, when these things play out is, okay now, if people are seeing more and more that I wasn't just being the fly in the ointment, the skunk at the garden party. If you just go in there and ask basic questions, he's going to get pissed. Megan Casella at cnbc. That's her name. He's just gonna get pissed.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah, well, you were just pointing out hard facts and asking questions that we want answers to that the American public should know. That's basically what it is. But again, it's evident of. He. One cannot handle what is happening here. And it's also evident of the chaos and in the ineptitude that we have here at the leadership of our country. And his response. Is it all. I think. I mean, but, you know, I mean, look, if it gives us a moment of levity, I'll say not what's happening in the real world in terms of our economy.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Olivia Troy]

But the fact that there are so many tacos floating around. And it brings me great joy because I love tacos. Here we are.

[Jim Acosta]

The taco memes are outstanding. I mean, for. You could just spend like a good hour for folks, again, who just got off a plane and they're wondering what the hell. They're on an overnight flight from Timbuktu. And they're wondering what the hell is going on with all the tacos. Just please go on the socials. It'll be immediately evident to you as to what is going on. And, you know, and the chicken memes are good, too. But I mean, the thing is, is that. And people are saying, let's go taco. I love that one because it's sort of like a play on let's go, Brandon. But I mean, the other thing we have to talk about this is that it cuts to the core of who Trump is and how his word means nothing. It means squat on the. On the global stage. Like when he goes and says, oh, I'm pissed off at Vladimir Putin. Nobody believes that. Nobody believes that, or nobody thinks that's going to get him anywhere. I don't think the Kremlin believes it. I don't think Putin believes it. I think they think the whole thing's a joke.

[Olivia Troy]

I think they own the entire situation. Actually, it's interesting that you bring that up, because I thought about that in relation to this whole taco situation. I was thinking, like, it's not just the taco on tariffs, it's more on. It's the taco about conflicts around the world. I mean, I think it's actually applicable to other scenarios. It's applicable to what's happening with Russia, Ukraine. Like, he's basically getting owned in this situation. And again, you know, you saw the Russian bots, the Russian media are all mocking him for his recent statements, and now he's become the butt of the joke.

[Jim Acosta]

I mean, just globally, I mean, with our allies in Europe, I mean, overseas, it's unreal. And for folks who are just tuning in right now, I mean, we just have to do a shameless plug right now, Olivia, who I guess will now have to bring that taco hat to the Lincoln Theater on Monday. We're going to have to do this live, I tell you. We are going to have a live town hall at the Lincoln Theater, Monday, June 2nd. Olivia will be there. Michael Fanon is going to be there. Harry Dunn is going to be there. Tara Suttmeyer is going to be there. As I was announcing yesterday, Miles Taylor, the Trump administration whistleblower, is going to be there. He's going to be fighting back here in the coming days against what the Trump administration has been doing to him. Trump, of course, issued that executive order saying the DOJ should go after Miles Taylor. Just a total crock. And. And Miles is going to speak out on that. And Aaron Parnas is going to join us as well. There is one other guest who I have not revealed yet. It's a very exciting guest. It's going to be a lot of fun. We're going to wait until I bring Mike into the discussion here in just a little bit.

[Olivia Troy]

But tuned in, too, by the way.

[Jim Acosta]

And Dunn is tuned in too, I think I can only do, can I only do two at a time? So maybe I won't hold you up all day and maybe we'll bring in Harry towards the end or something like that, I'm sure. But see, I don't know. Does, does Harry have a taco hat? That's the question you.

[Olivia Troy]

Well, you know, I don't know. Doesn't every Mexican family have a taco hat?

[Jim Acosta]

I mean, you have raised, you have raised the ante here. I love this. The other thing we need to talk about very quickly though is Elon Musk is, you know, the AP reporting. Elon Musk is leaving his government role as a top advisor to Donald Trump after spearheading efforts to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah with Doge. The other thing that we need to get into is Elon Musk as he is leaving the government, as he is leaving the Trump administration, which we never found out. Did he work for the government? Was he, apparently he was a special government employee, whatever the hell that means. Apparently he was a car salesman working at the White House. But anyway, on his way out, criticized the big beautiful bill and, and said, oh, gosh, you know, it looks like it's going to raise the deficit and all this. And I just didn't. If I had known that about Donald Trump, my goodness, maybe I wouldn't have gone whole hog. I mean, the whole thing is bananas and just full of shit. But Caroline Levitt was asked about this earlier today. She completely dodged the question. First, Trump was asked about it, completely dodged the question. Caroline Levitt was asked about it, completely dodged the question. She said, the president is very proud of the one big beautiful bill and he wants to see it. He wants the Senate to get to work on it and sent it to his desk as quickly as possible. Of course, as you know, Elon Musk announced last night his departure as an official special government employee. We thank him for his service, which is basically, gee, thanks for shitting on the rug on your way out.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah, I think they were not exactly impressed with the fact that he said that out loud, especially because, you know, he, he's been instrumental. He was a big figure on the campaign. He was out there recruiting all the young Tech bros. Like, I mean, he's been a figure from day one in this circ and now you have them parting ways. And I feel like that was a parting shot. Right? And if I totally. I mean, let's very clear about it.

[Jim Acosta]

And let's analyze that for just a moment, Olivia, because to me, it says to me that Elon Musk probably has a crisis counselor, PR firm, one of those, you know, when you're in crisis, you hire these PR firms and they try to get you out of a huge jam, whatever jam you've gotten yourself into. And perhaps they recommended, or he is surmise that maybe he has to crap on Trump a little bit to somehow rescue his company because Tesla is in dire straits right now. I mean, they've really been put through the meat grinder because of, you know, Elon Musk's unpopularity. You go around Washington these days and you see a Tesla driving around, it usually has a bumper sticker on it that says, F elon. You know, I bought this before Elon went crazy. I mean, he has completely damaged that brand. And one has to think that he did this. He said this on the way out because he feels like maybe this is the only way to resuscitate the brand. I don't know. What are your thoughts?

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah, I think so. I think he's sort of in recovery mode now. I mean, he. I don't know how you go into this situation, especially in Trump 2.0, without realizing that you're going to end up in a poor and bad situation, because that's what happens when you end up.

[Jim Acosta]

That's what happens.

[Olivia Troy]

I mean, I don't. How many times do we have to learn this lesson? But, I mean, I know Rick Wilson.

[Jim Acosta]

Has said everything Trump touches dies.

[Olivia Troy]

Yes. And I think, you know, no amount of money gets you out of that. And I think, you know, he's seen that. And so now we have this guy who I think, you know, I wrote about this today and I was like, okay, great. He got access to the data that he wanted. He got. He, I guess got whatever he needed to get done for his own personal purposes. His brand is significantly damaged. He's got to figure out how he's going to dig out of that one. And then I've been looking at the past couple months, and I'm thinking they were sort of trying to figure out how they were going to navigate him.

[Jim Acosta]

Right?

[Olivia Troy]

Because, I mean, recently Steve Bannon was out there kind of taking shots at him. I mean, to me, it was like they were even the Trump team was trying to figure out their PR campaign of when the separation happened and how they're going to actually explain to MAGA what happened with the Musk Factor. Right. And I think it's kind of fascinating to watch, but for Elon, this is costing him a lot of money.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah. I mean, so much for big balls. Big Balls has left the building, and apparently he may have. This is a news alert that just came in from the Hill. The three top officials at the Department of Government Efficiency are set to leave their roles as tech billionaire Elon Musk. Exit. This is a piece in the Hill right now. A White House official confirms to the Hill, oh, you're going to like this. A White House official confirmed to the Hill that advisor Steve Davis, advisor and spokesperson Katie Miller, and lawyer James Burnham are also departing Doge. That is. And we should note that Katie Miller is the wife of Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. So interesting that she's leaving with Elon Musk.

[Olivia Troy]

So who's she gonna go monitor next?

[Jim Acosta]

I don't know.

[Olivia Troy]

That's sort of. That's kind of always been Katie Miller's role.

[Jim Acosta]

Right.

[Olivia Troy]

I mean, she was on Pence's staff when I was there. When she showed up, I was like, great, the Grim Reaper has joined the staff now. Here we are. And she was there. I mean, we all knew it. She was there to watch, keep an eye on us. And that's what she did. And so I just wonder, who's the next victim? Maybe in more ways than one, but who knows?

[Jim Acosta]

I know, I know. It is fascinating, but I mean, the whole Doge thing has just been a total fiasco. I mean, honestly, I mean, the way. And we're going to talk about this at the Town hall coming up on Monday, June 2, at the Lincoln Theater here in Washington, D.C. because we're going to hear from a lot of federal workers. I've been in touch with the folks over at the Federal Government Employees Union. Many of those employees are going to be there. Liz Oyer, who was kicked out of her job, out of the Department of Justice, is going to be there. There are going to be lots of government employees there. Talk about what they've been going through. And what Elon Musk and the Doge people did was just absolutely sick and sadistic. Should not happen. Okay, sure. You want to trim government waste, fine. Every president wants to do that. That's not a huge deal. That's not a. That's not a scandal. The way they did it, closing entire agencies, just being gross about it, saying you have. Okay? You've been here for 30 years. You have 15 minutes to clean out your desk. It's just nasty. It's just. It's just nasty, mean, sick stuff. And I'm sorry, but there's some comeuppance here for Elon Musk. He's, you know, he's getting a cyber truck full of humble pie, you know, tonight, it seems to me, and I.

[Olivia Troy]

You know, I think he deserves it.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Olivia Troy]

I don't, I don't really tend to wish ill on people, but he has caused a lot of hurt and harm.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah. Waving the chainsaw. Everybody's waving the chainsaw. All those things.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah. Not only was he classless, I mean, what he did, I believe we'll be, we'll be looking at the damage of what they've done for years. I mean, it's going to take us a long time to come back from this.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah. Well, Olivia, let's. Let's bring in Mike Fanone and then I will, I won't hold on to you for too long here, but the three of us should talk. And then I, If, If Harry's still standing by, maybe we'll bring in Harry as well. But Mike, let's bring in Mike. Maybe Mike has some thoughts on Elon Musk and Big Balls and all these people leaving the government.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah. I asked if there was going to be a plaque.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, I mean, Department of Treasury.

[Olivia Troy]

Is there a Big Balls plaque going out there now?

[Jim Acosta]

I. Let's hope not. I don't, I, I don't want to know what that looks like. Hey, there's Mike. Hey. Michael Fanone, America's sweetheart. How are you? Good to see you, my man.

[Michael Fanone]

I'm good. Olivia, what the are you wearing?

[Olivia Troy]

What do you think? My taco.

[Michael Fanone]

What is it is Today's Thursday, right? It's not Taco Thursday. Okay.

[Jim Acosta]

I don't know if you heard about this, Mike, but apparently the traders on Wall street have this term called taco. It means Trump always chickens out. And it's in regard to the tariffs, because the traders on Wall street are like, what do we do? How do we trade stocks on with this crazy ass tariff policy? And so they wait for Trump to declare that he's going to raise tariffs, then they sell their stocks, and then after that, they wait for him to back down thinking, okay, you know, we're going to buy our stocks now because he's doing these, these tariffs. And then after he backs down, they make a bunch of money. So they call it taco. Trump always chickens out. I Think I explained that right? I may not have. But anyway, that's why. That is why Olivia is wearing the hat. Where's your taco hat?

[Michael Fanone]

I don't know where taco hat. You think, you think I'm you know, gonna stoop to employing gimmicks to get people to. To watch me?

[Jim Acosta]

Oh, no, you would never do that.

[Michael Fanone]

Doing things like drinking and getting tattooed.

[Jim Acosta]

And getting back tattoo.

[Michael Fanone]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, I think maybe your next tattoo should be a taco. And, and right there.

[Michael Fanone]

I'm a. I'm a serious journalist, you know.

[Jim Acosta]

Sure you are. You're a serious something, that's for sure. So what do you think of Elon Musk leaving the government? Right?

[Michael Fanone]

You know, don't. Don't let the door hit you in the ass. Yeah, I mean I. Look, I. I was a Elon hater before it was in style and, and I was, I was actually gonna. I gotta plug this. I have no affiliation with these guys whatsoever. But there's this pack out there called the fubar pack.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah.

[Michael Fanone]

And they are. It's a bunch of military vets, but they're raising money to I guess buy like a cyber truck. And then they're just going to let people come and beat the out of it and destroy it to raise money for, you know, for freedom loving candidates that they want to support. Which I thought is the greatest idea ever. So check it out. Fubar F U B A R pack. It gives me a lot of pleasure every time. And you know, I.

[Jim Acosta]

That cyber truck is one ugly piece of. I have to say. And I, you know, listen, I thought this Tesla's were cool when they came out. The, like the Tesla cars were cool when they came out 10 years ago. Whatever it was, the cyber truck looks like. I'm sorry, it looks like a trash can on wheels.

[Michael Fanone]

Honestly, I think they all look like. They look like little like mobile condoms. I, you know, like I. And it just like I can hate them in, in like with a whole fresh perspective knowing that Elon Musk is affiliated with that and he's lost all this money with his failed doge attempt, but you know, mission accomplished.

[Olivia Troy]

Yeah.

[Michael Fanone]

And he can go put his tail between his legs and go back and try to recoup his money and you.

[Jim Acosta]

Know, oh, and have you seen some of these interviews where he's. He's been going out and saying, oh no, that wasn't a Hitler salute on the inauguration. You know, he's doing some major damage control. Livy and I were talking about how, you know, he's shitting all over the big, beautiful Bill, which is obviously a ploy to rescue his company. I mean, that's obviously what he's doing.

[Michael Fanone]

I mean, the damage is done, though. I mean, Elon Musk will forever be known as that guy, you know, the guy that gave a Hitler salute, the guy that jumped up on the stage and showed his, you know, fat belly off. He gets like, acts like a child and. And, you know, and he deserves every bit of it he does ever. Every single bit of it. So I. I could, you know, I heard Olivia said she doesn't wish ill on people. I wish ill on a lot of people. And Elon Musk is, like, in the top 25 of those people, so.

[Jim Acosta]

25 is a lot of people, Mike.

[Michael Fanone]

Yeah.

[Jim Acosta]

We'Ll have to run through that list sometimes.

[Michael Fanone]

My list is longer than Ivan Ranklin's, you know, deep state list, so.

[Jim Acosta]

Longer than the glossary and Cash Patel's book. Oh, what's that? What's that?

[Olivia Troy]

I said I'm definitely on that list, as you know.

[Jim Acosta]

No, no, yeah, that list for sure.

[Michael Fanone]

Yeah, we both are.

[Jim Acosta]

Well, guys, since I have you both here, of course we have the big town hall coming up Monday, June 2nd, at the Lincoln Theater in D.C. i'll be there. Mike will be there. Olivia will be there. Harry Dunn's going to be there. Aaron Parnas is going to be there. Tara Settmeyer and Miles Taylor. I'm so glad Miles Taylor's going to be here, but drumroll, please. We have one other guest to announce. The talented, the wonderful, the great Rosie o' Donnell will also be joining us at the live town hall. She's one of Trump's favorites, so I think that's going to go over well.

[Michael Fanone]

Yeah, no, I love this ensemble that we've put together of, you know, Trump's potential future dinner guests. Never.

[Jim Acosta]

None of us own any of that crappy meme coin, I'll tell you that much. There's just no way. But Rosie's great because, I mean, we're going to bring her in live. She's in Ireland, but we're going to bring her in live because she left the country. She was so disgusted with the election, she left the country. And I had her on my podcast on the sub stack a little while ago, and she and I have been talking and she wants to do something again, so she's going to be great. It's going to be so much fun. And you know what? She has some great stories about Trump just giving him all kinds of shit. Back in the day, and he still hasn't gotten over it. Whenever he is asked about Rosie o' Donnell, you can just see, like, the veins popping out and the. The fake raccoon hair on his head stands up and it's just like. Like Olivia's hat, basically.

[Michael Fanone]

Yeah, no. Speaking of nicknames for Trump, I think one of the better ones that came out recently was that reporter that referred to him as, like, a. A whiny titty baby. That. That's, like, that really is, you know, Trump to a T. He's just a whiny, whiny little baby.

[Jim Acosta]

He cries. He cries all the time. And I was talking about this with Katie Couric yesterday, and she was saying, yes, there's something more malevolent going. I totally agree. He's a dictator wannabe. He's a corrupt authoritarian and so on. But at the heart of it, the core is just a toddler, Like, a colicky baby toddler.

[Michael Fanone]

We're witnessing, like, the most destructive pepper tantrum ever thrown in the history of humanity.

[Jim Acosta]

Exactly, Exactly.

[Olivia Troy]

That's been going on for years.

[Jim Acosta]

Now, I want to ask you and Olivia this one, and then we'll let Olivia go, because, honestly, I don't want to torture her for too long, but. But we both. I want to get you both to comment on this, because Kash Patel, I know this is not our favorite subject or not our favorite guy, but Cash Patel is promising what he called a definitive answer to the January 6th riots of 2021. This is according to Mediaite. He was interviewed on Fox News the other night. I should call it Fox. It's not news by Brett Baer. And he said, you know, people have had questions about January 6 and whether or not there were FBI sources, not agents, sources, on the ground during January 6th. And I told you, I'll get you to the definitive answer to that. And we have. We're in the process, again, of working with our partners. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. He's so full of shit. Mike. This whole thing is. I've said this a million times. If Trump had just been a man and accepted that he lost the election, there would have been no January 6th. There would have been no attack on the Capitol. All of that stuff. But your thoughts, because it just drives me nuts.

[Michael Fanone]

And I mean, first of all, Cash Patel is just a Trump cuck. And so I don't believe anything that comes out of Cash Patel's mouth, even if he's raised his right hand and taken an oath to swear the truth. So I'm skeptical of anything that he has to say. What I imagine if I was to surmise what he's going to say is that there were FBI sources there. And I think the follow up questions that need to be asked is that because law enforcement, I mean, my whole career, that's what I did. I worked with human intelligence, I worked with sources. And so one, sources are not allowed to engage in any type of illegal activity. There's no law enforcement agent in this country that can direct someone to break the law outside of very certain situations. And that's like me directing a source to go buy drugs, which is probably like the most common. And so what I would imagine is that there were individuals because there were a lot of far right extremist groups that were present at the Capitol. So there were some of these individuals who may have been, at one time or another, sources for the FBI or other law enforcement agencies. The question you have to ask is, were they actively involved in some type of investigation that involved, you know, that required their presence at the Capitol that day? Were they directed by FBI agents to somehow engage in conduct which I think you'll hear Cash Patel try to spin it, that it was, you know, these individuals were provoking the crowd and getting people to, you know, to commit these actions. And so those are the questions I think the media needs to ask. And then who? Go ahead.

[Jim Acosta]

No, I was just gonna say. And Olivia, feel free to chime in too. But the other thing in all of this is, you know, the Oath Keepers were there. The proud boys were there. Are we saying that the FBI sources got the proud boys and the Oath keepers to go in there and storm the Capitol? And the guy who was busting open the window with the shield and the guy who, I mean, the whole thing, Olivia Wright, I mean, it's insane to think that there was a conspiracy motivating a crowd of thousands of people to do this. Mike, you can weigh in first and then. Olivia.

[Michael Fanone]

Yeah, yeah, sorry, Olivia. But part of Cash Patel's job as director of the FBI is to help Trump whitewash and rewrite the history of January 6th. And so, you know, we pardoned all these individuals. And of course, you know, you had Pam Bondi and you had Ed Martin in Washington, D.C. at the time, and all these officials at the DOJ saying that, you know, this was a miscarriage of. Of justice. And that didn't really sit well with the American people. I think 80% of Americans, or just above 80% of Americans were against those pardons. But, you know, now what you're going to have is you're going to have people like Cash Patel look for small snippets of information that they can pervert to fuel these conspiracy theories so that, you know, Trump and it's really, it's all about Trump. Trump just wants to feel that's right indicated in some way, and he'll do his little, you know, oh, this is such so egregious and it's all Joe Biden's fault and fucking, you know, Christopher Wray and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But it's just bullshit. We all saw what happened that day.

[Jim Acosta]

We all saw what happened. Olivia, your thoughts?

[Olivia Troy]

No, I think, you know, Cash Patel is no stranger to fabricating things, narratives that serve his agenda. I mean, that was the one thing that I was super guarded with him about when I was working with him in the White House. And I think, you know, to see him as head of the FBI, continuing to spread propaganda. I guess my biggest concern right now is the fact that he is in a very significant national security role. And it makes me wonder what is he going to make up along the way and use, like Mike Fanon said, and twist it and distort it out of context for their own, you know, use is what I think is coming. And I have no doubt that when he's dropping hints like that, I mean, he's prepping the groundwork for it. And I mean, I think this is someone who is, I still believe is a dangerous individual that shouldn't be in the role that he's in. And this is precisely an example of why a lot of us have concerns in national security and law enforcement. I mean, Mike Fanon raised concerns. A lot of us have raised concerns about having someone like Kash Patel at the helm of the premier law enforcement agency, as they call themselves, and the federal level. Right. Because they have control. And his best friend, Pam Bondi is his top cover. So don't forget that. Yeah, that's the issue.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, there's no question about it. This is a propaganda campaign that is going to be rolled out. They're going to try to discredit the stories that were written about January 6th. They're trying to basically discredit reality. They're trying to destroy the truth about what took place that day. And they're going to use the resources of the FBI to try to make that happen. And honestly, to me, this should send chills down the spine of every American in this country when the FBI is used in this fashion. When the FBI director would not say to the White House, go Piss up a flagpole. That is what the FBI director should be saying to the White House instead of saying, oh, yes, sir, let's go do that. Let's go find some bullshit that we can put out there and go whitewash it on Fox News. And honestly, I think the people over at Fox should be ashamed of themselves if they're going to give any of this the time of day. I mean, this is part of the reason why Tucker Carlson got kicked off of the air at Fox is because he was going around and trafficking in these kinds of January 6th conspiracy theories. But, Olivia, great to see you. I'll let you go. I know you're busy and I'm going to keep talking with Mike here, but we'll keep plugging the town hall, too. It's Monday, June 2, at the Lincoln Theater. Olivia's gonna be there, Mike's gonna be there, Rosie o' Donnell's gonna be there. So you don't want to miss it. But, Olivia, great to see you.

[Olivia Troy]

See you all later.

[Jim Acosta]

Talk to you soon. Talk to you soon.

[Olivia Troy]

Bye.

[Jim Acosta]

Bye. And, And Mike, is Harry on the line? Should we try to bring in Harry? Because I think he's gonna. He's. He's around, I think. I don't know. Let's see if he's around.

[Michael Fanone]

He's a busy.

[Jim Acosta]

He is a busy dude. He's all. He's here, he's there, he's everywhere. I don't know. Is he.

[Michael Fanone]

He was just in Ukraine.

[Jim Acosta]

Is he in Ukraine? Let's just see what happens. I didn't even clear this with Harry. Who the heck knows what Harry's doing right now? Somebody said he's at a bar. That's not nice to say that, but it might be true in Kiev or something. But, I mean, honestly, Mike, this. This Cash Patel guy, he's dangerous. That's the issue. He's dangerous.

[Michael Fanone]

Yeah, no doubt. I mean, listen, all of these people, you know, regardless of what you think about their mental acuity, they're. They're all incredibly dangerous because they're all in positions of, you know, the most extreme authority in their respective agencies. Yeah, you know, I mean.

[Jim Acosta]

The.

[Michael Fanone]

Essentially the, you know, the. The person who's making the determination as to whether things are lawful or not that the President of the United States does is Pam Bondi. And Pam Bondi is just saying that, you know, she rubber stamps everything that he does, whether it's getting a jumbo jet from a foreign country. I mean, it's just.

[Jim Acosta]

It really is.

[Michael Fanone]

It is. It is insane.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, yeah. And you and I have talked about this and the issue that we have this time around versus last time around, the reason why this administration is more dangerous than the last one is because you have hacks and whack jobs and pushovers and somewhat compromised individuals in some of these roles. And Trump knows he can twist them and manipulate them and that if it weren't for him, they wouldn't have these jobs. I mean, they absolutely would not have these jobs. I mean, Chris Wray was a serious person at the FBI. Jeff Sessions, you might not like Jeff Sessions, but he recused himself in the Russia investigation. I mean, these are people who said, you know what, if there's a reason for me to recuse, I'm going to recuse. None of these clowns are going to do this. And that's what's scary about it. They're not going to tell them no.

[Michael Fanone]

And there's no moral compass, no integrity, you know, no commitment to the Constitution, to the rule of law, to the principles that this country was founded on. It's just, it's all a grift in one way or another. It's either either a money making venture, a quest for power, or, you know, some of the more you know, batshit crazy. Just true believers in this, you know, kind of insane policy. Yeah, what is it? Project 2025.

[Jim Acosta]

Project 2025, absolutely. And, and the doge thing was part of this too. DOGE was basically carrying out Project 2025. Part of Project 2045 was to, you know, basically obliterate the federal government and to send all the federal employees running and for their lives. And that's what Elon Musk and his minions, people like big balls, whatever that guy's name is, what they did, and now they're being shown the door because first of all, they were wildly unpopular. Every Republican who has a town hall now, it doesn't matter how red the district is, when they have a town hall, the people show up and they just light them up. They light them right the hell up. And, and as they should, because it's not just what they're finding out. It's not just Washington that's affected by this. Governor Polis on from Colorado yesterday. All of these various states have forestry service, they have DHS workers who work in those states and so on. And, you know, and a lot of these folks are being affected in lots of different ways. But Mike, I want to ask you about the town hall on, on Monday because I'm wondering what your message is going to be. We're Going to have some other January 6th police officers there that day. People like Harry, Akalina, Daniel is going to be there. But a lot of federal workers who are hurting right now. And you grew up in the Northern Virginia area, D.C. area, like I did. And you must know it hurts to see people suffering like this. These federal workers just absolutely suffering.

[Michael Fanone]

Yeah. I mean, all of them, these career public servants, people who work for the government, these are not industries that you get into to get rich. And Washington, D.C. it's an expensive place to try to raise a family or even just live by yourself. And so to see them suffering in this way needlessly, but not only losing their employment, but being villainized for simply being career public servants, I mean, it really is disgusting. And I think that it's angered a lot of people in this region.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, people are furious. I mean, the Republican Party, every four years, the Republicans come out, and Trump was one of these guys who thought this. Every four years, they seem to think, oh, we're going to take Virginia in the presidential. And Trump, I think, was trying to take Virginia in the last presidential. And it's just like a joke. It's never going to happen. Virginia used to be kind of a purple state and actually kind of a red state, briefly. And I mean, you have to think from now on, they might as well just kiss that goodbye. That's just not going to happen. That Virginia is not going to go red. Forget that. You have completely alienated all of Northern Virginia is just furious right now. And we did see in the 2024 election, some of those folks going more Trump going more Republican, but that's been erased. That's not coming back.

[Michael Fanone]

Yeah, no. I mean, as somebody who's lived in this area or in Virginia for pretty much my entire life, I mean, you've seen the suburban sprawl go from Fairfax county and beyond to now where it's Loudoun county and all of these places that were, you know, just the past 10 years were relatively rural areas and voted in a way that was, I think, you know, more traditional. For rural voters to go red is just not that way anymore. And there's, I mean, there's a lot of anger even in communities like that. I mean, where I'm at, which is a very rural area, they've had enough. You know, that first hundred days was. It was like Trump did absolutely everything that he possibly could to piss off some of the people that were his most fervent supporters.

[Jim Acosta]

And I have to think, Mike, because you live out in those parts of Virginia that You were probably hearing from some folks who were saying they were going to vote for Trump this time around. You're probably not too happy about that. I kind of wonder what those folks are thinking now because, I mean, I gotta think there's a lot of, there's a lot of buyer's remorse.

[Michael Fanone]

Yeah, I mean, I hear a lot of the conversation, you know, at the local watering hole is, well, he's just, you know, he's another rich asshole acting like a rich asshole. And you know, I mean, there's not a lot of love for the Democratic Party either.

[Jim Acosta]

Nope, that's true.

[Michael Fanone]

But I think that they are starting to sour on, or have already soured on Trump.

[Jim Acosta]

Yeah, well, we're going to talk people.

[Michael Fanone]

That aren't in the cult.

[Jim Acosta]

Exactly, exactly. I mean, there are folks who are gettable, reasonable folks who are gettable and they might have, might have said, you know what, Biden's too old or I don't like Kamala Harris, or I don't like the inflation thing or gas price, whatever their excuse was, which I don't really put a whole lot of stock into. People voted the way they did there. Then there's, there are the folks who are just the die hard Trump supporters and you see them going down the highway, Mike, they've got the Trump stickers on the car. You know, they're those, those folks. And it's always, it's always some old guy who, you know, looks like he, you know, had too much fun in the 60s. But you know, it's always, it's always somebody who looks like, you know, yeah, that, that looks like a Trump cult person. Those folks you're not going to be able to deprogram and those folks are just not going to deprogram for years. But the rest of the independent folks out there, there are a lot of independents out there who drifted towards Trump and I, they're, I think they're gone.

[Michael Fanone]

I, I agree. And while you're talking about Trump bumper stickers, I'm gonna do a shameless plug for our town hall. So I'm, I've, I have a T shirt for sale. You can see that, see it on my sub stack page. But I've added a couple shirt designs which I'll be unveiling. But I'm going to give you guys some hints. So we did do some bumper stickers in this, the traditional maga, you know, Trump bumper sticker style. One of them, John Shea, who, if you watch my substack, I, I did the three hour, you know, byob with Fanon and Friends, where I got tattooed by John. Well, he designed one that's. Designed two, actually. One is the Port Maga supporters, which I think is great. And the other one is I'd rather take a dump in my pants, which was based off of, you know, Trump Vance or Trump pants. Really. But two. Two bumper stickers. You can show your absolute disgust with Donald Trump. And I hope that I sell all thousand of each that I ordered.

[Jim Acosta]

Excellent.

[Michael Fanone]

We start seeing them all over Washington.

[Jim Acosta]

D.C. i love it. Yeah. Maybe on some Teslas out there that they'll work perfectly on the back of a Tesla. On the back of a cyber truck. Just wallpaper the back of that cyber truck with those things.

[Michael Fanone]

Right. Right On Elon Musk's forehead.

[Jim Acosta]

Just make sure. Yeah. And make sure the Tesla is one that you own and not. Don't. Don't vandalize other people's cars. I don't want to come across like that.

[Michael Fanone]

I don't think that's vandalism. I think that's beautification.

[Jim Acosta]

Oh, man. Well, from a legal standpoint, I will laugh at what you're saying. And I will say, mike, I know you're just kidding. Exactly.

[Michael Fanone]

I'm just kidding. That's what I like about you, Jim, is that you're like the guy that reads the fine print after I'm done talking.

[Jim Acosta]

Yes.

[Michael Fanone]

My lawyer, Chris, is a huge fan of yours.

[Jim Acosta]

Oh, man.

[Olivia Troy]

For.

[Michael Fanone]

For all of those reasons, I appreciate that. Yes. Thank you for. We don't. We don't condone violence.

[Jim Acosta]

No.

[Michael Fanone]

You shouldn't put stickers on things that aren't yours.

[Jim Acosta]

That's right.

[Michael Fanone]

That's right.

[Jim Acosta]

Please drive the speed limit. Wear a helmet if you're on a motorcycle. Yeah. The views expressed by Michael Fanon are not necessarily those of the Jim Acosta show or whatever the disclaimer is. Man, it's gonna be great to see you on Monday night. I can't wait for this. It's gonna be a lot of fun. We're gonna light it up. We're gonna. We're gonna, you know, send a message down 14th street or 16th street, whatever it is, right. To 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And the folks are gonna love to hear from you. I know that for a fact because you always bring it. Man.

[Michael Fanone]

I can't wait. I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to see everybody there.

[Jim Acosta]

All right. Make sure you get your tickets. They're going fast. At the Lincoln Theater, June 2, Monday, right here in Washington, D.C. and you can just go to the Lincoln Theater website. It's right there. Easily click on it. Takes you right to the Ticketmaster thing. You can pick that up and, and no problem about it. The other thing, too, I want to mention is if you go on my Instagram and like, I think my most recent one, although I might have to update it because we've got the Rosie o' Donnell ad, you're going to have a chance to win some free tickets. So if you're in the D.C. area, you want to try to win some free tickets, go in there like one of my, one of these things right here and you'll get some free tickets. Mike, great to see you, man. See you on Monday, my buddy.

[Michael Fanone]

Take care.

[Jim Acosta]

All right. Thanks a lot. Really appreciate it. And you know, everybody's coming for Mike. They're not coming for me. They're coming for Mike. For now, we try to get Harry on. Harry, I do believe it's, I did hear that, that he was traveling to Ukraine and somebody asked the question, is Harry going to be back? I hope he's going to be back, but Harry has been here and.

[Michael Fanone]

Sa.