ONE WHOLE YEAR! Our First Anniversary Special with Jennifer Welch, David Pakman, Norm Eisen, and Olivia Troye.

Summary

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The Jim Acosta Show – ONE WHOLE YEAR! Our First Anniversary Special

Guests: David Pakman, Jennifer Welch, Norm Eisen, Olivia Troye
Date: January 28, 2026

Episode Overview

On the one-year anniversary of The Jim Acosta Show, Jim brings together leading figures in independent journalism and advocacy for a wide-ranging, spirited discussion about American democracy under the second Trump administration, the power and necessity of independent media, current political controversies, and the resilience needed from both the press and the public. Guests include David Pakman, Jennifer Welch, Olivia Troye, and Norm Eisen, all offering sharp insights, humor, and hope in the face of ongoing struggles for truth and accountability.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rise and Role of Independent Media

With David Pakman [00:00–02:55]:

• Jim notes the growth and reach of independent shows like Pakman’s and his own, emphasizing the intimacy and direct relationship they offer audiences versus traditional "three-letter network" media.
• David Pakman discusses how technology enabled nontraditional voices like his:
  “I never had anybody hire me and say, hey, I'm putting you on the air. And so without these technologies, there would be no show.” [01:41]
• Both highlight that audiences are less tolerant of false equivalence and "both sidesism," seeking instead truth and directness.

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2. Trump, DHS & the Killing of Alex Pareti

Discussed by Acosta and Pakman [02:55–14:43]:

• Acosta and Pakman dissect Trump and his team’s reaction to the killing of Alex Pareti, noting the attempt to shift blame, dehumanize victims, and avoid accountability.
• Trump’s empathy is shown to be conditional—he “feels worse” when the victim’s family are Trump supporters, which Pakman skewers:
  “The obvious inverse...is that he feels less bad when the people killed are not Trump fans. Right?” [04:12]
• The official language calling Preddy a “domestic terrorist” is criticized, and both note the government’s lack of meaningful internal accountability:
  “DHS and CBP are the ones investigating the actions by DHS and CBP, which doesn't really...none of this has any seriousness attached to it.” —Pakman [06:41]
• Failure of promised gains from Trump immigration policy—housing, jobs, and crime rates are not improved.
  “None of the outcomes we were promised are actually materializing after a year of this.” —Pakman [08:34]

Memorable Quote

“This is no time to bow down to a tyrant. Don't give into the lies. Don't give into the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope.” —Jim Acosta [57:57]

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3. Democratic Response and Congressional Leadership

Schumer’s Profanity and Message [09:57–13:42]:

• Senator Chuck Schumer’s viral, expletive-laced statement against Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem signals a new aggressive posture from Democrats:

  “Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller are fucking liars. Any administration that allows them to continue in office is rotten to its core.” —Chuck Schumer, video played at [09:57]

• Pakman and Acosta debate the tactical difficulties Democrats face, especially with shutdowns and ICE funding:
  “The North Star needs to be in November, effectively end Trump's presidency by taking away control of the House.” —Pakman [10:22]

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4. Internal Republican Dynamics, Media Culture, and Satire

With Jennifer Welch [15:45–27:52]:

• Acosta and Welch lampoon the perpetual online presence of figures like Elon Musk and the performative outrage among the MAGA elite:
  “These men, they act like they're so oppressed...everybody's out to get [Elon], and he's bitching about immigrants, and I'm like, hello, you're an immigrant, right?” —Welch [16:40]
• Welch on what real Democratic leadership means:
  “We will know when Chuck Schumer starts to become effective, when he is hated the way the right hated Nancy Pelosi.” [18:27]
• Both touch on the chaos, division, and rumor-mongering in Trumpworld, comparing it to a reality show with “Real Housewives on crystal meth” energy.
• Speculation about who will become Trump’s next scapegoat, with Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller seen as possible casualties.

Memorable Moment

Discussion of the “Handmaid's Tale” vibes among Trumpworld’s power couples all having children simultaneously:
“It's giving Handmaid's Tale vibes.” —Welch [25:50]

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5. The Perils of Government Overreach and Authoritarian Drift

With Olivia Troye [29:24–36:09]:

• Troye, former national security advisor, warns about growing government overreach, especially post-Pareti killing:
  “They're monitoring dissent, they're monitoring signal chats...what is really happening here with the US Government and the Department of Homeland Security and the amount of overreach that is happening across the department that is being used against Americans.” [31:39]
• On scapegoating within the Trump administration:
  “Getting rid of Greg [Bobino] was just sort of like the fall guy, a distraction...it doesn't take away from the accountability that still needs to happen.” [30:41]
• The broader danger is likened to “the secret police from Russia,” undermining the original purpose of DHS post-9/11. [34:00]

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6. Defending Democracy in Law and Spirit

With Norm Eisen [37:00–45:46]:

• Eisen shares on-the-ground perspectives from Minneapolis, legal action against Trump-era abuses, and the encouraging resilience of courts and public opinion:
  “His [Trump’s] flood the zone has been met with rule of law, shock and awe...case after case around the country.” [40:20]
• Eisen is optimistic about a blue wave and sees hopeful resistance reminiscent of the civil rights movement:
  “The court of public opinion is turning as the court of law has done. So I think that the guardrails are holding. And now you're going to see this surge of the public, including in the electoral space where a blue...tsunami is coming this year.” [42:53]

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7. Anniversary Reflections & Closing Inspiration

Acosta closes the show [52:00–end]:

• Shares personal anecdotes about his rescue dog Duke and the story of “Greg the Plant,” both as metaphors for perseverance.
• Re-emphasizes the importance of unity and resolve:
  “We're just going to have to outlast him. But I will add...Don't give into the lies. Don't give into the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope. And let's do this together. I really think we're going to do this together, folks.” [57:57]
• Expresses deep gratitude to his team, guests, and audience for making the independent show a success and pledges to keep fighting for democratic values.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• “Without these technologies, there would be no show...there's a desire for a more direct relationship.”
  – David Pakman [01:41]

• “What's terrifying is this was kind of predictable back when you got kicked out of the press room during Donald Trump's first term...we can go and find [the First Amendment] if you look up the Bill of Rights right now. It's there. But the willingness to suppress speech was very visible.”
  – David Pakman [11:42]

• Chuck Schumer’s explicit takedown:

  “Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller are fucking liars. Any administration that allows them to continue in office is rotten to its core.”
  [09:57]

• “You have to do more than say fuck. You have to do fuck. It's time to do fuck, if that makes any sense.”
  – Jim Acosta [19:44]

• “All of these sociopaths are like buddies and they have integrity in their friendships. They're just as shitty to each other behind the scenes as they are to the American public.”
  – Jennifer Welch [23:31]

• On public resilience:

  “Their intimidation tactics...they're not working, regardless of what they may do and how much they may terrorize our communities.”
  – Olivia Troye [49:04]

• Norm Eisen on fighting back:

  “It's such an honor and a privilege, Jim, to wish you a happy anniversary...truly another great champion of truthful, not neutral.” [44:26]

• Acosta’s core message:

  “Don't give into the lies. Don't give into the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope.” [57:57]

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Important Timestamps

• [00:00–02:55] – Pakman and Acosta on independent media’s impact
• [02:55–14:43] – Trump & DHS, character assassination, lack of accountability
• [09:57; 17:42] – Chuck Schumer’s statement (played twice, with guest reactions)
• [15:45–27:52] – Jennifer Welch, Musk satire, GOP infighting, “Handmaid’s Tale” references
• [29:24–36:09] – Olivia Troye on government overreach and scapegoating
• [37:00–45:46] – Norm Eisen on legal resistance and court victories
• [52:00–end] – Acosta’s closing story, message of hope, gratitude

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Tone and Atmosphere

• The episode is candid, passionate, and, at times, darkly comic — proud of independent, truth-telling journalism and committed to democratic ideals.
• There is camaraderie among guests, with mutual admiration and humor, reinforcing the gravity and urgency of the moment without succumbing to despair.

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Conclusion & Takeaways

The Jim Acosta Show’s first anniversary episode is a testament to the enduring value of independent journalism. Against the ongoing crises of American democracy, the conversation is both a critique of unchecked power and a rallying cry for unity, hope, and principled defiance. The call to action: Hold on to truth, engage, persist, and rescue one another even as we fight to rescue our democracy — together.

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For more, full video and new content: jimacosta.substack.com

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Look at that. Welcome to the Jim Acosta Show. It's another day that ends in Y and Donald Trump's assault on American democracy. It's also our first anniversary. It's one year of independent media, one year of the Jim Acosta Show. So really appreciate everybody tuning in and being there for us over the last year. And our special guest to kick off this this hour is David Pakman, who is an independent journalist on YouTube. We all know David's work. He is a force to be reckoned with on YouTube and so many other platforms. He's here on Substack as well. So for folks who watch us on Substack, it's always great to see David and Duke has been kind of circulating in this. In this room here where I do my show in my little home studio. I brought treats. People ask all the time, david, where's Duke? Duke doesn't come and visit you anymore. It's because he's gotten used to me just do talking into my laptop in my. In my studio every day, and he just goes and sits on the couch and behaves himself. You probably can relate to some of this. Yeah. But, David, great to see you as always. Thanks for coming on.

[B]

Thank you so much. It's good to be here. And, you know, they. They say the first year is the toughest, Jim, and I think that that is probably true. And now. Now you're beyond that.

[A]

I want to talk about today's news, but I also want to get your take on media and independent media and why it's so important what the journey has been like for you. Because, I mean, you've built an incredible following on. On YouTube and so many other places. Apple podcasts, what is that? What has this been like for you? And why do you think it's just booming the way it is right now?

[B]

Listen, for me, it's been the. The only reason I can do this. My background is different than yours is because of these platforms that I came up contemporaneously with where people were starting to do news and politics on YouTube and pod, etc. Because I never had anybody hire me and say, hey, I'm putting you on the air. And so without these technologies, that there would be no show. And I think what's really interesting about folks like you and others who have come from legacy media, and now we're doing the independent thing, there's a desire for a more direct relationship. Some people say parasocial, and it has kind of negative connotations, but I don't think it's a negative thing. The sort of like amorphous blob talking head on a three letter network is not as appealing from an individual standpoint, I think, as it once was. And people want a more direct relationship with the people that they're getting their, their, certainly their opinion and maybe their news from. And I think that this, this is more intimate and it's more personal. And I think now, especially as people are sort of less connected in some ways than we have been in the past, having a circle of sources that feel more like people you want to talk to just appeals to the average person in a new way.

[A]

Yeah. And I think also the directness that you bring to your program, and I think people want that these days. They don't want both sidesism. They don't want people beating around the bush and tiptoeing through the tulips. I mean, just to dive into the news the way Donald Trump and his team have been responding to the death of the killing, the murder of Alex Pareti in Minneapolis. I mean, just last night, Donald Trump was talking to a reporter and he was asked about these deaths of Renee Goode and Alex Preddy. And he of course made it about himself, which is so awful. But let's watch this and let's start talking about this.

[C]

When they saw the gun, how they saw the gun, everything else, bottom line, it was terrible. Both of them were terrible. The other was terrible too. And I'm not sure about his parents, but I know her parents were big Trump fans. Makes me feel bad anyway. But I mean, I guess you could say even worse. They were tremendous Trump people, Trump Trump fans. And, you know, the daughter was, she was, I don't know if you could say radicalized maybe. Radicalized, maybe not. I don't know. But I mean, David, I hate to see that.

[A]

You know, I think the top part of that is really the relevant. I mean, he feels worse for Renee Good's family because the parents he says, are Trump supporters. I mean, this, to me, it typifies Donald Trump and who he is.

[B]

Yeah. And because the obvious inverse of this is that he feels less bad when the people killed are, are not Trump fans. Right. That's the only way to interpret that. You know, the thing I think is really interesting about his reaction and Caroline Levitt and others to the killing of Alex Preddy is that they seem to know deep down that this one is going to be hard to justify. I think both are tough to justify. But in the aftermath of the Renee Goode, you know, there's the angle where the officer sort of makes contact with the car on purpose and then that's used as a justification for the shots that were fired. You don't have any of that plausible deniability with this one. And so that's initially it was oh, assassin, domestic terrorist. But now when Levitt is asked about it, even Trump himself yesterday, he goes, well, we're investigating, we're investigating. We want to get to the bottom of this because I think they all realize this one is not plausible.

[A]

Yeah, well, and the other way that Trump and his people went after like Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem referring to Preddy as an assassin and a domestic terrorist or so, it was absolutely disgraceful. It was character assassination after they murdered him. And one of the spokespersons who is just awful over at DHS was asked on Fox Business whether she agreed with the term domestic terrorist being applied to Alex party and she wouldn't even deny it. We should, let's watch this to play this. I still can't believe this one after.

[D]

I heard Trisha, is it just the feds investigating? Are you going to bring in local authorities for a full scale investigation?

[E]

My understanding is right now Homeland Security investigators are leading this. FBI is supporting and then there is a separate internal review at CBP as well. But Stuart, I have to say this is a tragedy. Alex, Freddy, his family are my prayers and we want to get answers for him, his family and for the American people with utmost transparency.

[D]

Now, Secretary Noem accused Alex Pretty of being a domestic terrorist. Is the administration standing by that language?

[E]

So initial statements were made after reports from CBP on the ground. That was a very chaotic scene. We know that our ICE law enforcement are facing rampant violence against them, a highly coordinated campaign. So that is why this investigation is so important, so that we can get accurate.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, David, I mean the long story short is she doesn't, she doesn't like distance the department from using that kind of language. And it's just disgraceful.

[B]

Yeah. And I can't believe I'm saying this, Jim, but Rand Paul has it completely right on the investigation she's referring to, which is, wait a second, DHS and CBP are the ones investigating the actions by DHS and cbp, which doesn't really. We've investigated ourselves and found that we acted completely fine. This is not, none of this has any seriousness attached to it.

[A]

No. And it also makes me wonder if they're going to start searching around. They're undoubtedly trying to find something in Alex's background so they can say aha. See he was a radical. He was this, he was that.

[B]

Well, I think they found it potentially. I don't know if you heard this, that a week ago he had an encounter or a week prior to the weekend's encounter, he had an encounter at a different incident where I guess he broke a ribbon. And so what I think they. They are starting to maybe think about going with. I don't know that it'll work, is he was there with a vendetta because of what happened a week prior. But the thing is, we have the video. Either he pulled a gun or he didn't. And the video shows that he didn't. Right. So I don't think it really changes the story, but it's something they've got and they're kind of chewing on now.

[A]

Yeah. And Stephen Miller and his wife, Katie Miller, they've been online trying to, you know, distance themselves from Stephen Miller, saying that. That Alex Pardy was an assassin and all this stuff. But, I mean, I looked earlier this morning, he had not taken those tweets down. They still have the tweets up. And that's beside the point. The point is they killed him. They killed him. And the reason why this is happening in Minneapolis is because Donald Trump promised a mass deportation campaign, and Stephen Miller has been his top henchman, telling and prodding DHS to go more, go further, do more, don't stop. And to me, the responsibility for these deaths lies with them.

[B]

And on the other side of the ledger is all of the promises that were made about how this entire campaign was going to improve the country for the average person, which, by the way, none of it has happened. You know, these immigrants, documented and undocumented, particularly undocumented, they're putting upward pressure on housing prices. If we can get them out, housing prices will come down. Hasn't happened. We don't have enough jobs for Americans because of these undocumented migrants. Once we get them out, prices are going to come down. Hasn't happened. The crime rate will go down dramatically. The crime rate's been declining for 30 years, and there's been no inflection point since this program started a year ago. So whatever you think about the legality and the morality of it, which I think is an atrocity, but even if you don't have a problem with it, none of the outcomes we were promised are actually materializing after a year of this.

[A]

That's so true. And it's why he's in so much hot water with the public. It's why he was in Iowa last night. And they had these. These signs behind him saying lower prices. And I saw somebody make the comment. Was this a plea from the people of Iowa begging Trump for lower prices? I mean, that, you know, that. That thought crossed my mind, too. We have to talk about how the Democrats are dealing with this. David. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, put out a video going right after Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller. Let's play a little bit of that and get your thoughts.

[D]

Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller are fucking liars. Any administration that allows them to continue in office is rotten to its core. The vote on appropriations is coming up Thursday night, and Democrats will not let the Republicans move forward if ICE and DHS funding are in the.

[A]

Yeah, David, it looks like Chuck Schumer has gotten the memo.

[B]

You know, when the swears are scripted, they don't hit quite as hard, I have to say. When it's on it. When it's on a prompter. No, listen, I, I think the complexity with this is it is true that DHS includes FEMA and TSA and the Coast Guard, and so they all. It always ends up messy. It's like with the government shutdowns, we got to shut it down on principle, but then people do suffer when there is a shutdown, and who ends up getting blamed? I don't think that Democrats are in an enviable position with regard to the levers that they necessarily have. And I think the North Star needs to be in November, effectively end Trump's presidency by taking away control of the House. I think that that's much more tractable and emotionally salient sort of thing in terms of the short term in this bill. I don't know.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, it seems to me at this point the Democrats have no choice but to vote down funding for ICE unless there are massive reforms put into place. And, you know, it also seems to me that it's not really, and I've said this on my show, that it's not really a vote for funding ice. It's a vote for whether we're going to fund a secret police force in this country that acts with, you know, with no accountability whatsoever. And they've been told that they don't. They don't have to worry about any kind of accountability. Stephen Miller has said that. JD Vance has said that.

[B]

What's terrifying is this was kind of predictable back when you got kicked out of the press room during Donald Trump's first term, in the sense of the First Amendment exists on paper. We can go and find it if you look up the Bill of Rights right now. It's there. But the willingness to suppress speech was very visible, as you very well know, from Trump's first term. We had this video on my show today of this ICE or this CBP officer saying, if you raise your voice, I will erase your voice. Incredible video. And this is. This is the logical conclusion of giving another term to a guy who has shown himself to be so hostile to the First Amendment. And by the way, not that I'm a gun guy, but now it's even with the Second Amendment where they are saying, well, he was there with a gun. Yes, that's legal. That's what you've been saying. He. Trump even said he had ammunition with him. Most people who have guns have ammunition. It's wild to see the justifications now.

[A]

Right. And I. And I think people seized on it from a Second Amendment standpoint, which I totally understand that. That's why, you know, a lot of people on the right went after him for saying that. But to me, my read of the way Trump said that is that he was excusing what the officers did.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

That he was basically saying, well, they, you know, they. They killed him because he had a gun on him. And that doesn't wash. That's not. That's not how it works, man. That's not how it works.

[B]

No, it's not. And that's what I told my audience was this isn't really a change of Trump's deeply held beliefs about gun ownership, because I don't think he has deeply held beliefs about gun ownership. The same way that I struggle to believe he suddenly found Jesus at age 68 when he decided to run for president, or that he became anti abortion when he was 68 and decided to run for president. I think all of it is, do I get credit or do I get blame? And the only way to argue that his ICE and CBP forces don't get the blame is to blame the person who was shot. And the only thing you can say really, is, well, he had a gun on him. Even if that's completely legal.

[A]

Right. And it seems to me this doesn't really end until they really do fire somebody. I mean, the whole thing with Greg Bevino. Oh, Greg Bevino, he's been, you know, put out to pasture. He's going out to California to resume his old job and that sort of thing. And I guess now they're saying that some of the officers involved have been put on leave. I mean, that's. That's the Bare minimum. And it seems to me somebody needs to be fired. Kristi Noem, I mean, she's. She's in charge of dhs. American citizens are getting blown away on the streets of our cities. How does she keep her job? In any other administration, she would have already been gone.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, in any other administration, this never would have happened, probably so.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

She never would have found herself in that situation. I do think someone is going to have to be fired. Trump was asked, is she doing a good job? He said, yes. Is she going to quit? He said, no. They're going to have to orchestrate an exit for somebody here if the political tide keeps turning against these. These operations, which it is, no question about it.

[A]

Well, David, I really appreciate you coming on and helping us mark one year of the show. How many years have you done your show? I guess I should ask that question.

[B]

Oh, I don't even want to say. It's like asking someone their age, you know? No, I mean, it's been 20 years. Really?

[A]

What?

[B]

Yeah, in some shit. When some. It started as a. As a. Just radio when I was an undergrad in college. As a serious matter, as I would say, it's probably been more like 12 years or something like that.

[A]

Amazing. Well, you've been a bright light for a lot of people out there looking for new kinds of independent journalism, new kinds of independent media. Sorry that there are so many guys like me now crowding into the space.

[B]

I see it as good. I. I see it as we're making the pie bigger, quite frankly, so I think it's great.

[F]

And.

[B]

And, you know, Don, Don Lemon is amazing what he's been able to build over the first. I guess it's a couple years that he's been doing it. I think it's amazing.

[A]

It really is. Well, David, great to see you. Thank you so much. Let's do this again. Anytime.

[G]

Just let us know.

[A]

And I would love to continue this conversation. Really appreciate it.

[F]

All right.

[B]

Thanks, Jim. Take care.

[A]

All right. You too. Really appreciate it. And somebody else who's been lighting it up lately is Jennifer Welch, who has the wildly successful. I've had a podcast. There's Jennifer. Jen, great to see you. The last time you and I spoke, we caused a shitstorm of trouble.

[H]

Oh, my God, it was crazy. How are you? Happy birthday to the Costa show. Yes. The last time we colluded, we pissed off the world's richest man who spends his time chronically online and allegedly snorting ketamine and tweeting about Jim acosta and Jennifer Welch.

[A]

Yeah. And acting like a man child. I mean, I looked this up. He. He and I are roughly the same age, but, you know, I just. I wonder, like, what is going on in his world where he feels like he has to be perpetually online. So. J.D. vance, why are you perpetually online? You have real fucking jobs. You should be doing other shit.

[H]

I know. And, you know, these men, they act like they're so oppressed. Like, if you read Elon's tweets, it's a series of, like, he's the most oppressed person on the planet, and he's a victim, and people don't respect rich people, and everybody's out to get him, and he's bitching about immigrants, and I'm like, hello, you're an immigrant, right?

[A]

Yeah, he is. And. And he seems to want this country to be like his old country, back in the bad old days of apartheid. But, Jen, one thing that we have to talk about is one of our favorite subjects, and you brought it up when I was with you on the I've had it podcast, and that is your friend Chuck Schumer. I don't know if you've seen this video. I'm gonna. I played it with David Pakman a few moments ago. I intended to save it just for you, but I have to play it again because Chuck swore and he said, and we should play it. And I want to get your reaction to this. I mean, I think he has a point. But let's. Let's play this.

[H]

Okay.

[D]

See, Stephen Miller are fucking liars. Any administration that allows them to continue in office is rotten to its core. The vote on appropriations is coming up Thursday night, and Democrats will not let the Republicans move forward if ICE and DHS funding are in the.

[A]

What do you think of that? I mean, we clipped the top of that a little bit. I probably broke things because I asked to play it twice, but he said, Stephen Miller and Christine are liars. Good for him for swearing. I. I have to say, we have to give him points for that. But your thoughts on this? It seems like he's gotten the memo, and they're. I don't. They're not gonna fund dhs. We'll see.

[H]

When I first saw it, I thought it was AI, you know, which happens.

[E]

To people our age.

[H]

I was like, this has to be AI. And then, of course, I'm like, okay, it's legit. And here's the thing, and here's what I think the establishment ruling Democrats have to understand. If you guys grow a Spine. We don't have time to go back and go, well, you did this here and you did this there. We have to resist, and we have to resist entirely. And we will know when Chuck Schumer starts to become effective, when he is hated the way the right hated Nancy Pelosi. And this is how I gauge Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. They are irrelevant in right wing media. Nobody talks about them. Think about how much Mitch McConnell terrorized us. I hated that MFer. I mean, he occupied real estate in my brain. So if Chuck Schumer and Hakeem, if you can get the right wing and you can get their attention and all the, you know, batshit podcasters on the right are making clips and they start hating you, then we'll know you're really legitimate and you're being successful and you're scaring them. But I cannot think of an episode from any of these right wing podcasters where they just like, let's rip Hakeem or Chuck. They don't, because they're not a threat to them.

[A]

You have to do more than say fuck. You have to do fuck. It's time to do fuck, if that makes any sense. And, you know, I remember Harry Reid when he was the Senate Majority Leader. He was from Nevada. He was an old boxer back in the day, and he petrified the Republican because he knew how to tie up center procedures into knots. And that's what Chuck Schumer needs to do. I mean, and part of it is, you know, Chuck Schumer came from a world of like, he. There was a saying that the most dangerous place in Washington was between Chuck Schumer and a camera, because he was more of like a showboat back in the days, in his younger days here in Washington. So I just don't. Does he have it in him to grind this to a hold? I mean, to me, this is a big moment. This is sort of like put up or shut up. Either you want to you're going to do this on Thursday like you said, or that's it. It seems to me, I hope there's.

[H]

Not some deal where they're like, okay, because, you know, there's this theory that the Democrats have the rotating villains, like these seven that didn't vote and in the, in the House. And so I hope that we don't have some sort of rotating villain situation in the Senate. Chuck Schumer does not, nor does Hakeem Jeffries, in my opinion, understand this moment the way the rest of us have. I don't Know if you saw this article yesterday or the day before in the Atlantic, and the guy's like, I've been reluctant to call it fascism up until now, but I can no longer deny it. And I'm like, are you kidding me right now? Seriously, like, you're 11 years late to this party. And so, sadly, we have, you know, dip shits like that in our own party, but they're.

[A]

The next will be Barry Weiss next. Next year, Barry Weiss will say, I guess I was wrong. It is fascism. And I will literally have a stroke.

[H]

She is the worst. She is the absolute worst. I will say the only, like, cherry on top of all of this, like, Barry Wise, you know, like, she is tanking CBS spectacularly. And typically, I don't like watching people fail. I don't get any.

[A]

I agree.

[H]

Joy out of that. It's not something that I, you know, shop or watch or do anything with. But these fascists and fascist apologists, I fucking love it. I love watching them lose. I love watching them fail. Especially when they took something near and dear to us, 60 minutes, and turn it into a complete shit show. All of those poor journalists that work so hard on all those stories.

[A]

That's right. And I mean, and the other thing, too, is we have to talk about Stephen Miller and Katie Miller and the way they're trying to worm their way out of Stephen Miller calling Alex Preddy an assassin and a domestic terrorist over the weekend. And he's saying, well, it's because I was told by CBP and D. Ass that this is what happened. Blah, blah, blah, blah. I mean, he. His tweets are still up the last time I checked. And give me a break. He's the reason why this is happening.

[H]

He's 100%. Yes, it's Stephen Miller. He's the architect of this. But here's what I'm reading into this. So they're like, okay, somebody's gonna have to take the fall. Of course, Kristi Noemi is just an insufferable narcissist. You know, they all hate her, guys. They're like, you know, she's constantly changing costumes. She's dumber than a box of hot rocks. She's screwing Corey Lewandowski. She's a liability. Let's throw her. Throw her under the bus.

[A]

Yeah.

[H]

So then she's like, listen up, MFers, if you throw me under the bus, I'm taking Stephen down with me. And then here's the thing we have to focus on. So J.D. vance and Marco, they want to be the heir apparent Apparent. And Trump plays them against each other. It's called Ruth Ben Giott told me. It's a, a divide and rule. And a lot of autocrats do this. It's not like all of these sociopaths are like buddies and they have integrity in their friendships. They're just as shitty to each other behind the scenes as they are to the American public.

[A]

Right.

[H]

So it's going to be interesting.

[A]

Evil Veep. It's like veep, but evil.

[H]

Totally. Who is, who is putting in Trump's here. Yeah, I think Stephen's got to go, too, because, you know, some of these Arab parents want Stephen gone because Stephen does all of the, the book work and reading that Trump's too lazy to do. And so it's going to be interesting because he's held it together pretty strongly that his core cabinet and, and people in his administration much better than Trump 1.0 for the first year. But these fissures are starting and, you know, they are just horrible to each other. I bet it's just the cattiest, pettiest gossip fest at that place.

[A]

Yeah, it's like Real Housewives on crystal meth. I, I have to think and, but I have a theory on this, and it is, is that Donald Trump is going to start throwing people over. But board in his world, the loyalty only goes in one direction. And once these people become politically toxic to him with the pollsters and the focus groups, that's when they start going overboard. And so I think Christine very well could go overboard between now and the end of the year. She's probably going to be the first. And, and I will tell you, I mean, I was talking about this with a friend just today. To me, the reason why she is there is because she killed her dog.

[H]

Totally.

[A]

That is why Donald Trump picked.

[H]

And the goat.

[A]

And the goat.

[H]

That is rip the goat.

[A]

Yeah, that's right. That's why he picked her to be Secretary of Homeland Security. He probably said. And I would, I would bet good money that these words came out of his mouth like, well, she killed her dog. You know, she'll do anything. You know what I mean? I think that's what he thinks of her.

[H]

And so here's, I think Kristi Noem, I think she's such a, a narcissist that if she gets fired, like, it's going to be such a wound, a narcissistic wound, she is going to attack back. And, and I think she's going to take Stephen Miller and I think it's going to be delicious for Us that are consuming this. And because Stephen Miller, you know, he's ruthless. But you saw Katie Miller trying to provide cover for her husband online. They're all so weird. And here's something else. This is just kind of gossipy, but I'm sure your listeners like it.

[G]

Sure.

[H]

I think it's weird that Caroline Levitt and Katie Miller and Usha Vance are all pregnant at the exact same time.

[A]

Oh, God. That's true.

[H]

It's giving handmade tale vibes.

[A]

It is Handmaid's Tale. That's true. And so who's Aunt. Aunt Lydia, I guess. Who would Aunt Lydia be? Is that rfk Stephen Miller.

[H]

Stephen Miller.

[A]

Under his eye. You know, let the Lord open or whatever it is.

[H]

They said online there are all these memes Usha's child would be called of Donald.

[A]

Oh, no. God. And to me, it's a. It's a miracle. It is a miracle that. That she is with child. Consider that he's got a selection of sofas, I would assume over at the eeob, you know, there's a wide array of furniture options for the vice president, just in case. But, Jen, I just have to say I had such a blast with you when we were together up in New York doing your show. And you. I, you know, you were talking in the New Yorker the other day. You're everywhere. I'm really glad and happy for you to see what this has become for you. It's just. It's great.

[H]

Thank you. It's been so awesome. And the best part has been meeting people like you, who, when I lived in Oklahoma City, like, I knew you, but you didn't know me. But you were my guy, Jim, that was, you know, in the White House and giving them hell and doing great journalism. So that's been really surreal meeting. Here comes my dogs barking A. It's been really surreal meeting people that I spent a lot of time with. Amazing that y'.

[C]

All.

[H]

You didn't know that I was spending time with you. So it's been really awesome and I love collaborating with you. It was so. We had the best day in New York and we pissed off Elon Musk, which we both equally wear as a badge of honor.

[A]

They got so pissed at us and they freaked out, and we were trending on Twitter for a while, and all of his little minions, all his little monkey bots that he unleashes, they were going to nuts. And I was like, mission accomplished. Thank you very much. But, Jen, let's keep doing this over and over as much as we can And I'll let you get to your doggies. I have my little doggy off camera. But it's always great to see you.

[H]

You too, Jim. And happy birthday to the Gym Acosta show.

[A]

And thank you so much. We appreciate it. Thank you, Jen. Great to see you.

[H]

Bye.

[A]

Bye. And there's your little guy right there.

[H]

Okay, there.

[A]

Yeah, that's Tubby.

[H]

Yeah, there he is.

[G]

Bye, little buddy.

[A]

Bye. Bye. Jen. Yes, she, I mean, Jennifer Welch is. I think she epitomizes the possibilities when it comes to independent media because, you know, her voice is now an essential voice in the national conversation. People want to know what Jennifer Welch has to say about things. And when people, when she starts talking, people are listening. And she, I think she, she, she really crystallizes this no fucks to give attitude that so many Americans have right now. The stakes are so high and you need a hard charging gal from Oklahoma, I think, to set people straight. And so I feel very grateful to be a friend of Jen's and, and be a part of her independent media universe. And I, you know, I hope it's. It's likewise on her end. I suspect it is. We've got some other great folks who are going to be jumping in and dropping in over the next half an hour or so. I believe Norm Eisen is going to be joining us. Olivia Troy is going to be joining us. So stay tuned for that and. Well, wait a minute. Hang on a second. Oh, Olivia is here. Olivia's here. Let's bring in Olivia. Then there's Olivia Troy, our returning champion. I was trying to think of this earlier today, Olivia. Has anybody been on this show more than you?

[I]

I don't know.

[A]

Look.

[I]

Happy anniversary.

[A]

Thank you.

[I]

Yes.

[A]

Come on, what do we have? Oh, my gosh, the bubbly is pouring.

[I]

Come on. You know, I show up with some champagne and I love a good hat.

[H]

I don't even know if you can see it.

[I]

Do you see it?

[A]

I love it. I see it. Yes.

[I]

A large glass, special glass. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

American drink again. Absolutely. No question about it.

[I]

So cheers to you.

[A]

I have to, I have to make a point of not doing this during the week too much or else we'll have big problems. But I, you know, Olivia, you know, I've been talking to David Pakman and Jen Welch about all the news and everything, and it, it's really hard to wrap our brains about around what's happening right now because it has been so sad and surreal and un American, what we're watching. What's been your takeaway from the last several days. Because I feel like we're just. We're still in this moment as much as Trump and all those people. Stephen Miller trying to move on. We saw Stephen, Katie Miller trying to, you know, change the message. Oh, he didn't. You know, he. He only said this because DHS told him to say this and all this. Your thoughts on all this?

[I]

Look, I think there needed to be a fall guy.

[A]

Yeah.

[I]

And right now, it was great.

[H]

Bobino.

[I]

And I think here's the thing. The rest of the apparatus is still in place, and we know that this is Stephen Miller's entire vision being played out. And I think as long as that individual is in charge and running his entire playbook, I don't think this really changes. And I think I. I think getting rid of Greg was just sort of like the fall guy, a distraction of this because it doesn't take away from the accountability that still needs to happen. I know that people are changing their narratives publicly right now. Even Stephen Miller is kind of trying to figure out how to navigate and walk it back because they know that the public was persistent and they didn't waiver. And I think it goes to speak to the power of the people. But the other thing that has been walked back is the amount of government overreach that we're seeing with the way that these agents are monitoring people, they're monitoring dissent, they're monitoring signal chats. And so I think with things like that, we really have to take a step back and say, okay, what is really happening here with the US Government and the Department of Homeland Security and the amount of overreach that is happening across the department that is being used against Americans. And I think that is. That, to me, is the one takeaway here that I think doesn't mean that we have to stay focused on and remember.

[A]

That's right. I mean, and to me, you know Stephen. You know he. And you know Stephen well, Olivia, he lives for this stuff. And so on Saturday, this notion that, oh, he was just putting out these tweets based on what he was being told by CBP and dhs, he was retweeting people like Amy Klobuchar and Chris Murphy and I think the. At Democrat handle for the Democratic Party, the dnc, and he was trying to have this war of words with them, which he knows whips up the. The crazies on. On X and gets the MAGA people going on X. He was trying to shape the narrative. They. They were trying to tar and feather Alex Preddy because they had killed him in cold blood.

[I]

They did. And what I would say is just watch the signals from the top. Right. So right now they're saying Tom Homan is going in, he's negotia fate that he's out there in Minneapolis right now. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is messaging erratic on social media. And so the message to the people, to ICE agents, to the workforce, by the way, who is paying attention to this is the leadership at the top and what they're signaling. And so I think that's the one thing that doesn't go away. So I don't, I don't get, you know, Tom maybe in there having meetings and pretending that this is all in good faith behind the scenes, and maybe he personally is trying to figure out how to navigate this apparatus himself. Right. But it doesn't, it doesn't change anything, I think, and that's why we have to continue to be vigilant. Call out Christine.

[F]

No.

[I]

Even though, you know, she's obviously, she's gone public and said, everything I'm doing is because of Trump.

[A]

I saw that. What'd you think of that?

[I]

You know, I, you know, I was like, yeah, she's actually telling the truth because we know who's actually running that department. And it's, it's not her, really. She's kidding ordish from the top. And so I think even she's been like, okay, I have to, you know, they're going to throw me under the bus. Which we all know is what happens in this circle. That is what happens with the leadership when you are on Trump's cabinet. But I don't see things changing for the time being, Jim. And I think it was a really, really dark moment in terms of what we're seeing, in terms of constraints of the department and how it's being, how it's being utilized.

[A]

Well, and you were the national Security advisor to Mike Pence. And so you know this all too well. And I'll just remind this to the viewers at home, the Department of Homeland Security was created because of 9 11. It exists to help stovepipe information inside the federal government. So we don't have another 911. And it is being run by the Keystone Cops and it looks like the secret police from Russia. And this is not Homeland Security, as we were, you and I were saying the other day.

[H]

Yeah.

[I]

And when you combine that with the overreach that we're seeing at the Department of Justice, when you combine that with the leadership there, when you combine it with the head of the fba, Cash Patel, who's incompetent. Like when you have all of this reckless leadership in this way that is basically there to just do Trump's bidding. That is where you get people that are concerned about civil liberties and privacy and civil rights and what is happening here, because there were concerns when DHS was created right back after 911, there were concern that this could happen. What we're seeing play out right now.

[A]

Well, and, and one of our favorite people, Olivia, I think, is standing by is Norm Eisen. Standing by. We should bring in Norm if he's there. I think he's there. There's Norm right there. Norm, great to see you.

[I]

Hi, Norm.

[A]

Norm, Can. Can Norm hear me? Oh, we got to unmute Norm. See, unmute Norm. You might have the. The mute button on there. These things happen. Norm was still. Don't hear Norm. He's unmuted. How about now, Norm? How about now?

[I]

Hey, what gives me an opportunity to take a sip of the show?

[A]

It's a fitting way to ring in one year of the Jim Acosta show. We as, from time to time, we have the gremlins in the machine, nor maybe try to X out, come back in if you can. I can't hold Norm up too long because Norm is doing important work for the American people. He's in Minneapolis. And so we'll see if Norm can just jump back in. But, Olivia, very quickly, the other headline we should talk about is why on earth is the FBI going into voting offices in Atlanta, in. In Georgia? Crazy.

[I]

I. I saw that headline, breaking news today, and I was thinking to myself, once again, this is the FBI doing the president's bidding. This has been litigated over and over. Right. There have been court cases on this. There has. Rudy Giuliani has had to pay a settlement for election workers that were targeted as a result of the lies that were stated about what happened down in Fulton County, Georgia. And now we have the FBI issuing this one warrant and going down there and executing it. And for what? I mean, we have. We've already seen this play out. It has been litigated in court. And I think, one, it's a distraction, and two, I think it's a sign to come of intimidation in terms of our upcoming elections.

[A]

And there's Norm there. Norm, I think we hear you. Now. We gotcha.

[F]

Have you got me, Jim?

[A]

You're coming in loud and clear, my friend. Great to see you.

[F]

Great. Nice to see you. And happy anniversary.

[A]

Thank you, Norm.

[F]

What. What an anniversary gift to. To you and to the nation that you have My friend Olivia Troy, another great champion. Hi, Norm of democracy. Hi, Olivia. Yeah, the little technical hiccup that we had with the sound is very fitting because I was on with Jim, Olivia, a year ago on his first or one of his very first live streams, and my phone fell over in the middle of the interview.

[A]

But it is. It's what we deal with. We're doing this at home. We're doing this on the fly. We're doing this for the first time in many cases. And it. And I think the audience, they love it. I think they prefer it if we drop the phone or knock the computer over or something like that. It's real.

[F]

It's like the golden age of television. We are pioneers. Pioneers. And the two of you are such pioneers in standing up for our democracy and in being unafraid.

[A]

You, too, Norm, but you, too. And you're in Minneapolis, and I think I was on with Coffee with the Contrarians earlier today. And, Norm, you and I were talking about this. You said that you were in a secure, undisclosed location, sort of like Dick Cheney back in the day, but you've been doing some stuff out there. I'm gonna. I'm trying, again, in a very muted way, to say what you're doing in Minneapolis, but just being there, Norm, on top of whatever you're doing in Minneapolis is, I think, sending a really positive and wonderful message to the American people across the country that a democracy defender like yourself is still on the front lines for justice, and Minneapolis needs justice right now.

[F]

Well, thank you, Jim. I've actually completed my work, and I'm now in Chicago.

[A]

Oh, very good.

[F]

Yes. I'm fresh off the. Fresh off the plane from Minneapolis, and I'll do some legal work here in Chicago. You know, when, as we did in the first year of Trump at Democracy Defenders Action and Democracy Defenders Fund, 25049 legal cases and matters against the Trump administration and in favor of our Constitution. It was so meaningful to be in Minneapolis to meet with civil rights leaders, legal leaders, community members, my wonderful friend AG Keith Ellison and so many others. And now, with my suitcase and my briefcase are packed, it's on to Chicago. And then after that, I'll be traveling to another undisclosed location. As we get the 249 cases of 2026 ready, Jim and Norm, I have.

[A]

To ask you your sense of things one year in, because in addition to one year of the show, it's basically one year of Trump. Are we. Are the. Are the guardrails? Are the legal guardrails? Are the guardrails? Of our courts holding. What's your assessment of that?

[F]

You know, the death, devastation and destruction that Trump and his cronies have wrought have been vast, make no mistake about it. But the his flood the zone has been met with rule of law, shock and awe. And in case after case around the country, many of them the landmark cases, getting the courts to rule that Trump's U.S. attorneys are illegitimate and then filing a brief that helped the Tish, James and Jim Comey baseless prosecutions be thrown out, defending. We just filed a case today to prevent firings at FEMA in the middle of a nationwide snowstorm, if you can imagine it. And Having defended over 50,000 federal government employees from wrongful termination up at the Supreme Court. I was just there. I'll be there again on birthright citizenship, getting some of the first rulings, holding ice back, working with our wonderful municipal clients like the city of Los Angeles. It's been such a meaningful year in the court of law and then, of course, in the court of public. And Olivia has signed some of our briefs where we represent conservatives. In the tariffs case, we were a conservative voice in the Supreme Court. And I think the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court's going to listen to those conservative voices, Jim. So I think the guardrails are holding in the court of law. And now we move. We saw this in Minneapolis as part of the reason I went to Minneapolis, yes, to do some legal work, but more fundamentally, to see that extraordinary spirit court of public opinion. Public opinion is turning on Trump. The three of us were very early to say this man wants to be a dictator. And through his own overreach, he's stimulated. It reminds me of the civil rights movement. 1963, Birmingham Bull Connor, the Dogs Attacking the Children's Crusade, 1965, Selma, the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The court of public opinion is turning as the court of law has done. So I think that the guardrails are holding. And now you're going to see this surge of the public, including in the electoral space where a blue. It's not even a wave, it's a tsunami is coming this year.

[A]

Well, and Norm, one thing I should point out is you were the very first person that I had on what we were, we called it the Jim Acosta show yet, but it was, that was the, it was the genesis of it. It was still coming out of the womb, I suppose. Let's play just a little bit of this video and I, I swear I'll get you on your way because I know you just got to Chicago and boy, are Your arms to work on my set behind me is one of the issues.

[F]

Well, that's part of the charm of substack, Jim. There we go. Now we're live. Now it's all the friends are coming back.

[A]

Eagle has landed. Yeah, and. And I've got to work on my back background. Remember when we used to have the Room Raider score during COVID and the Room Raider guy would say 10 out of 10 or he would say 8 out of 10. Need more artwork. I'm getting like a 3 out of 10.

[F]

I got nothing. Well, Jim, you have the basic, which is you have, you have the right, you have the right camera set up.

[A]

Okay.

[F]

I maintained my room Raider. I'm in my. I'm in my kids bedroom. My daughter who just graduated from college said to me, you know, dad, I'm the only one in my friend group whose dad has converted her norm.

[A]

I mean that's just great stuff. And you always get a 10 out of 10. And it's all about bookings in our business.

[F]

You are a great booking. Your room rater has gone up. But owing to my 249 cases and matter, just look at my backdrops, I have to say one more thing before I get back to litigating. Jim. We have done these live streams when stuff happens from the craziest places. Olivia, There was a bit. We had a big Supreme Court win a couple months ago and I got on in the Uber line at the LA airport. I propped my phone up on a stanchion there while I was. I was just fresh off the plane. So it's such an honor and a privilege, Jim, to wish you a happy anniversary. It's a treat to be able to do it with my dear friend. Truly another great champion of truthful, not neutral. Jim taught me that. From one of our wonderful CNN colleagues, former CNN colleagues, Christiane Amanpour, Libya. You're a great champion. So I can't imagine a better anniversary party than this. And Jim, I think you should have played the footage in that interview where the phone fell over.

[C]

Oh no.

[A]

On the second, on the second anniversary.

[F]

And look at how much the plant is growing.

[A]

That's right. Let me show you. I'm going to show everybody. We saw the plant in the background there. Looked pretty sad and pathetic. Look how much it's grow. I can't even get it all in the shot now. It's so big now. And it's a metaphor. I call it Greg the Plant because I had to name it after Greg Gutfeld after he made fun of my Plant. Norm, great to see you. I'll let you get on your way, get to Chicago.

[F]

Thank you, Jim. Thanks for having me on. Olivia, lovely to see you. Happy anniversary. Happy anniversary, my friend.

[A]

Thank you.

[F]

First of many more anniversaries. We'll celebrate together.

[A]

Sounds good. Thank you, Norm. Really appreciate it. And many more, as they say. Good to see you, Norm. I mean, Olivia, they don't come like Norm. Thank God we have Norm Eisen in the fight, don't you think?

[I]

Yeah. We definitely need lawyers and people to continue to stay engaged. And they've done an incredible job of pushing back. We knew it was going to be hard, and I think, you know, this is going to be another hard year, Jim. But I am honored to be here on your one year anniversary. I feel like I should address this because I think we've talked about in the past. I am sorry for any role that I may have played and changes that may have happened at your previous employer, because you did have me on at some contentious times when people, Ash Patel and others were threatening to sue me and other networks and other anchors were scared that they were going to get pulled into it. And I just remember that I woke up the next morning and you were like, do you want to come on and talk about this? Because this is serious. And I was like, sure. And I remember being in the car and being like, any moment now, I'm gonna get canceled. Any moment now, I'm gonna get canceled. And then I walk through the door there, and I was like, oh, no, I'm going on set with him. So if it was my fault that I played a role for being that person that would show up and just call it like it is, and you're willing to have me on, I apologize. But I'm here standing with you on the other side of it, and I am grateful for your show and everything that you've done and for. For taking a stand, because you really did. And, you know, it's inspiring, and I hope that it gives courage to others along the way. And we're seeing that. We're seeing that play out in our communities, and that's why I think it's important to remain in the space and engage. So I know, I know. I know you get shy, and I know it embarrasses you to call it out, but.

[A]

But yes, it does. I appreciate that. But to me, it's like, I think you said it once. The cause comes first, and I think that that sums it up. The cause comes first and the way of life that you grew up with the way of life I grew up with. That's more important than gigs on cable news and like that. You got to do what you love. And I know what you love and what I love and what Norm loves is this country. And we ain't giving up. We're just not going to do it. And so the Cash Patel's and the Stephen Millers and all the Millers over there who like to rattle our cages and give us a hard time, they just have to understand it's just not going to work. We're just not going to become this country that they want us to become. They. They really. They should give up now because it. Giving up now is going to be much better for them than giving up a year or two from now, it seems to me.

[I]

No. And I think their intimidation tactics, I think it's important to note that they just. They're not working, regardless of what they may do and how much they may terrorize our communities. And. Yeah. Is it.

[H]

Hell?

[I]

Yes, it is. We're seeing it play out, but it doesn't mean that we. We give up on it. So here we are.

[A]

That's right. Well, Olivia, my hat's off to you. Your hat's off, but you can put it back on.

[I]

All right. Here you go. Happy anniversary. Here's my first for you. There you go. I'm known for wearing hats on your show, apparently. So, you know.

[A]

Yes. And thanks for the Abe Lincoln thing that I stole from you. I don't know. I think I was supposed to give that back, but it's part of the.

[I]

Set now, so it's important to have it back there. A good reminder.

[A]

And this Abe Lincoln I think I stole from you. I think I was supposed to give all that back, but I was like, it look. It looks so good on my wall. And anyway, great. Great to see you. I always, you know, tell everybody you're the best friend that I never thought I was going to make in this business, but, you know, we're into law.

[I]

Officer. I did not know I was going to have a bestie in media, so.

[A]

I know. And our friend Harry Dunn says the same thing. We've all become best friends just kind of accidentally this has all happened because we're all marching in the same direction. But, Olivia, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. I. I'm really glad that you were part of this day.

[I]

Likewise. We've come a long way from me watching you in my White House office giving them hell. To giving them hell together.

[A]

And I think that's it.

[I]

All right.

[A]

Collective pains in the ass.

[I]

Yes, exactly. Ongoing. All right, you take care.

[A]

You too. Thanks, Olivia.

[I]

Okay.

[A]

Really appreciate it. Yeah, thank you. Gosh. And I have to put, you know, getting back to the. I'm so glad Norm brought up the plant because I, first of all, the. I have to work on the staging of the set. And this is going to happen during this, this next year or this is going to expand and get bigger and it's, you know, things are happening. But I had that crazy little rubber tree plant behind me. I think that's what it is. I'm not good with plants. And Norm, you know, called it out there and it was a pathetic little plant that I rescued from. Somebody put it in the garbage in my building in D.C. and I was like, why would somebody throw away a perfect. Let's just see if this damn thing could grow. And so I pulled it out. Somebody put it in the recycling room. You can't recycle a plant, ladies and gentlemen, by the way. You can't do that. And so I grabbed it, I brought it home. You know, it was like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. Had to put a blanket around it, give it water and so on. And it's now this big ass rubber tree plant now, which I'm going to try to hold up. It's still in the same shitty pot, but it's. I'm trying to hold it up. Oh, my God, this thing's about to dump all over me. It's. It's like grown like exponentially since I got it. And I called it Greggy Greg the Plant after Greg Gutfeld came after me. Take a look at this.

[G]

We still have the clip on Fox. Comedian Greg Gutfeld. I don't believe he's a journalist. He's a comedian there. Took an interest in this program. Apparently he did a segment about my show, this show right here on Substack last night on Fox.

[C]

The.

[G]

The segment was nearly eight minutes.

[A]

Eight minutes.

[G]

My word to Greg Gutfeld. Thank you, Greg. Thank you so much for devoting eight minutes of your television program to my Substack show. I really appreciate it. As I posted on X earlier today, don't you guys at Fox have anything else to cover? Oh, that's right. You can't say anything critical of Trump or Elon Musk. So you have to go after guys like me.

[A]

This is the start.

[G]

This is the sorry state of affairs for people like Greg Gutfeld for the.

[A]

Next anyway, so I don't want to. I won't play the whole thing. Go on and on and on. But, you know, Greg. Greg was calling, calling me out for the plant that I had behind me. So this is Greg the Plant. Greg the plant is still thriving and doing well, just like the Jim Acosta show. And, you know, we. We've got some big plans coming in the next year. You know, I wouldn't be able to do it without this wonderful team that I have. Olivia is kind of a part of the team when we do the town hall. She's very instrumental helping us put that together. But my ep, Matt is behind the scenes. Our producer Sam is behind the scenes. We've got some new people coming on board. Our booker, Ally and Rob and Mike. And Mike. I'll just call you out by your first names because I'm not sure we've announced that we're all working together yet, but. But I've got some really wonderful people working on the show to keep it growing, keep it expanding. I've got to give a shout out to Katherine Valentine at Substack. Hamish over at Substack. They've been wonderful. And seeing that this program grow. I think Catherine might have referred to me as the Jim Acosta model to the New York Times when they were doing a story about all these legacy media folks coming over to independent media. And I, you know, I just have to say that, you know, it means the world to me. I did not know that this was going to happen. I did not think that when I left my old place, you know, and I closed out with that message that I did, I had no idea that this is what I would be doing. I thought I was going to hop on a plane and maybe take a trip around the world and, you know, sit on the beach and drink a couple of cocktails or whatever and enjoy life a little bit. I'd been doing Cable News for 18 years and worked at CBS before that. And it's like 25, 30 years in this business. And, oh, I think his little dude coming over now. And it's turned into this. It's turned to, hey, buddy, how you doing? What's going on? What is it? What is it, buddy? What is it? You coming in to make a cameo? You coming in to make a cameo? Come here. Where's. Where's the treat? Let me see. Here's a treat. Come over here. You gotta get a treat. If he knocks the whole damn thing over, it's because I'm giving him. Come here, come here, come here, come here. You have to come over here. All right, I'm gonna. I'm gonna Kind of do a thing where I'm gonna show the room a little bit just so you can see. I'm not making this up. There he is. There's little Duke right there. Because everybody wants to know, where's Duke? That's all anybody cares about. And there he goes. He just takes the treat and then he. He goes. And, yes, you're probably seeing way too much of what goes on behind the scenes here. There was no dirty laundry scattered about or socks hanging on. Socks hanging on the radiator or anything like that. But. But there's a Duke reference, just because people call it. Call for it so much. But I have to say one, one quick thing. I was going to take this trip around the world and do all this travel and stuff, and then Donald Trump started to do what he was doing, and he started his direct assault on our democracy. And so I start the show every day by saying it's another day that ends. Hawaiian Donald Trump's assault on American democracy, pardoning the January 6 criminals, putting Elon Musk in charge of decimating the federal workforce, creating a secret police force in the form of ice, and on and on and on. There was no way I could go on a trip to anywhere outside of some speaking engagements and so on. I needed to be here. I needed to be with you. The stakes are too high. There's too much on the line right now. Our democracy is in trouble. Our republic is in danger because we have a mad king in the White House who thinks he can just bulldoze half the place, who thinks he can just put gold everywhere because he thinks it looks good. What are we going to do after he leaves office? We're going to have to call. What's that Company Service Pro. What do they say? Like it never even happened. We're gonna have to Service Pro the whole place. Power. Wash the walls to get that gold down, take his name off the Kennedy center, all of these things. And it's going to take some patience on our. Our parts. It's going to take some determination. It's going to take some perseverance. And I was writing about this in my substack. And if you want to read the whole thing, thank you for reading those. But somebody once asked me, you know, how are we going to get through this? How are we going to do this? And this was back during the first term. This is when we thought we got rid of this guy. And I said, we're just going to have to outlast him. We're just going to have to outlast him. And I think that's true. Duke is shaking the camera right now, and I do think that that's true. But I will add to that the message that I delivered the day that I left Corporate News. Here you go, dude. Here's another. Here's another treat.

[F]

There you go.

[A]

There you go. There you go. And I think it's important and I think it's worth repeating. And I think it feels right in this moment. It feels right after Minneapolis. This is no time. This is no time to bow down to a tyrant. Don't give into the lies. Don't give into the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope. And let's do this together. I really think we're going to do this together, folks. I think we're going to. We're going to take this back and we're going to do it together. Just, just like we built this together. And you saw a little Duke a few moments ago, my little rescue dog. And that was one of the best days of my life, rescuing little Duke and bringing him home. And I learned about an expression in the rescue dog world about how you didn't rescue the dog. The dog. The dog rescued you. And that's how I feel about this. That's. That's how I feel about you. The people who subscribe to the show, who watch the show every day, who like and support it and share it with your friends and talk about it online and. And so on. You. You rescued me. You rescued me. And for that, I'm grateful. For that, I am deeply, deeply grateful. Now let's go rescue one another. Let's do it. We're going to do more than just outlast them. We're going to take this country back. We're going to save it for you, for me, for all of us. Thank you for watching. Thank you for being part of this. I really appreciate it. From deep down, I really appreciate it means so much to your. Year two, here we come. I want to thank David Pakman for joining me on the show today. Thank Jennifer Welch, my fellow troublemaker. I thought I was trouble. She's trouble. She is trouble with a capital T, as they, as they once said. And of course, Olivia Troy, Norm Eisen, the democracy defender. Norm Eisen, my pick for attorney General in the next Democratic administration. It ought to be Norm Eisen, ladies and gentlemen. He is. He is a democracy defender. And my thanks to all of you. And thanks to little Duke. He was part of the show, too. And thanks to the whole team, everybody who's a part of this, and we'll do it again tomorrow. Still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Here's to year one. See you next time. Sa.