The Jim Acosta Show

Episode: Rosie O'Donnell Calls Out "Piggy!" Her Thanksgiving Message for Trump
Date: November 28, 2025
Guests: Rosie O’Donnell
Host: Jim Acosta

Overview

This special post-Thanksgiving episode features a candid, passionate conversation between Jim Acosta and Rosie O’Donnell. The centerpiece is a fiery critique of Donald Trump’s behavior and its impact on American norms and decency, woven together with reflections on family, media responsibility, and national tragedies. Rosie, speaking from Ireland, delivers a holiday message that doubles as a rallying call for truth, decency, and public courage in the face of demagoguery and systemic failures.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Thanksgiving Reflections and the Meaning of Family

• Rosie shares her feelings of being far from her American family during the holidays while living in Ireland.
  • “Family matters. And when you're away from your family... it's not the same, you know, it's not the same.” (01:39 | Rosie O’Donnell)
• Jim discusses his own small family gathering, emphasizing traditions as grounding in a chaotic world.
  • “If we can still do those kinds of traditions every now and then, it, it is grounding. Right?” (01:14 | Jim Acosta)

2. Trump’s Reaction to National Tragedy & Immigration (02:00–05:50)

• The recent killing of National Guard members by an Afghan refugee is discussed, with Trump quickly politicizing events—calling to “cut off all immigration from... ‘all third world countries.’”
• Rosie points out Trump isn’t smart enough to orchestrate a grand plan, emphasizing the cult of personality, celebrity, and media complicity in America.
  • “He's not smart enough to be orchestrating a coup like this... It’s about the cult of personality and celebrity in America and how toxic that is.” (03:16 | Rosie O’Donnell)
• The media’s delayed recognition of Trump’s cognitive decline.
  • “If you can't tell that this man is in the throes of a serious cognitive health crisis... then you're not awake or alive.” (03:56 | Rosie O’Donnell)

3. The Erosion of Decency in American Public Life (05:50–07:10)

• Rosie argues the nation’s core problem isn’t Trump alone, but the loss of decency, democratic values, and unity.
• She connects the present cultural moment to the hyper-personalization and toxicity of American public figures and the difficulty of governing such a vast, divided nation.
  • “Where is the decency gone in America? Where has the American spirit... What does that mean? And who are we as a nation?” (04:16 | Rosie O’Donnell)

4. Trump’s Insults Against Reporters & the Role of the Press (07:10–14:00)

Notable Quotes/Clashes:

• Trump attacks CBS’s Nancy Cordes, calling her “stupid.”
  • Trump (audio clip): “Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?” (08:16 | Donald Trump)
  • Rosie: “If he were your grandpa, no one would let him carve the turkey because it's too dangerous for a man in his condition and he probably can't stand that long.” (08:27 | Rosie O’Donnell)
  • Rosie: “He would be fired for this behavior [anywhere else]. But why does this guy get a free pass?” (06:09 | Rosie O’Donnell)

Media Responsibility:

• Press corps' inaction is discussed, speculating that it's due to pressure from network bosses.
  • “It kills me to see the press not stand up for each other... their bosses are leaning on them to just take it, absorb it and try to ask the best question that you can and get out of there.” (09:55 | Jim Acosta)
• Rosie’s challenge:
  • "Open your goddamn mouths and save your souls. Because you're going to have to live with yourself long after he is gone." (12:18 | Rosie O’Donnell)
• Jim reflects on standing up to Trump:
  • “I would dish it right back at him because I didn't want to spend the rest of my years thinking to myself, gosh, I should have said something.” (12:41 | Jim Acosta)

5. The Epstein Files, Accountability, & Sexual Abuse (14:00–19:00)

• Discussion shifts to Jeffrey Epstein, survivor advocacy, and the bipartisan push for full release of Epstein-related files.
• Rosie connects Trump’s behaviors and associations with broader patterns of abuse, cover-up, and media enabling.
  • “We know what the wonderful secret is. And we know crazy sick men like Epstein and like him... who glorify the sexualization and the rape of children.” (14:21 | Rosie O'Donnell)
  • “The guilty man is how...he's acting. This is not an innocent man.” (15:03 | Rosie O'Donnell)
• On survivors’ strength:
  • “What do you think happens to the children that you sexually assault? ...They grow up and they find their voice and they speak out for other victims of that.” (15:59 | Rosie O’Donnell)
• Rosie lauds figures like Michael Wolff and the MeToo movement for breaking the silence.
  • “You can put any American citizen in jail if they commit a crime and are proven guilty.” (18:53 | Rosie O’Donnell)

6. Personal Toll, Parenting, and Lessons from History (19:00–21:00)

• Rosie shares the burden her activism and public confrontations have had on her personal life—including relocation for safety and her daughter’s evolving understanding.
  • “He made us move in order for our own safety, and it's now he's destroying the country.” (19:35 | Rosie's daughter, via Rosie)
• Her daughter’s early grasp of authoritarianism and moral lessons drawn from Holocaust history.
  • “He was a man brought there to be hateful and dark. She said, like the devil.” (20:52 | Rosie O’Donnell)

7. Resisting Fatalism and Reclaiming Decency (21:00–24:00)

• Rosie contends Trump’s supporters are not a majority and celebrates mass protest as a sign of hope.
  • “People have had enough. You don't get to just pick people off the streets without a warrant and send them to be tortured in El Salvador, not in America.” (21:45 | Rosie O'Donnell)
• She repeatedly returns to the idea of “decency” as the remedy to national malaise:
  • “Let's get back to decency in the country. Let's get back.” (21:59 | Rosie O’Donnell)

8. Personal Updates, Comic Relief, and Future Plans (24:00–28:00)

• Rosie shares stories from her recent tour in Australia, challenges of parenting, travel, and her upcoming visit to the U.S.
• Touches on past targeting and harassment of comedians like Kathy Griffin and Stephen Colbert.
  • “That woman's a fighter... Isn't that the truth for everyone? Myself included, Top of the list.” (26:41 | Rosie O’Donnell)
• Jim and Rosie share mutual appreciation and familial Irish ties, closing with holiday wishes and hope for better leadership.

9. Jim’s Closing Reflections on Gun Violence (29:04–31:41)

• Jim pivots to discuss the pressing issue of mass shootings in America, quoting Fred Guttenberg:
  • “Everyone is looking for someone to blame for the D.C. National Guard shooting. Instead of that wasted energy, we should be asking the question nobody is asking. How did the shooter get his guns?” (29:55 | Fred Guttenberg, via Jim Acosta)
• Jim laments American inaction and gun proliferation:
  • “We are the only country on the planet where this keeps happening… We just have too many guns in this country.” (30:18 | Jim Acosta)
  • “We have to be more decent, and that includes the people at the very top.” (31:27 | Jim Acosta)
  • Calls on the press and public to speak out and hold leaders accountable for indecency.

Notable Quotes

• Rosie O’Donnell: “He can't unite because he's A very mentally ill man. And it can't be about him anymore. Because if you don't see that for what it fully is, we can't debate that anymore.” (05:25)
• Rosie O’Donnell: “How can you sit there and listen to this pig attack a reporter for doing her job and call her pig? ...The President of the United States is allowed to speak to a reporter... Any other job, he would be fired for this behavior.” (06:09)
• Jim Acosta: “That's why I didn't take this shit. When he would come after me, I didn’t take it. I would dish it right back at him because I didn't want to spend the rest of my years thinking to myself, gosh, I should have said something. Why didn't I stand up and say so?” (12:41)
• Rosie O’Donnell: “Open your goddamn mouths and save your souls. Because you're going to have to live with yourself long after he is gone.” (12:18)
• Jim Acosta: “We have mass shootings on a regular, frequent basis… it happens over and over and over again… Why? What can we do?” (30:35)
• Rosie O’Donnell: “Let's get back to decency in the country. Let's get back.” (21:59)

Important Timestamps

• Family and Thanksgiving Reflections: 00:17–01:56
• Trump, Immigration, Media Complicity: 01:56–05:36
• On Decency and the American Spirit: 05:36–06:11
• Rosie’s Critique of Trump and Media: 06:11–14:00
• Epstein, Accountability, and Survivors: 14:00–18:53
• Rosie’s Parenting and Personal Toll: 19:05–21:02
• Hope, Protest, and Calls for Decency: 21:23–22:44
• Touring Australia, Parenting, Kathy Griffin: 24:06–27:02
• Jim’s Closing Reflection on Gun Violence: 29:47–31:41

Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is raw, heartfelt, and at times blisteringly critical of Trump, media, and those complicit in abuse and indecency. The episode balances rage at systemic failures with hope in personal activism, protest, and the “American spirit” that resists fatalism. Rosie and Jim’s banter maintains warmth—even as they dwell on dark topics—closing with a strong plea for all Americans to choose decency, truth, and courage, starting at the dinner table, in the newsroom, and everywhere in public life.