← The Jim Acosta Show
The Jim Acosta Show
Texas Dem Rep. Greg Casar on the GOP plan to steal congressional seats and Dem strategist Maria Cardona on Trump's Census madness.
00:46:49
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- [00:00]
Jim Acosta
Foreign.
- [00:06]
Greg Casar
Welcome to the Jim Acosta show. It's another day that ends in Y and Trump's Epstein Gate cover up. He is throwing out every distraction you can think of. Now he's talking about taking over Washington, D.C. probably why he was walking on the roof of the White House the other day. He wants to do another census to exclude undocumented immigrants. He wants to redraw congressional maps, something Donald Trump does not want to do. He does not want to release the Epstein file, something he said he would do. He keeps calling Epstein gate a hoax, which doesn't make sense. A hoax is something that is fake. Jeffrey Epstein was very much a real person. He was a monster, and Trump should know that. He was friends with him for years. They went to parties together and so on. Here to talk about all of this is Congressman Greg Cassar. He's a Democrat from Texas. He could lose his seat, by the way, in this redistricting battle. We need to talk about that. He also sits on the House Oversight Committee where Democrats are trying to get their hands on the Epstein files. And Congressman, good to see you.
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Maria Cardona
Yeah, good to see you, too. It's. It's crazy and scary times. And so what a list of things for us to talk about.
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Greg Casar
Yeah, yeah. I know we probably don't have enough time, but we'll do our best. But let's jump right into this. I. I do want to play. I want to talk about Epstein first. You're on the Oversight Committee. I know the committee is trying to get its hands on the Epstein files. And Trump and most of the Republicans out there don't want that to happen. But I guess Trump was asked about this in the Oval Office and he again called it a hoax. And he apparently did not know that J.D. vance, the Vice President, was going to have some strategy session with other advisors about how to get out of this. And he claimed he didn't know that, which may not be a good thing for Donald Trump. But let's watch this. Is the Vice President Vance hosting a gathering this evening to talk about how to respond to the Epstein situation. Is he working on what? Is he hosting some kind of gathering of top advisors this evening to talk about how to respond to the Epstein situation? I don't know. I could ask you that question. I don't know of it, but I think here's the man right here. I saw it reported today and it's completely fake news. We're not meeting to talk about the Epstein situation. And I think the reporter who reported it needs to get better sources on that, look, the whole thing is a hoax. It's put out by the Democrats because we've had the most successful six months in the history of our country. And that's just a way of trying to divert attention to something that's total bullshit. Okay, Congressman, is this total bullshit? What do you think?
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Maria Cardona
I mean, we talk about here in the south that, you know, only a hit dog hollers like that, right? When Donald Trump is telling you that there's something he really doesn't want to talk about, that something is bullshit. Nothing to see here that tells everybody that there's definitely something to see here. And that's why I'm proud that under the brand new leadership of our Democratic ranking member on oversight, Robert Garcia, we are able to, on an oversight subcommittee, right when Mike Johnson and the rest of the Republicans were getting on their planes to leave town, forced a vote to get a valid subpoena for the Epstein files and more. And the Chairman Comer, Republican himself, has said it is a perfectly valid subpoena. It's something that needs to be complied with. And I think it puts Trump and his team in a really tight bind. They either have to show us the Epstein files that I expect will have some very incriminating information about the President and his allies, or continue to be asked questions like this and to drag this out where it's not just Democrats, progressives, Independents, but of course, much of Trump's own base who want to see these Epstein files. And at the end of the day, this is all about Trump's corruption, right? Trump told his voters that he was going to be for them, that he was not going to be for the swamp. And at the end of the day, Trump is willing to throw everybody under the bus, including his own supporters, on their health care. He's willing to throw him under the bus on making, you know, he's hitting tax breaks to his richest friends instead of to the working class. He's willing to throw people under the bus on that and on this. He's willing to throw his own supporters and his own campaign promises under the bus to protect himself.
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Greg Casar
Yeah, it's getting pretty crowded under that bus, there's no question about it. And that bus may be sinking in the swamp as we speak. But, Congressman, do you expect to get these files now? I mean, if the, if Chairman Comer has said this is a legitimate subpoena, I mean, one would think. But I, you know, there's a part of me that remembers, you know, what happened after, you know, January 6th and how, you know, There were legitimate subpoenas issued then, and there was a lot of stonewalling from Trump world. They didn't comply with these subpoenas to appear to produce documents and so on. And I just wonder if we might see a replay of that. And they're just going to try to play out the clock. It's just a thought on my, on my part. I don't know what you think.
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Maria Cardona
I think that that very much is likely what they were talking about in that J.D. vance strategy session. That was fake news. That never happened, but seems to me like JD Vance was saying it was. That definitely happened. He just got caught.
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Greg Casar
Yeah.
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Maria Cardona
Look, but I think here's the bind that the Trump folks are in is that the more they say there's nothing to see here, the more I think the public knows there's something to see here. I don't think that they easily get out of this one. And, you know, for example, Donald Trump said that he wants to send the FBI to chase down Texas Democrats for, for not want, for wanting to block his radical redistricting and shutting down the House floor in Texas to save democracy as we understand it and know it and practice it, while House Republicans shut down the floor of the US Capitol to not release the Epstein files. Right. This is just going to keep coming up for them again and again and again because, you know, now that he's saying, well, it's wrong for them to shut down the floor of the Texas House, well, he gets asked, is it wrong to shut down the US Capitol floor over the Epstein files? The same thing. We talk about how we need to respect the lives of the young girls who are killed in these horrible Texas floods. And I think we do. And we need to protect the living by investing in protections from flooding instead of doing this redistricting thing. And we should also care about the lives of the young women that were destroyed by Epstein and everybody else involved in that. And we should be looking into were there financial arrangements in these files? Are there people at the top that need to be looked at. Are Trump's associates or himself in those files? So there's going to. The more they continue to try to stonewall, I think the more questions there will be, and in my view, we need to rebuild a Democratic Party in this moment of growing authoritarianism, to fight fire with fire and not just sort of let this go, but recognize that the more they stonewall, then the more, I think, frankly, stubborn we need to be and the more we need to have the conversation with the American people about why this Is important.
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Greg Casar
Yeah, no, I mean, I think that's a big reason why, you know, Trump is trying to claw back some, some House seats because he's deeply worried about what the effect will be of the Epstein gate cover up. He's deeply worried about what the impact will be of the big beautiful blunder, as I called it. And I mean, you mentioned I've been.
- [07:39]
Maria Cardona
Doing the big billionaire bootlicking betrayal, but there's plenty of options.
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Greg Casar
I called it the big boulder of bullshit too. But, you know, I'm trying not to say bullshit too many times on one show. I. But I do want to ask you about the FBI thing because in what world is this normal? Senator John Cornyn, I guess, said today that the FBI director, Cash Patel, has approved his request to help round up the Texas Democrats who fled Texas. And I mean, to me, like, I'm sorry, what's going on here? How is it that the FBI is being used in all of this? And if Texas Democrats want to leave the state, you know, that's their God given right to do so. It's free country. I mean, what's going on with this?
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Maria Cardona
First, second, imagine we're talking about another country, a country where you had a deeply corrupt president who wanted to change election rules at the last minute and when the opposition party tried to stop it, that his allied senator called on federal law enforcement to go arrest all of those individuals. You would say that in that country you got to be worried about democracy. But that country is ours. And that time is right now. It is unthinkable that you have U.S. senators who once called themselves moderate Republicans talking about sending the FBI to go arrest their political opponents over a political difference of opinion. But that's the country we live in right now. That's why the stakes are so high. And that's why this fight in Texas should be important to everybody watching at home across America.
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Greg Casar
Yeah. And something tells me that John Cornyn is, Senator Cornyn is doing this because he's a little worried about a primary challenge that he's going to get from Ken Paxton. And so he's got to puff out his chest and thump his chest and act like the big maga tough guy and everything. But I'm sorry, I think you're absolutely right. It looks like something an authoritarian country would do. I mean, if Texas Democrats want to take off for however long they want to take off, that's the way it should go. And I think you hit on something else. You know, Democrats in Texas were accused of, you know, betraying the people who lost their lives in the floods and the families who were affected by what took place in the floods. But it's really the. The opposite of that. You guys want to do that. It's because they tried to push through this ram. Through this crazy redistricting thing.
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Maria Cardona
Yeah. I mean, Governor Abbott, I'm now calling Governor Gaslighter. He's saying that Texas Democrats have left behind their responsibility when it was Governor Abbott that left behind his responsibility on the floods by making the entire special legislative session about redistricting and carrying Donald Trump's water. So we've got to be really clear with the people of Texas that Democrats were ready to go, ready to vote on day one to address flooding, frankly, flooding that Governor Abbott could have addressed when some of these affected counties, counties that were affected by these floods requested grant funds from the states multiple times to address flooding. And Governor Abbott told them no. I mean, that should be the biggest political scandal happening right now in Texas and across the country. And, you know, we just need to be out there talking about it every single day that these, you know, not that many people had to die in these floods. And we should be investing to protect the living, not be further gerrymandering Texas and causing this kind of political chaos.
- [11:06]
Greg Casar
Yeah. And Congressman, do I have this wrong or do I have it right? You could lose your seat in this. You could lose your seat in Congress, and people in your district could lose essentially the representation of having a Latino representing them in Congress.
- [11:24]
Maria Cardona
I represent a heavily Latino, heavily working class district. That means that when Trump sends massed agents to arrest moms and dads in my district, I speak up. That means when billionaires are screwing over working class people in my district, I speak up. When a worker recently was killed working building Elon Musk's factory here, I was able to stand up and fight back because that's what my voters want me to do. But if they're able to essentially eliminate Latino majority and Latino opportunity districts like mine, then they try to get rid of folks like me in Congress, and we just can't let them. I mean, this is about something much bigger than me. This is about working class people, Latinos, African Americans, having the voting rights that we won under the 1965 Voting Rights act, and Trump is trying to shred that, and we're just not going to let it happen. So here in Austin, we're putting up a huge fight because this is a fight that's bigger than our city.
- [12:27]
Greg Casar
And do you want to see your party do more in Washington? Because it seems to me, you know, what the Texas Democrats have done, you know, is kind of, you know, a model for the party. You know, we're not going to take this crap where we're out of here, you know, and I just kind of wonder if there's a lesson to be learned. And I, and I, and I know that sometimes members on the Democratic side say, hey, wait a minute, a lot of us are fighting. What are you talking about here? That kind of thing. But, but as a whole, as, as, as, as a party, are these, I mean, do you need to get more bare knuckled with some of the tactics here?
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Maria Cardona
Voters all across the country in this Trump 2.0 era are looking for fighters, not folders. They're looking for Democratic elected officials who are willing to put it on, all on the line. When we've got these high stakes fights and Texas Democrats are showing the country how we go ahead and do that, I think it's time to rewrite the old playbook for Washington, D.C. democrats and have folks learn from the Texas Democrats that are willing to take big risks. I mean, these Texas lawmakers get paid barely at nothing for being Texas legislators. They're leaving behind their families, they're leaving behind their jobs and in order to stand up for all of us. Because if Trump is able to get this redistricting plan through Texas, he's already said he's doing Louisiana, he's doing floor. They just announced today he's trying to do Florida, Indiana, Missouri. I mean, it's time for us to fight back. And I'm proud to see folks like Gavin Newsom saying that we're going to start fighting fire with fire instead of just being Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts here.
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Greg Casar
Yeah. And I wonder if the end result here is to make the midterm such a mess, such a chaotic mess, that Trump tries to pull a fast one and say, well, I get, you know, I guess we can't have these elections or, you know, and I know that sounds far fetched, but I do worry that there might be a larger vision, dystopian, dark vision for all of this. I mean, if you throw all of these states, all of these elections into chaos, I suppose the Supreme Court could just in one fell swoop say we're not doing any of this stuff, but the Supreme Court can't be counted on for protecting democracy right now. And so I think that, I think this spells trouble for the midterms, this whole initiative that they've launched here.
- [14:41]
Maria Cardona
Yeah. Trump recently said he's entitled to five seats in Texas Five more seats. It's like when Trump called the folks in Georgia and said, find me 11,000 more votes. Now he's called the folks in Texas and says, give me five seats, calling the governor of Florida and saying, give me three, four, or five more seats. Trump clearly has no plan for winning the upcoming elections, so he thinks he can cheat and rig those elections before we ever get to cast a ballot. And so we've got to get folks fired up right now. We can't wait until the upcoming midterm elections. We have to get people mobilized now and people are ready to get active. Just a couple days ago, we sent out a text message here in Austin to go and do an old school labor picket in front of Governor Greg Abbott's mansion. And in the course of just a couple hours, we had a huge crowd out there ready to go. I think people are aware that Trump is trying to erode our democracy and we've got to take the fight to him now before it's too late.
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Greg Casar
Yeah, no, people are hopping mad right now and they just, they want to, they want to get their, their hands dirty a little bit, mix it up a little bit, get going, you know, not take this stuff lying down. And, Congressman, I can tell you're on that boat as well. Congressman Greg Gasar, thank you so much. Really appreciate. Let's stay in touch as this thing moves forward.
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Maria Cardona
Really appreciate you. Thanks so much, Jim.
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Greg Casar
All right, good to see you. Thanks so much, Congressman. And I want to quickly go to my friend Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist, because, yeah, I got to get Maria's take on this. And, you know, I do want to talk about some other things with Maria related to this, but, I mean, Maria, I, I do worry that there's something bigger going on here if you make this map. Map. Such a hot, steaming mess.
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Jim Acosta
Yeah.
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Greg Casar
Makes it hard to hold elections, which plays into Donald Trump's hands, I have to say.
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Jim Acosta
Yeah, I don't disagree with you, Jim. And we, we need to keep that in mind because I will put nothing past them. The more of a mess this is, the more he can come in and say, well, all of this is rigged. So we need to just, you know, do what I say. Right. Put the map that I want and these are going to be the results. But here's, I think the bottom line. And Congressman Cassar was absolutely right, that this is Donald Trump and Republicans demonstrating under no uncertain terms, their fear and their naked desperation of about what is coming next, the next year, the midterms, which is a shellacking of them. They cannot win if this is done fairly and they know it. So they are willing to lie, cheat and steal because they know they cannot compete on the battlefield of ideas. Trump knows his policies suck. He knows they are bad for America and Americans. He sees his poll numbers tanking generally. Yeah, he sees his poll numbers tanking importantly with the Latino community. And as you know, this is something he tries to brag about left and right and what he's doing in Texas and what he's going to try to do, and Republicans bending the knee because they are all freaking cowards and have no backbone in other states as well is because of that. So I think they have given up trying to convince Americans about the big horrendous, you know, all sorts of names to this awful bill that you and the congressman have. And they're all correct because the poll numbers on that bill, Jim, and you've seen this. The more Americans learn about it, the more they hate it.
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Greg Casar
Yeah, it's true. No, it's absolutely true. And it maybe just be the big bad blunder. I mean, you know, yeah, there are lots of words for it, but politically it's a blunder. And you saw that the other night with that Nebraska Republican congressman getting booed. He said, we're going to try to, we're saving Medicaid with this. People, people just aren't buying it.
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Jim Acosta
It's exactly.
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Greg Casar
They, they have a firm handle on things. And the other thing that Trump is trying to do that could have an impact on the elections, he says he wants to do census. I'm sure you saw this, Maria. You know, he's a. People who are in our country illegally will not be count the census. And, you know, he's under the, you know, ridiculous, warped view that undocumented people vote and all this stuff. And he blames his whenever he loses, that's what he blames it on. And so on your thoughts on this, because I think that this also is sort of geared towards gerrymandering, geared towards redrawing congressional maps, because he's just, you know, he's not committed to democracy. It's not in him. He doesn't want it. He wants to be an emperor. He wants to be a king.
- [19:28]
Jim Acosta
That's exactly right. And I'm glad we're talking about this because it is easy for Democrats to dismiss this as complete nonsensical census talk. But I worked, as you know, at the Department of Commerce press secretary under the Clinton administration, and the census was one of the most important things that the Department went on. Right. That the, that the department focused for 10 years. Literally.
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Greg Casar
Right.
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Jim Acosta
Make sure that a census was done. Right.
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Greg Casar
That's why you do it every 10 years.
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Jim Acosta
Exactly. You cannot plan a census between now and the midterm election. So that tells me a couple things. Number one, going back to your initial point, this is Donald Trump injecting chaos so that the American people will be pissed off, confused. And what I think is one of the most dangerous things that he's doing with this, and Democrats have to be careful with this, is to denigrate and take away, which this is already happening, credibility from the actual census itself. Because it is so important for people, everyone, everyone who lives in these United States of America to be counted so that then representatives can be apportioned according to what each state has in terms of its population. But, but that's the point, right? We're talking about congressional seats. And for Donald Trump, this has now become the whole ball game. So anything that he can do to throw a wrench into a normal, important, democratic, constitute constitutionally manded process, mandated process like the census, he will do to essentially things up, and I'm sorry to use that word.
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Greg Casar
No, it's okay.
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Jim Acosta
I. Yeah, but that is his goal. It is yet another way that he is denigrating diminishing our democracy, essentially destroying it. Right. Block by block.
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Greg Casar
Yeah. It's almost like they sit around in a room and they think, okay, the midterms are going to go really bad. What can we do to just completely that up between now and then and to make it such a hot steaming pile of, you know what.
- [22:01]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
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Greg Casar
That, you know, people like you said throw their hands up and say, you know, this is why maybe we should just have addict. I mean, this is. I. It just makes me worry that, you know, we know how his cuckoo mind works.
- [22:18]
Jim Acosta
That's exactly right. And so this is where I think it is even more incumbent upon Democrats and all of us who are talking about how we're going to defend our democracy and defend our country and frankly defend Americans and the people who live here from that kind of chaotic message. We just have to continue to speak truth to power.
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Greg Casar
Yes.
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Jim Acosta
And this is why your show is so important. This is why you having Representative Gasser on is so important. This is why I love doing your show and others like it because there is not enough of these conversations going around to make sure that Americans actually do have power. Because to your point, Jim, one of the goals of what Trump is doing is to make a Americans feel powerless. Right. And fearful to make them feel like there's nothing they can do. You know, don't fight him. Don't fight the Republicans. They're in power. You know, there's nothing you can do. No, that is absolutely not true. You have your voice, you have your vote. And, and that is incredibly powerful, which is why he's trying to take it away.
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Greg Casar
That's why he's doing it. Yeah.
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Jim Acosta
Your vote did not matter, America. Donald Trump would not be doing everything in his power to take it away.
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Greg Casar
That's right.
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Jim Acosta
Use it. Use it at every level, at every election, at every town hall. Go and make your voice heard because it matters and everything is at stake.
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Greg Casar
It's so true. And I think part of this is also aimed at, you know, it's another one of these evil Stephen Miller, you know, hatched ideas of let's spread fear among the migrant community and people are mixed status families and so on. And, I mean, take a look at. I mean, I wanted to show you this, Maria, because this one made my stomach turn. The Department of Homeland Security, ice, they put out this Instagram post where they said, we're removing the age cap. We're removing the age limits as to who can become an ICE agent. And if my executive producer, Matt, could show us that picture, I want to show. It says, no age cap. Join ICE now. And the full Instagram post says, this is another way for fathers and son, sons to bond. I'm sure you saw that as well, Maria. And to me, it's like, are you kidding me? So, you know, this is a, this is a new way for father son bonding to occur in this country. This is maga's idea of father son bonding to, you know, go on. And, And I mean, this looks like, like something out of David Duke's, you know, you know, imagination. It's really sick stuff. And like, fathers and sons bonding over rounding up Latino people in this country. It's, it's, it's just absolutely appalling. It's. But it shows you the mindset. And they just, they just went ahead and, you know, a couple of Caucasian guys, I mean, there's, it's just really out in the open here.
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Jim Acosta
It's a white nationalist dream come true.
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Greg Casar
Yeah.
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Jim Acosta
And for everyone else who understands how dangerous it is, and you talked about migrant and immigrant communities. That is exactly right. And sadly, it is having a horrific, terrifying effect among our communities. You and I have talked about this at length. I was at church not too many weeks ago, and I think I mentioned this to you on your last show, and it happened again. There were rumors of ICE being around the church. And I go to a mostly Latino church. People were in tears, afraid to come out. I sent my son out to keep an eye out, to let us know when it was safe for people to come out and go home.
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Greg Casar
Wow.
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Jim Acosta
You go to church at a church, Jim, at a church, and this is happening everywhere. It's happening in schools, it's happening at courthouses. You've heard those nightmares where actually legal immigrants go to show up for their court hearing to renew perhaps their green card, then they are denied by the judge and ISIS waiting for them, not even outside, but literally in the courtroom. That is so un American and counter to the values that we all hold dear. And this is why it is so important to fight this kind of tyranny, because that is what this has become. And for immigrant communities to understand, especially those that are here legally and that are citizens and that can vote, I believe we have an extra responsibility to come out and speak out against this horrific, stomach turning, anti un American, preposterous, twisted idea of what they are trying to turn this country into. Because that is not what we all believe this country is, and we still have the power to fight it. They are trying to destroy what essentially are economic engines around this country. As you know, immigrant communities inject more than $7 trillion into our economy.
- [27:29]
Greg Casar
Right.
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Jim Acosta
And most of the people, this is another thing. Most of the people that ICE has gone out and detained and kidnapped, literally kidnapped off the street, because that's what they do. They're unidentified, they're masked, they don't show their faces. They kidnap people off the street. Their families don't hear from them for days on end. And many of them, we have heard are actually legal, do have documents, and they are still detained for days. That is just. I mean, that turns my stomach to no end. I never thought we would be here talking about these kinds of things in this country. So we need to continue to talk about this because it's another way for him to inject that fear, to inject that chaos so that we all shut up and we have to do exactly the opposite.
- [28:16]
Greg Casar
Well, and there's a viewer that's just chiming in right now with the comments saying that in Arizona, kids are afraid to go to school, people are afraid to go to church, they're not showing up for their court appearances and immigration court proceedings. And what does that do? That just chases people into the shadows. And is that proper immigration enforcement? Is that, is that a way to run a railroad when it comes to immigration in this country? No, of course not. It's just about spreading fear. And, you know, I. I just think that we're heading to a really disturbing place. Maria. I worry that, you know, if you show up at a voting place next year and you appear to be of Latino descent, are ICE agents going to show up at polling places? I mean, I'm serious. I'm just deadly serious about that.
- [29:09]
Jim Acosta
That's. I think it's a complete possibility. And I bet you, you know, you talked about them having people around tables planning for shit. I think this is one of the shits that they're planning for.
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Greg Casar
Yeah.
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Jim Acosta
I don't put anything past them. You know, when I saw what he did about the census, I, you know, went on my different chats and people were like, well, he can't do that. That's unconstitutional. Yeah, he doesn't care.
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Greg Casar
He doesn't care. And we should say he tried to do this in 2020.
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Jim Acosta
He did.
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Greg Casar
You can't do it.
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Jim Acosta
You know, said, whoa, boy. But will they say that now?
- [29:46]
Greg Casar
Will they say that now? It's a different era now. People need to understand. It's a different era now. And the Republicans in Congress are deathly afraid of Donald Trump right now. I'm concerned that the Supreme Court is also just afraid of Donald Trump right now. Yeah. And this was a tell, though. I talked about this with Congressman Cassar just a few moments ago. But when Senator John Cornyn is saying, you know, Cash Patel has said. Has told me that, yes, they'll send the FBI agents after the Texas Democrats, that says to me right there that Senator John Corn is worried about losing that primary and that Republicans are worried in Texas. I saw Governor Perry just the other day. Rick Perry came out and supported John Cornyn. They're worried about Ken Paxton getting that Senate seat. Maria. And I know I have said that, you know, turning Texas blue is fool's gold and so on, but I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
- [30:49]
Jim Acosta
Right. And.
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Greg Casar
And unless Ken Paxton gets that nomination. Sorry to interrupt.
- [30:53]
Jim Acosta
Right. No, no, let's add to that. But, Jim, I actually think, and, and hopefully, you know, Democrats will get our. Our together to actually make this a reality, that all of this stuff that's going on in Texas can backfire in Texas because it can piss off Texans so much. Right. And don't mess with Texas. And he.
- [31:16]
Greg Casar
That's right.
- [31:16]
Jim Acosta
You're listening, Texans. Donald Trump is messing with you. He's messing with you. Don't let him.
- [31:22]
Greg Casar
Yeah, they can't they're not helping the flood victims right now because of this.
- [31:26]
Jim Acosta
Whole fiasco about the flood victims, Jim. He, Donald Trump is more concerned about his political future and his partner party's political future in the midterm elections than he is about helping the flood victims and their families and, and trying to do everything he can to keep this from happening again. Which, by the way, we've, you know, you've talked about this before. A lot of it could have been avoided.
- [31:53]
Greg Casar
Yeah.
- [31:54]
Jim Acosta
Because of all the, you know, ridiculous doge cuts. But that's for, you know.
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Greg Casar
The other thing too is I, I really think this is tied back to Epstein. I think he is so freaked out. Exactly. I was talking to an attorney for some of the victims yesterday. I think he's so freaked about. Freaked out about what is in those Epstein files. He's worried that Congress will go Democrat and he faces the prospect of a third impeachment.
- [32:26]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [32:27]
Greg Casar
And if, if there's something really nasty about him and those Epstein files and the Democrats take control of the Senate, ladies and gentlemen, all bets are off. And you can say, jim, go home, you're drunk. You know, go pour yourself a cocktail. You know, we've heard this from you before, and so on. I'm just saying. And if I end up being right, we can point back to this program. I think this is very much driven by him being freaked out about Jeffrey Epstein.
- [32:54]
Jim Acosta
There is no question in my mind, Jim, that every batshit crazy thing that he says and posts goes back to that now.
- [33:05]
Greg Casar
Yeah.
- [33:06]
Jim Acosta
Because he wants to distract in such a desperate way that it all leads back to that. But it also stems from, but again, it's, it's related, kind of wrapped around it. His massive fear of losing Congress next year, including the Senate, by the way. Right. Things, things have been falling in line for the Democrats in Texas. You mentioned this and, and, and I agree with you. You know, hope springs eternal. I think one day Texas will be blue. And I think that, you know, North Carolina, now we have a great up North Carolina. And so they are trying to look at the board to figure out what that looks like. If there is a Democratic Congress and these Epstein files then become something that can be made public. Clearly, you see in what they have said and done, obviously, you know, the Pam Bondi, you know, twisting herself and pretzels and, and, oh, my goodness, after everything that they talked about. Right.
- [34:06]
Greg Casar
Unbelievable.
- [34:07]
Jim Acosta
The beginning, clearly they have seen something in there that is not favorable, to say the least, to Donald Trump. And even the subpoenas that they gave out earlier this week, you know, and people talked about, oh, the Clintons. And that's.
- [34:22]
Greg Casar
Come on, you know. Yeah, yeah.
- [34:24]
Jim Acosta
But they didn't subpoena anyone, Jim, that actually knows what's in the Epstein files. They really wanted to find out more about what's in there. They would have subpoenaed Pam Bondi Patel. But, you know, people are like, oh, well, they're part of the doj. They're not getting. They're not going to subpoena, you know, those people. Well, so then what about Acosta? Right? Not you.
- [34:49]
Greg Casar
Yeah. Alex Acosta, as I like to say, no relation.
- [34:53]
Jim Acosta
You're evil. Evil, evil.
- [34:55]
Greg Casar
Donald Trump himself said that they checked that out when they nominated him for Labor Secretary. He said it at a press conference, that they checked it out and that he was not related to me. So that's on video, folks. Not related.
- [35:05]
Jim Acosta
Not related to our gym people.
- [35:09]
Greg Casar
That guy out there, let's go find him.
- [35:11]
Jim Acosta
He was.
- [35:12]
Greg Casar
I'll call my. I'll call my Costas down in Miami. We'll go track him down. Roll his ass. Roll his ass. Rolo. Alex Acosta out there. What? Why did you do this sweetheart deal, man?
- [35:22]
Jim Acosta
Bingo. Bingo. He is the key. He is the key, Jim. And he was nowhere on that list because you. Do you know why? They don't really want anyone who can speak the truth about the Epstein.
- [35:37]
Greg Casar
And why did he become Labor Secretary? And, like, he was a U.S. attorney in Miami. Now he's labor. He's a cabinet secretary. Ooh, that's a real. That's a nice little slot for you after you gave that sweetheart deal, Jeffrey Epstein.
- [35:50]
Jim Acosta
And let's. And let's always remember this, Jim, and you've mentioned this, and we need to continue to mention this. This is not about trying to find something to bring down Donald Trump. This is about the victims. Yes, heinous. Heinous.
- [36:05]
Greg Casar
Yes. They deserve. They deserve the truth. They deserve the truth.
- [36:10]
Jim Acosta
As. As the mother of a young daughter and you as the father of daughters as, well, you. I mean, I just. I can't even wrap my head around what these girls went through and what their family.
- [36:25]
Greg Casar
It's so horrible. I was talking about this last week, the Netflix, and I, I, I'm not being. I'm not promoting them or anything. There's no commercial thing or anything. I'm just saying, I saw the Netflix documentary on Epstein. I think it's called Filthy Rich. It is absolutely disturbing what happened to those girls. And they do deserve the truth. They do deserve justice.
- [36:46]
Jim Acosta
That's exactly right. And what's interesting is that you and I talking about this and everyone who's focused on the victims.
- [36:54]
Greg Casar
Yeah.
- [36:54]
Jim Acosta
The MAGA crew that is pissed at Trump also is interested in protecting the victims and knowing exactly who is responsible for what they went through. And this is why this has been so poisonous for Donald Trump and why they are so concerned, because they haven't been able to brush this under the bed, under the rug. They haven't been able to dictate to their MAGA followers, don't talk about this anymore. Trump doesn't want you to talk about it. They're not buying it.
- [37:29]
Greg Casar
They're not buying it.
- [37:30]
Jim Acosta
They were promised for so long that there was, you know, evil names in here. And of course, maybe in their minds, most of those evil names were Democrats. But now I think they just want to know the truth, like we all do.
- [37:43]
Greg Casar
Yes.
- [37:44]
Jim Acosta
And this is why this has been such a political kryptonite for Donald Trump. And we all need to continue to inject why this is important. Right.
- [37:55]
Greg Casar
Yeah. I mean, I think there's a real strong.
- [37:59]
Jim Acosta
It's because of the victims.
- [38:00]
Greg Casar
No, you're right. I think there's a strong possibility. He's. He wants to meet with Vladimir Putin just to get everybody to stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein. He wants to take over D.C. he wants to meet with Vladimir Putin. He will do anything.
- [38:13]
Jim Acosta
Anything.
- [38:14]
Greg Casar
He wants to put a $200 million ballroom on the White House. He's walking around on the Roo roof like Michael from the office. It. He will do anything.
- [38:22]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [38:22]
Greg Casar
To get people to stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein. It's kind of unreal. And when you talk to people around D.C. and I know you do, Maria, just like I do, this is a conversation that's happening in D.C. right now. Republican, Democrat, Independent, you name it. They're like, what the is going on with Donald Trump in this. In this Epstein file thing?
- [38:43]
Jim Acosta
And this is. This is, again, why Trump and his cronies are so concerned about this.
- [38:49]
Greg Casar
Yeah.
- [38:50]
Jim Acosta
Because this is.
- [38:51]
Greg Casar
There he is on the roof there.
- [38:53]
Jim Acosta
Right. Exactly.
- [38:54]
Greg Casar
Yeah.
- [38:55]
Jim Acosta
It's not going away, and people are calling him out on it. And this is. This is breaking through. I saw a poll the other day that said that this was one of the issues that the vast majority of Americans had heard about. Everybody knew about.
- [39:12]
Greg Casar
Yeah.
- [39:13]
Jim Acosta
These days.
- [39:14]
Greg Casar
And they all. And everybody wants the Epstein files released. And so I saw somebody did a political cartoon, and it. And it showed, like, if you look beyond that ledge right there on the roof, there are all these Epstein files sitting up there on the Roof. So I don't know, it was my thought was either that or they were checking to see can they land a helicopter there, just, you know, in case they have to whisk them away. But I guess they can do that on the south one.
- [39:35]
Jim Acosta
Exactly.
- [39:36]
Greg Casar
Maria, great to see you as always. I know you always bring it. My fiery Latina. Always great to see you.
- [39:43]
Jim Acosta
Thank you, amigo. Always wonderful to be on with you. You will always speak truth to power. And these conversations are so incredibly important. So I can't wait till the next one.
- [39:53]
Greg Casar
We'll keep doing it. Thanks, Maria.
- [39:55]
Jim Acosta
Thank you, Jim.
- [39:56]
Greg Casar
Yeah, I love that video of, and I, I love Maria. She's wonderful. I love that video of Trump on the roof there because it, it's sort of like, you know, what, where are we? What's happening? You know, it's a, it's a, it's, it's a, it's a damn peculiar thing, you know, and I, he's just, he's desperate. He's desperate right now. He wants to take over D.C. he's walking around on the roof trying to build ballrooms and so on. And, you know, there you just, it makes you wonder why people go into that Oval Office and kiss his ass. I, I, I can't understand it for the life of me, why they go into the Oval Office and kiss his ass the way that they do. I have to show this video of, of the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook. You know, I love the Apple products. I'm not going to lie. Again, this is not a commercial or anything, but, you know, but Tim Cook is in the Oval Office, and we should just show the video. He, he presents this, this offering to Donald Trump. I don't know if we can, if we could show that footage. This box was made from the U.S. california, and this glass comes off a morning line. It's engraved for President Trump. It's a unique unit of one. It was designed by US Marine Corps Corporal Force, former one that works at Apple now. That's good. He's done well, designed it for you. And the base comes from Utah and is 24 karat gold. And it sits. I'll take the liberty of setting it up. There we go. Beautiful. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Yeah. And so Tim Cook knows that, you know, Trump likes gold. It's becoming like gold. Member and Austin Powers. I, I love gold. I love gold. You know, Donald Trump, everything in the Oval Office is gold now. And so Tim Cook, you know, he wants Donald Trump to cut Apple some slack. And, you know, with the tariffs and everything. And so he's like, well, guy, you know, I can just imagine that he's back in the office workshopping this with the gang. You know, what can we do? We'll present him with a gold offering. A gold offering for the Dear Leader. It is an, it is an Apple gold offering. I'm sorry, this is so six months ago when the, when the tech Bros. And the corporate CEOs went in to the Oval Office to kiss Trump's ass to get preferential treatment for this, that or the other thing, or to just not have their industries impacted negatively by the Dear Leader. And as I've said, many, you know, I've called this the, the Dear Leader Files. I think this is another episode of the Dear Leader Files. You know, it, it's just kissing his ass. And I, I just have to wonder, you know, one viewer comment says, makes you miss Steve Jobs. Absolutely. You know, maybe Apple should come up with an app for kissing Trump's ass. This is what I'm thinking here. Apple should come up with an app for kissing Trump's big old rear end. And you know, that way these corporate CEOs, these, these university administrators, these law firms, these members of Congress, anytime you want to kiss Trump's ass, you know, you just pick up your phone and you just, you, you just send them a little smooch on the, on the, on the big old butt. You just hit the app and it sends a, right there on the keister. And maybe that's what they should do over there at Apple because honestly, I mean, does Donald Trump need another piece of gold? Whatever. And Tim Cook said it's 24 karat gold. My God, man, have some dignity, have some self respect. And I guess, you know, if you look at the, the market, Apple's stock went up and so on, it's kind, it's, it's an obscene, it's an obscene time in this country. It's an obscene time when these corporate CEOs feel that, that they have to go over on bended knee and present the gold offering. This is the precious, my precious to the Dear Leader. Need to come up with an app for that kissing Trump's ass. I won't be downloading on, downloading that one on my phone, ladies and gentlemen. No, no downloading of the kissing Trump on his rear end app on, on my personal iPhone. That won't be happening. But Tim Cook, it might come in handy. You can be over in California. I can't fly over, I can't fly over to dc. I can't fly over to DC To Kiss Success. Just hit the app. There's an app for that? Just a thought. Free idea. Put it out there, see if it works. You know, I'm willing to help the economy in any way that I can. All right, everybody, thanks. Thanks for watching. I really appreciate it. My thanks to Congressman Greg Cassar of Texas, who could lose his congressional seat as part of this redistricting battle. And of course, the wonderful, the talented, the amazing, the brilliant Ria Cardona. Always enjoy having her on and her friendship as well. And thanks to you for watching. Really appreciate it. Thanks for sticking with me all week long. It's been a topsy turvy week, but always appreciate everybody stopping by and tuning in. Until next time. Still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Have a good evening. Good night.