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The Jim Acosta Show
Trump's Minnesota Cover-up Continues - My conversation with Rep. Maxwell Frost, Iowa Senate candidate Josh Turek and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell
01:01:47
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A
Foreign.
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B
Welcome to the Jim Acosta show. And it's another day that ends in Y and Donald Trump's assault on American democracy. Our top story, the COVID up that is now underway in the killing of Alex Preddy. The Justice Department is signaling it will not conduct a civil rights investigation into the killing of Alex Preddy. Let's discuss with Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost of Florida, of course, a rising star in the party. Congressman, great to see you again. Thanks for coming on.
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A
Hey, thanks for having me on, Jim. Good to be here.
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B
Yeah, good to be with you. And I got to get your instant reaction to this. There's a story coming out of Ms. Now right now. The great Carol Leonig over there is reporting that the DOJ Civil rights unit is not going to be investigating the killing of Alex Preddy. Your thoughts on this? And let's just dive into this. Get your thoughts on all this.
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A
I mean, it's just disgusting. And it shows that this president, number one, we all know Donald Trump, want to be the president of all Americans. He is only the president of the people who support him and have allegiance to him. And so he doesn't care if a citizen has been gunned down and executed in the streets by federal agents. He doesn't care that people are losing their, their civil rights every single day across this country, as long as it's pointing towards his goals and what he wants, which is all about him empowering himself, enriching himself and billionaires in this country. And every single thing this president does leads to him enriching himself and his friends and ICE and this whole mass deportation campaign. Although, you know, Jim, I don't call it a mass deportation campaign because deportation is a legal process that's actually not being followed. So it's more of a kidnapping campaign and a human trafficking campaign. He doesn't care what it results in. And that's part of why we're, we're seeing that his cronies and his goons are not going to investigate it. There'll be this internal investigation at ICE and DHS which will go nowhere. We know how it is when people say we'll investigate ourselves. There needs to be an independent investigation. And quite frankly, Jim, I think the United States Congress needs to take this up directly. I know it's a little out of the ordinary for Congress to take up an investigation like this, but we are not in ordinary times. And we have to view this as a microcosm, as an example of a bigger problem going on around the country. These deaths will continue if we don't do anything.
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B
Yeah. And I just want to react to what you just said a moment ago about it being a kidnapping campaign. I mean, I think when they're taking little five year old boys off the street like they did with little Liam and they put him in jail, I mean, we got a, we got kids in jail right now down in Texas and some of these other places. Do you think there have been crimes committed by this administration? What could be done about that?
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A
Yes, there's been many crimes committed by this administration. Of course, the ex execution and murder of Alex and also Nicole or Renee? Nicole. Good. Just a few weeks ago. But obviously these are two cases gotten a lot of attention. And I also want to bring attention to the fact that there have been many people killed in ICE detention facilities. Last year we saw 35 people die behind those walls with not a lot of coverage on them. And I want to make sure people know that these two executions in the street that we have video of are abhorrent. And we also have deaths going on behind closed doors in ICE detention facilities. And I think it's really important that people recognize this. These are all crimes and not just this, but this is the most corrupt administration in the history of our nation. And that's saying something. This president has used this office to enrich himself, to enrich his families, scam Americans and his supporters and use the power of this office to make more money, which I think is an impeachable offense in and of itself. This administration has also ignored court rulings and in many cases stalled the action. I mean, just look at, they're breaking federal law right now by not releasing the Epstein files. So there's a few things that can be done. I'll talk about what we need to do in Congress first, because this is the most important thing right now. There is no check on the executive branch because Congress has given its power to the President. Mike Johnson is a lap dog and a puppet. He has given the gavel to Donald Trump and he only does what Donald Trump says. This is part of the reason why Congress barely passed any legislation last year and why we're not doing the work of oversight. There's been some instances where Democrats have been able to force it. We forced the issue on the Affordable Care act tax subsidies. We're forcing the issue on the Epstein files and the oversight committee. We need to force the issue on investigating this execution and murder done by federal agents at the bidding of Donald Trump. And we have to do it in Congress. And so I think we need to issue subpoenas of course, on the CBP chief who was just, you know, let go. He wasn't really firing. The opportunity to retire with full federal benefits to. That's not enough. This. This man needs to be held accountable for the culture that he created in ICE and built upon in ice and what he's continuing to push forward. And so I think we need accountability. But first and foremost, Jim, I think what Congress needs to do in the next step is two things. One, deny ICE money. And I think that has to do with voting no on the appropriations bill for dhs, which I did in the House. And we're hoping enough senators will do it in the Senate this week. And number two, we need to begin impeachment proceedings on Christino immediately. Not only is she completely incompetent, but she has overseen crimes done against both US Citizens and just Americans and humans in this country, which have violated due process and the Constitution. She needs to be held accountable. I know Leader Jeffries came out today in support of beginning these impeachment proceedings, and so I look forward to that being done.
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B
Yeah. And it sounds like Donald Trump is standing behind Kristi Noem. And so, I mean, I have to ask you, I mean, what good does that do to pull out Greg Bevino out of Minneapolis, let him go to California, have his retirement benefits and so on, and then they put. They put the border czar, Tom Homan, in there, who apparently has been under a bribery investigation. I mean, you know, and there's no accountability for Stephen Miller for calling Alex Preddy an assassin. There's no accountability for Kristi Noem, who, as you said, has presided over all this.
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A
Exactly. The president thinks that him, you know, relieving of his duties, the chief, that, that's enough, and everyone will shut up. And we're not going to shut up. And he might be used to the Democratic Party of before. He might be used to people who might, you know, take the win and do a victory lap and move on. But, you know, people are pissed off. We are pissed off. And this isn't the moment to say, we got to win. Let's move on. This is the moment to increase pressure and push even harder. When. When, you know, the opposition is showing signs of vulnerability, you push even harder for the rights of Americans and the rights of our people. And the fact of the matter is, the chief was just a small part of a bigger puzzle here that is resulting in people not having their due process, their constitutional rights taken away, and. And people being murdered in the street. I mean, we all saw that Video and that, that picture, that still of him on his hands and knees and that ICE agent pointing that pistol at his head, that, that is the reality of this nation right now under Donald Trump. And if we don't do what we need to do in terms of accountability, nothing will happen. And the last thing I want to say about this too, I think it's important is it's not just what happens in Congress, it's what happens in the streets. Donald Trump can pretend he doesn't care when there's protests happening with tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people across the country, but he knows it has an impact. And so this small win we saw yesterday is not just, it's not just a result of politicians, it's the result of the people. Democrats, Republicans coming together, people coming together and saying, enough is enough. This is America and part of this country is making sure people have due process and that our citizens aren't murdered in the middle of the street. I don't know if you saw this, Jim. The Freedom Caucus just put out a statement doubling down, saying they stand with Trump, they stand with cbp, they stand with ice, they're going to fight funding this and that. And it's interesting, I, I thought the Freedom Caucus, I thought they got that name and they made that name because they protect the freedom of Americans. But we were wrong. It's the Freedom Caucus because it's the freedom of the federal government to execute people. That's what they're, that's the freedom they're fighting for.
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B
Well, and speaking of freedoms, I mean, I'm not a big gun guy, but apparently Donald Trump is saying today that your Second Amendment rights don't go as far as maybe you once thought or as far as MAGA thought. Let's play a little bit of what Trump was asked about over at the White House earlier today. He was asked, you know, what about Alex Preddy having a gun at the protest?
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C
Do you think he was acting as an assassin in Minneapolis? Mr. Freddie, your deputy chief of staff.
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A
Said that you don't think so. With that being said, you know, he can't have guns, he can't walk in with guns.
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C
What about the Second Amendment?
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A
He can't walk in with guns. He can't do that. But it's just a very unfortunate incident.
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B
Yeah, he says you can't have guns, you can't have guns at protests. But we have pictures of other of MAGA right wing Republicans that protest with guns. They do this all the time. I mean, Congressman, you know this. I don't have to tell you this, but I'll show it for the viewers. It's, it's, it is the height of hypocrisy, it seems to me.
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A
It is. I mean, Kyle Rittenhouse, you know, somebody who showed up with an assault rifle. Look, look, that's him and the President, him celebrating him. This is somebody who went to a protest to kill people and then killed two people. And he was celebrated. So, no, it has nothing to do with Second Amendment or rights American, this. And that has to do with what helps Donald Trump in the moment. He has no values. He doesn't give a damn about anybody. He. He has nothing that holds him down, no foundation. It's just on what helps him and what helps him in the moment. And that's why he's saying what he's saying right now. This is a man who, yes, he had a gun on him, but he went through the correct legal procedures. And look, I got involved in politics because of gun violence prevention.
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B
I know you did.
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A
You know, I'm someone who fights to ensure that we have the regulations that we need that we end gun violence, period. Also, Alex was following the law. He had his permit. He did not take it out. And we've all seen the video that the ICE officers, the ICE agents have took the gun away from him, and he was killed after they took the gun away from him. And then. And a lot of people haven't seen this, that in the video, after he was executed in the street in cold blood, one of the ICE officers starts clapping. Yes, this, These, these people are. They have a rage in them, and they are purposely recruiting agents to ICE who are coming from law. Other law enforcement, police departments. I'm not going to say other law enforcement, because I don't think ICE is law enforcement. Actually, it's lawless. But they're recruiting police officers who are frustrated with the restraints that they have as being as police officers. And actually, we're working right now to collect all the commercials that ICE is putting out there. DHS is spending a ton of taxpayer money on these commercials in blue cities targeted towards police officers that say, are you tired of the restrictions? Are you tired of the accountability? Join ICE. We'll give you a $50,000 starting bonus, and you won't have restrictions. I mean, it's insane, the type of commercials they're putting out.
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B
It's like a recruiting tool for bad cops, because you see bad cops get thrown out of police departments all the time.
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That's exactly what they're doing.
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Yeah, their head cases. And so ICE is saying, well, come and join us. And I. To your point, I mean, I think this whole DHS funding issue is. Is a total red herring. It's not about funding ice. It's about funding a secret police force that sees that itself is not accountable. Whose officers see themselves as not accountable. We can show this video. I guess you probably saw this video at a protest outside of an ice hotel in Minneapolis last night or something like that. And the ice. One of the ICE officers moons the crowd, moons the protest.
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A
I haven't seen this.
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B
Yeah. Oh, yeah. I don't know if I want to see it. I don't know. I don't know if you want to see it, but we're streaming here and not on family television. Okay, but this guy. And that's about all we need to see of that. But these are ICE officers in an ice. And they. And he gives them the middle finger. They don't care.
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A
Would that. Is that. Would that be indecent exposure?
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B
I would think it would be indecent exposure, yeah.
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A
I might need to look at that video and bring it up in the oversight committee and blow up that guy's head or like in a peza picture and. And make sure we find out who that man is. Because here's the thing. These ICE officers feel like. Because of what. I mean, Stephen Miller literally went on Fox News and said, do whatever you want. You have federal immunity to everything. So they believe that even if they murdered someone, they'd get some sort of pardon or protection from the president, and they wouldn't. There'll be no accountability. I experience this here all the time. I went to my local ERO office, which is the ICE field office.
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B
Yeah.
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A
As a member of Congress, I'm able to enter these facilities whenever I want by the law. Right. Sorry. The airplane.
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B
That's ok.
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A
I show up, they try to slam the door on me. I put my foot in the door, then they let me in the facility. And the type of the disrespect that these officers spoke to me with, not even just as a member of Congress, as a. As a person doing my job. I tell you, Jim, they're just so emboldened. They feel like in the. Whatever they want. One of them said, how old are you anyway? It doesn't matter how old I am. I'm a member of Congress here doing my job. At the end of it, they said, look, we're all friends. I said, I'm not your friend. I'm not your friend. I'm here doing my job. I'm not here because I want to be here. I'm not here to have fun. I'm here doing my work as a member of Congress because I have people I represent locked behind that door right there. And I've been told the conditions are bad and I need to see it. And this is part of the reason why it's important for members of Congress to continue to show up to these facilities as much as you can. Sometimes you'll get let in, sometimes you won't. You make a big deal about it when you don't get, get in. You sue these people when they don't let you in. We saw, we just won a lawsuit on this and this to show them that there will be accountability and it changes their behavior, believe it or not. And a lot of people aren't seeing this, but the day to day work in all of our communities is really important right now. The oversight work is the most important thing we can do.
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B
Well, and some of your colleagues, I mean a lot of the members have been going to these ICE detention facilities, these processing facilities. Apparently they're trying to open up a bunch of new facilities all around the country. There are local communities going up in arms over this. Just completely like we don't want this in our backyard. But I mean, but this is baked in. This is part of that big boulder of bill that they passed where they got all the billions of dollars in ICE funding. So I mean this, this is going to be hard to contain. It seems to me.
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A
It is, it is. And this is part of the reason why we've been working on. There's a lot, a few different bills that have been put forth. One of them that I like is the Jimmy Gomez bill, which essentially takes all the money that ICE was given in the big betrayal bill. Ugly bill like that one too. It takes all that money and it puts it towards housing because we have a housing crisis in this country.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And so we need to do that. It's not enough to say vote no on the DHS bill. Now that's bad, but that's 8 or 9 billion dollars. These people have more money than the Marine Corps now because of the big betrayal bill. So we need to deny them a single penny more. But we also need to have conversations on taking the money back that was stolen from the taxpayers and given to this private militia, this private police force for the President and take that money back. And I'll go a step further and say that the agency itself needs to be disbanded. I mean there, there is no going Back here with ice, there are some legitimate functions that need to be done in terms of making sure that we have an immigration process that can be done within dhs. We can figure this out in other agencies, but the agency itself, the amount of scale back required here is immense. There's steps to it. The first few steps are clawing back all that money. The second step is letting go everybody that was hired starting on January 20th of the administration. But there's steps further than that that we also have to take because I just don't see a world, Jim, where we're able to reel this back in an acceptable way where everyone feels good about it and all the rights are being respected. I just don't see that happening. And we have to have the conversations now because part of the issue that Democrats traditionally have is we wait till we're in power to talk about what we do with the power. And because we're more of a, you know, we're a party of democracy and we want to hear from everybody, it means it takes longer to figure out what we're going to do, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But that, that process has to start now, like, and a lot of started already. But we can't wait until we win something to, to talk about what we're going to do with that power. Let's figure it out now. So when we get there, we're. It's just execution and we're just moving.
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B
Yeah. And there's also the criticism that a lot of progressives have, and I, I would guess that you probably feel this way too, that, that sometimes Democrats take the half loaf and they say, hey, we gotta win. You know, we got the half loaf.
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A
And, you know. Yeah, I heard this quote from somebody recently and I've been repeating it. If you let them, if you let them get you to a place where you accept crumbs, do you know what you ultimately get? You don't even get the crumbs. And I see that time and time again. So we need to stop allowing. My dad, you know, I grew up, my dad is with yell at the news when I was growing up, and I learned a lot from it. And something he would always say is, you know, they're calling the ref, and they've been calling the ref for decades. And what's considered the center has been moved so much to the right, and we could have a whole conversation. And I don't want to bore anybody about what the center really is. You know, is it, is it where things are on an ideological Spectrum or is the center really where most Americans are? Because most Americans are for a single payer healthcare system where, you know, you start talking to people and you realize the center of politics in this country is in a different place than we talk about it in the D.C. bubble. And I think the more you get out there and you speak with people on the. On the ground, and Chris Murphy and I did this town hall series in red districts. Right. People are in a lot of different places and a lot of different issues, but what. What brings it all together is they want bold, transformational change in this nation, and that's what we have to deliver on.
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B
Yeah. And just finally, I have to ask you about the tweet that you put out over the weekend saying you were assaulted by a man at the Sundance Festival. I guess this is in Park City, Utah. He said he was going to deport you and then punched you in the face. You said he was heard screaming racist remarks. Remarks as he drunkenly ran off. The individual was arrested and. I'm okay. What the hell happened? I guess you're doing fine. But what was that?
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A
It was a very shocking thing. Yes, I'm okay. I'm physically okay. I'm mainly just shocked by what happened. And I don't want to get too much into detail because I think, you know, there's an investigation going on. But what I will say is, two years ago, I got invited to speak at Sundance about gun violence, and I spoke to a room of screenwriters about ways to write gun safety into film and tv. Was very impactful. We had a good impact on a lot of art being put out. And I spent the rest of that day watching films. And I left very inspired. I mean, I came home, you know, just feeling really good and ready to continue my work. So this is the last year. It's in Park City, Utah, which is a very special place. So I decided to go out for that last year to get some inspiration. And so I took some personal time on the weekend to go in a personal capacity. I was at an event, a private event that was at a bar, and this guy runs up to me. He. At first I just thought, this is just a drunk guy. You know, just a drunk guy. And then he turned very violent towards myself. Sorry about that. He turned very violent towards myself. And one of my friends that was with me, who is Latina, and she's visibly Latina. And then he. Yeah, and then he brought us close in and started talking about us being deported. He's gonna, you know, our kind needs to Be deported and racist things. And then he punched me in the face and like, a fully connected punch on my face. And then he ran off. And apparently it was heard that he was talking about press. Proud to be. I'm proud to be white. I'm proud to be white and saying things like that. And about 15 minutes later, security got him. The. The police were there within minutes. They, you know, got statements from all of us. And. And he was taken to jail. And. But I, I think what this really shows here is there, you know, there's a lot of bigotry in this world and, and racism, and there's a lot of people who feel emboldened right now to be vocal about it. And so it was. It was a shocking incident to me. And, and the people around me. There was a ton of people around who saw the whole thing happen. Well, and so we'll see where it goes, but I don't want to talk to it too in depth about it. There is an investigation, but people need to stay safe. This is a dangerous time and a scary time. And so not. Not even just politicians, you know, journalists. I mean, God, the attack on journalists and everything. And. And so that's what happened. I appreciate you asking about it. I am, okay, mainly just still kind of shocked about the whole thing. I've never had something like that exact thing happen to me before. And it happened in a place where I didn't think it would. You know, I'm at a film, a film festival surrounded by, like, you know, liberal people for the rights. But it goes to show there's no space that's 100% safe. And. And so you got to always be paying attention.
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B
Yeah, well, it sounds like that guy had some problems. And, you know, you handled it as about. As best as you can. I mean, honestly, I think one of the issues that we're all dealing with right now is there are people on the far right and there are people who are bigoted who are feeling very emboldened right now because their guy is in the White House and he says anything goes, you can do whatever you want. And so they think they can do it, too. They see Ice doing it, they see Trump doing it, they see Stephen Miller doing it, they see it getting a pass on Fox, and so they can do it, too, But. Glad you're okay. Congressman will let you get back to it. Sounds like you're. You're somewhere nice. You should keep enjoying that. So thank you very much.
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A
Thanks for having me on, Jim. Appreciate it.
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B
All right. You keep fighting the good Fight. Thank you, sir. All right, that's Congressman Maxwell Frost of Florida in his home state, hopefully somewhere much warmer than the rest of us who are still digging out here in Washington, D.C. and parts of the Northeast. I imagine somebody who knows something, or quite a bit, I should say, about inclement weather during the winter season is Josh Turek, who is running for the Senate in Iowa. You can't hear anything. Oh, you can't hear anything. Josh, can you hear me?
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A
Yeah, the audio just cut out.
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D
Sorry, we can't.
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B
Audio just cut out. Okay, that's all right. This has been happening lately to the loyal viewers. They saw this happening last. Last week. Let's see. Jump out and jump back in. I. I will say we'll get. We'll get Josh Turek here in a second. He's running for the Senate in Iowa. Trump's on his way to Iowa for an event, so I thought it'd be a good time to check in with Josh. For folks who remember Josh the last time he was on our show, he's a real inspiring figure, and he is one of these candidates that I've been. I've been telling folks you got to watch out for. The U.S. senate is going to be up for grabs in the fall. There's Josh Turek. How about you? Is he back now?
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D
Yes.
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B
This has been happening lately. Little gremlins in the machine, ghosts in the machine. Not a big deal. It's okay. Good to see you, sir. Thanks for coming on.
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D
Yeah, thanks. Good to see you again, my friend.
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B
Absolutely. Appreciate it. And I was just saying a few moments ago, I really think that the Senate could be up for grabs this time around. The last time you and I spoke, I. And this was like, what, six or seven months ago? It might not have felt like it was possible, but it seems to me, if you look at the battleground map these days, a lot of these states are starting to look like they're in play. Alaska could be in play. Alexander Vindman just announced he's running for the Senate down in Florida. That could put that seat in play. And you're running in Iowa. What's your sense of things right now?
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D
Well, I can tell you this, I absolutely agree with you. Iowa is without, without a doubt in play. I keep saying that we are going to be the center of the political universe here in 2026. Unfortunately, what we're seeing all across the state is Iowans struggling, and they're struggling just to keep food on the table. They're struggling to keep a roof above their head in These rural communities where they've been absolutely decimated by the Trump tariffs, commodities prices upside down. We're looking at the beginnings of farm crisis once again. Yeah, Iowans are hurting. I mean, I just saw the stat. We are now 50th in terms of economic growth. So basically dead last for every economic growth metric. One of two states already in an economic downturn. Basically dead last for every single health care metric. Only state with a growing cancer rate. And now we're also leading the nation in farm foreclosures because of the Trump tariffs.
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B
Yeah, no, and I was going to ask you about that because, I mean, the New York Times just came out with a story, I guess, in advance of Trump making this trip to Iowa. We can talk about why he's going to Iowa, why he's wanting to do a rally. You know, he's been telling people that the affordability crisis in America, we've been calling it a crisis on the show. He says it's a scam and a hoax and so on designed to hurt him. Well, hopefully he's going to hear some reality from the people in Iowa because as you said, things are not good right now. And the New York Times just did a whole piece about how Iowa farmers are kind of on the front lines of really getting hosed by these tariffs and China applying the reciprocal tariffs in ways that just really devastate Iowa farmers.
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D
Yeah, you go into these rural communities and that's what we keep hearing over and over and over. People really legitimately concerned about seeing their family farms disappearing in the beginnings of another farm crisis. And this is directly because of giving $20 billion to Argentina and so that the Chinese can buy their tariffs. And now we're looking at, you know, some level of subsidies in place. I mean, our Iowa farmers are the very best in the world at what they do. And what they need is they need markets. And to have that, we need a strategic tariffs in place. But these rural communities, these are communities where they're losing their, their healthcare centers. I was just yesterday in a place in rural Iowa where another facility is closing. We've closed over 31 now, skilled nursing facilities, rural hospitals and nursing homes here in Iowa. Yeah, we're dead last for OB GYNs, mental health providers, mental health supports. And then now they're also seeing their rural schools that are closing and consolidating. We were number one in public education, but now we're giving blank checks to, to private schools and closing our public schools. These rural communities are hurting, and it's directly because of the policies of the Trump administration. And if he would go out there, he would see that the flags and the signs are coming down. And everywhere that we're going for the last six months have been going all across the state. We are hearing from folks that they're saying, no, we still believe in democracy, we still believe in checks and balances, not for this level of naked corruption or cuts to people's health care just to give tax breaks to billionaires. And Iowa's going to be in play.
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B
Yeah. And you're not too far from Minnesota. I, I, you know, I remember from my campaign days, you know, you would sometimes fly to Minneapolis, then drive into Iowa and, and go to events and that sort of thing. And so I know people in Iowa feel what happens in, in Minnesota and in Minneapolis and the Twin Cities. What's been your reaction to what we saw take place over the weekend? The killing of Alex Preddy by ice? It feels like everybody, you know, they were at home over the weekends looking at this on their phones and just horrified.
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D
Yeah, it is, it's horrific. I mean, you can't believe what you're seeing, that this is United States of America, honestly, as opposed to coming here because he's worried about losing this Senate race. He should be flying to Minnesota in addressing that. That's what a real leader would end up doing on this. I mean, look, Iowans, we recognize that we need safe and secure borders, but this certainly is not the way to go about it. Families like mine are genuinely terrified. I'm married to an immigrant. I'm married to a woman that was born in the Dominican Republic. She's Afro Latina. My mother in law is here. She does not speak a word of English. And people are legitimately terrified of what's going on.
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B
And I mean, I have to ask the question, your wife and mother in law, do they worry sometimes about just going to the grocery store? And I, I've heard this anecdotally from lots of people in the Latino community that they worry, you know, when they just go to the store, the Home Depot or something, that they're going to get messed with.
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D
Yeah, every single day it's a concern. And I mean, I, I can't believe that I'm forced to tell them of, make sure that you keep all of your identification on you. And especially for my mother in law that doesn't speak a word of English, of, of, of just the, the barrier. I mean, the fact that we are seeing, you know, mass agents running around and pulling American citizens and toddlers off there and eroding civil rights protections and Fourth Amendment protections. It's, this is the United States of America, and this is not what we stand for.
- [30:05]
B
Yeah. And I've done so many trips to Iowa over the years, so I have a special interest in Iowa, and I always like to check in and see how things are going in Iowa. My recollection is that Democrats used to win in Iowa. I remember a certain guy named Barack Obama winning in Iowa. And then things really shifted to the right and it became a very bright red state. What is your sense of the politics of the state? Are they kind of in flux right now because of these economic headwinds, because of issues like the Obamacare premiums? And, I mean, when people start to feel it in their pocketbook, in their wallets, then they say, oh, you know, maybe the stuff on Fox isn't resonating quite as much as it used to when I would sit down in front of the tv.
- [30:48]
D
You are exactly correct. What I've been saying is I've been traveling around the state is that one, we are not a red state. We're a common sense state that is masqueraded red. Remember, this is a state. In Trump's first midterm, we ended up winning three of the four congressional seats. We were only three points away from winning all four in 2022. We are only 1.5% away from having three of our six statewide officials being Dems. But for three reasons. One, this state is literally legitimately in play. First is, as I said to you, we're basically dead last for every economic metric, every health care metric, only state with a growing cancer rate now leading the nation in farm foreclosures due to the tariffs. Also, you know, I. I am the. The candidate that represents the reddest district in the state. And so I know how to. I know how to be able to resonate with independents and moderate Republicans. And then this is a legitimately generational opportunity for us here in Iowa. This is the first time since 1968 we have no incumbency in terms of open Senate race, open governor's race, and two open congressional races. And I can promise you we're going all across the state, and it does not matter, urban or rural. But we keep hearing from Iowans is one, that Iowans are struggling, struggling mightily. And that they also recognize that both at the state level and at the federal level, things are going the wrong direction. That we keep hearing from getting turnouts from independents and Republicans saying, proudly voted for Trump. But I still believe in Democracy. I still believe in the rule of law. I'm not for this level of naked corruption, what we're seeing. Not for giving people billionaires tax breaks to cut people's health care and food assistance.
- [32:31]
B
Yeah, I mean, I see that sign over your shoulder. No more tax cuts for billionaires. I mean, Trump has really aligned himself with the billionaire class. He was just having this screening of the Melania movie at the White House over the weekend. He was tweeting about that. Instead of tweeting about the situation and responding to the situation in Minnesota, he had people like Tim Cook there, the CEO of Apple, and, you know, these are the guys who are just getting showered with tax cuts and tax breaks and people in Iowa and the heartland just get hosed. And so how is that issue resonating from your standpoint, this issue of tax cuts for billionaires? And how do you fix this? Because, I mean, as you saw in the big beautiful bill, I call it something else. I call it the big boulder of bullshit. They took money basically that could have gone for helping with Obamacare premiums and helping the farmers, and they gave it to the rich. And these tax cuts, keeping those tax cuts in place.
- [33:29]
D
That's exactly right. You know, a variety of things on that. I mean, one, we are, we have without a doubt, living through a second gilded age, and we are seeing that wealth divide. And we've got lots and lots of people that are struggling here in Iowa. We're looking at now 110,000 Iowans that are going to lose their health care with, with the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits. We're looking at 133,000 individuals and about 30% of our small family farms that are going to see their health care premium premiums double and triple because of the cuts on the, on the acas. I really believe that this upcoming election, more than anything, is about affordability. It is about kitchen table issues. I am a self described common sense prairie populist like my hero, Senator Harkin. And these are the issues that are resonating.
- [34:17]
A
I promise you.
- [34:17]
D
Everywhere that we're going, it's talking about a livable wage, about affordable housing, about affordable healthcare, affordable, affordable pharmaceuticals, doing something to protect our public schools. Because Iowa, we were number one in public education, doing something about the cancer crisis that's affecting every single person, including myself. I mean, my sister right now is dealing with stage two breast cancer. These are the things that are affecting every single Iowan. And this is what we're out there talking about. And it certainly is resonating with people.
- [34:48]
B
Well, Josh, keep us posted on how the campaign is going. I'm sure you'll have some things to say about Trump's event there. I guess it's in the Des Moines era area. He's, he's parachuting in for an emergency rally to resurrect his poll numbers. And I'm sure you'll have things to say after that all plays out. But Josh Turk, great to see you as always. Thanks so much for coming on.
- [35:08]
D
Thank you for having me on, my friend.
- [35:10]
B
Appreciate it. You got it. Let's do it again soon. All right. Good luck with the campaign. Thanks. That's Josh Turek. And the last time around, I had him on the show and it really struck a chord with a lot of people. And I didn't go through all the biographical stuff this time around with Josh, but if you want to go learn more about him, definitely give him a Google check out. You know, the, the first ad that he put out of his campaign, I think I remember seeing it at that time and describing as I think the, one of the best political ads I've ever seen covering politics. And I'm not exaggerating. You have to go take a look at it. He's a real inspiring guy. That's Josh Turek running for the Senate in Iowa. You know, with all this talk of what is taking place in Minneapolis, there are reports that the federal forces there, ICBP and so on, they may be pulling out of Minnesota or beginning to pull out of Minnesota. I'll believe it when I see it. And it makes you wonder, where are they going next? And so I had a chance to speak with the attorney general of Massachusetts about just that, as Trump likes to go around picking on these blue states and blue cities. And is Andrea Campbell, the attorney General of Massachusetts, worried that her state might be next, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? And let's take a look. I had a chance to talk with her earlier today, And joining us now is the Massachusetts attorney General, Andrea Campbell. Madam Attorney General, great to see you. Thank you so much for coming on.
- [36:37]
C
Thank you for having me.
- [36:39]
B
Yeah, it's great to see you. And you know, this is a tough time to talk about really any of these subjects, but the fact that I guess it's been reported that ICE may be drawing down its forces, Minneapolis, and Tom Homan is going in there. The borders are to replace Greg Bevino. And it's, it sort of feels like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic a little bit. But my question is, and this is for Folks like you is what happens if ICE decides, if the Trump administration decides we're going to go after Boston next, we're going to go after a different city next and try this again. What goes through your mind and what can Massachusetts do to get ready for that sort of thing?
- [37:19]
C
Well, I remain in touch with AG Ellison, who I think is doing an incredible job given the circumstances. It is horrific and horrible and un American. What we're seeing unfold in Minnesota and Minneapolis and the killings of US Citizens who are exercising their First Amendment rights is even more egregious and sad to witness and watch. I hope they don't come to Massachusetts. I think what they've made abundantly clear is that everything they are doing in Minnesota is retribution and retaliation. And I do hope the judge who is overseeing that case and we have joined an amicus to support AG Ellison and folks in Minnesota in that case, to remove these ICE officials and CBP patrol folks from Minnesota, that she does the right thing here and sees it for what it is, retaliation and retribution. And so I hope they don't come to Massachusetts under the same posture. And if they do, I will exercise my authority like every other Democratic AG has done, which is to pursue all accountability for ICE officials. And sadly, this is a job, as you know, for the Department of Justice, but they're not doing the accountability work well. And so it is Democratic ags that have stepped up and I will do that while monitoring, of course, what's happening on the ground here in Massachusetts.
- [38:32]
B
Yeah, I mean, you mentioned the Department of Justice. And when you said that, it made me think of the letter that the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, sent to Minnesota officials. What? Over the weekend, in response to what took place, the killing of Alex Brady. In that letter, she demanded access to the state's voter rolls. I mean, I just, I don't know as an Attorney General of a state or a commonwealth like Massachusetts, how you can even have any confidence in what's happening at the DOJ in D.C. you can't.
- [39:01]
C
And I think their actions are demonstrating that the fact that the family of Alex, this nurse and US citizen, beloved by his patients and the families that he cared for, the family has to go on record to really speak to who he was is because the federal government has been lying about who he was, what he was doing and what he was engaged with when he was killed. And so that level of distrust and cover up everyone should be alarmed by. It's what you saw in Nazi Germany, it's what you see in other countries. Not this country. And sadly, what we're seeing unfold is something we have to all stand up and say, this is wrong. This is unacceptable. It's un American. I do feel proud and maybe blessed in this moment in time to be an Attorney General, to be on the front lines to fight back against the Pam Bondi, against anyone else who would, frankly, not bring about accountability, transparency and justice.
- [39:57]
B
Yeah. And when they say, well, we're switching out Greg Bevino with Tom Homan, does that give you any confidence?
- [40:06]
C
It doesn't. And obviously Tom tried to, of course, come after folks here in Massachusetts personally and professionally. And I think the worst part is right now, Americans, not just here in Massachusetts, across this country, in residents of my state and beyond, they want this administration to do their jobs. One is to focus on affordability, which that is the number one issue people care about. And then, of course, to get ice off our streets that are perpetuating fear and not promoting public safety. Instead, they are causing harm as we are all seeing unfold in Minnesota. They want folks to truly focus on public safety and protecting them, and most importantly, to ensure that our children who are witnessing all of this don't have to experience that trauma and truly can go to school, which is not happening in Minnesota, go to their health care appointments, go about their daily lives without fear from their own government.
- [41:02]
B
And what is your sense of the job the Department of Homeland Security is doing overall and the leadership of the DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem? I saw that you've. You basically put it out there that she should be replaced, that she should be out of there.
- [41:18]
C
Absolutely. She should resign. And if she's not, Congress should move and impeach her and do their job to hold her accountable. What we're seeing from this administration is cruel and wicked tactics against folks in many states across the country, including here in the Commonwealth. And these tactics to remove folks from our country, they are not advancing public safety at all. They are causing fear. They are at times picking up folks who are lawfully here. They are also holding and detaining folks in some of the most egregious conditions that everyone should be alarmed by not promoting public safety, instead promoting fear and undermining public safety and also putting the lives of those who are in law enforcement on the line. Here in Massachusetts, I have criminal jurisdiction, which is not the case for every attorney General in the country. And when we are holding folks accountable for perpetuating crimes, we do it with transparency. They do it without wearing masks, and we do it with accountability. And we expect the Same for our federal government. And that's not what we're seeing.
- [42:24]
B
Yeah. And I have, I mean, I have seen a few videos here and there of ICE doing enforcement activities in Massachusetts. There have been some controversial cases here and there. What's your, what's your take on how they've been operating in your state? And I mean, could they be putting themselves in legal jeopardy if they try to do the stuff that they did in Minneapolis in Massachusetts?
- [42:49]
C
Absolutely. I have supported the investigations by my colleague, A.G. ellison, along with other colleagues who I know are also supporting him and the governor and administration there. And if we were to see the same tactics done here in Massachusetts, which, from what we can see from the outside, or blatant constitutional violations, I would exercise my authority in holding folks accountable. I would hope to do that in partnership with the Department of Justice, but we don't know that remains to be seen if that would be the case. But in addition to, of course, exercising my legal authority to hold anyone criminally or civilly liable for harms to our state, we're out there also making sure people know what their rights are. We're doing rapid response and getting people lawyers and if they are unlawfully detained, we're being present in community to try to push back on the fear mongering that we're seeing from these ICE agents. We're calling on Congress to pass legislation so that folks can do so. These ICE officials do their jobs without wearing masks. And frankly, it's going to take a collection of folks protest in Minnesota in the freezing cold for everyone to demand this administration to do the right thing. And I think we're seeing some progress there. When you see the President say that he's going to pull people out of Minnesota, I do hope that's the case.
- [44:06]
B
Yeah, I mean, I think that would be a relief to a lot of people. But I mean, a lot of this starts with Trump. I mean, these are his officials, they work for him. He's the one who's gone out there. What's the message to him to the White House? Because, you know, I guess Attorney General, folks like yourself, you're in a bit of a jam, aren't you? If the federal government says, well, we saw J.D. vance saying, the Vice President saying that these officers have absolute immunity and so on. I mean, I, I don't understand how, how they can be held accountable.
- [44:38]
C
So first of all, J.D. vance was absolutely wrong. They do not have absolute immunity. It's read the Constitution and read the case law. No absolute immunity whatsoever. It is their job in the Department of Justice to hold their federal agents accountable. And what we're seeing is they're not doing that. They're instead blaming the victims for their own death, including Renee and Alex, which is unacceptable, horrific and horrible to say the least. And so we have to estate ages, including being the ag, of course, of Massachusetts. We have to step up and do their jobs for them. And that is difficult at times because we are state agents trying to hold federal agents accountable when we have a federal constitution that sometimes can get in the way of that. But that being said, they don't have license to kidnap folks. They don't have license to violate folks basic constitutional protections. And when they do that in our respective states, we're fighting back. We're filing lawsuits against them to hold them accountable. We're protecting birthright citizenship, tps and other statuses that they're trying to unlawfully strip folks of. We're out there telling people what their rights actually are and sort of being a trusted resource for folks, given all the misinformation coming from this federal administration. So we're doing our best to fight back. It would be great to have a partner in this. But this is where the people have power and they should never feel powerless. The protests are working. They're getting folks at the federal level to understand that what is happening on our streets is not only wrong, but that this federal administration is promoting fear and killing and not public safety.
- [46:16]
B
Yeah, I think you're so right about that. Well, and you're on the front lines of this, and hopefully it doesn't come to Massachusetts. But I know that's. This is what a lot of state attorneys general are thinking right now at this moment. All right, well, Andrea Campbell, the attorney general of Massachusetts, thank you very much for your time. Great to talk to you. Great to meet you. Thank you so much.
- [46:36]
C
Thank you. And thanks for having me.
- [46:37]
B
All right, appreciate it. And it is so important, I think, for the viewers to get to know and get to meet a lot of these rising Democratic stars. I think Maxwell Frank Frost is one, no question about it. Josh Turek in Iowa and Andrea Campbell in Massachusetts. And it just goes. I know a lot of people give the. The party elders grief and so on, but I think one of the things that folks need to focus on, too, is that there is this, there is this rising crop of Democratic politicians, pro democracy politicians, who I think are going to be a force to be reckoned with here in the years to come. I do want to just point out, as we're winding down here on this Tuesday that, you know, this, this may not be over in Minnesota. There, there was, there was a lot of, I think, you know, elation, and rightly so, when the news came out yesterday that Greg Bovino was getting the boot out of Minneapolis and it looked as though Trump was backing down to some extent, that he was in retreat as, as some people were saying. And maybe, maybe he took a step back, realizing the political danger that he found himself in after the, the events in, in Minnesota with the killing of Alex party. But I just want to show you a video that just came in just a short while ago. Take a look at this. Aaron Rupar, the great Aaron Rupar2, tweeted this out. This is an ICE enforcement action taking place in Minnesota right earlier today. My understanding. And here they are surrounding a woman with a small toddler in her arms. She's crying. Let this play out.
- [48:24]
C
Don't you have any human.
- [48:34]
B
Don't you have any humanity? That protester just had. The sweet little girl in her pink coat with her light blue. Woman's on the phone. Girl's got ice cream. This is what ice is doing. Ice is just going around, roving around.
- [49:12]
A
Minnesota.
- [49:17]
B
Terrorizing people. And you can hear the terror in her, her voice. You can hear the terror in her voice. And this is what people are going through on a daily basis. And you know, I worry a great deal that pulling Greg Bevino out of Minnesota is, is a diversion. It may not be retreat, folks. It may be a diversion. And Tom Homan going in just puts a different face on what is a problem. And as you heard that protester say, as she was recording this and monitoring this and observing this and witnessing this, she asked the question, where is your humanity? And it's a very relevant question, I think, in this hour. Where is your humanity? And I, I asked that same question this evening of, and I don't mention this person on my show very often. And I, and I realize that some of the things that she says is, is to trigger folks to talk about her. So, you know, it gives her clicks and what she thinks of as buzz and maybe it makes her trending and that sort of thing. But you have to, we have to pause for, for just a moment and listen to what Megan Kelly, who is one of the most popular podcasters in the world, what she said about the killing of Alex Preddy. And again, I don't like to play her stuff very much because I think she's a monster. But we should play this.
- [50:40]
E
I'm supposed to feel sorry for Alex Preddy But I don't. I don't. Do you know why I wasn't shot by Border Patrol this weekend? Because I kept my ass inside and out of their operations. It's very simple. If I felt strongly enough about something the government was doing that I would go out and protest, I would do it peacefully on the sidewalk without interfering via a whistle, via shouting body, like.
- [51:08]
B
They did on January 6th. Megan Kelly, like the peaceful protesters on January 6th.
- [51:13]
A
Theory.
- [51:13]
B
Shut the up. Megan Kelly is a monster. She. She may have a. A pleasing appearance to some, not to me, but she is a monster. And I. And I ask Megan Kelly this. It's exactly what that protester asked in that video a few moments ago. Where is your humanity, Megan Kelly? Where is your humanity? Where is your soul, Megyn Kelly? What has happened to your soul? Alex Preddy, an intensive care unit nurse who is caring for veterans, is gunned down in cold blood by federal agents and officers of this government. And she says she doesn't feel anything for this person. And I. And I know what she's doing. She's part of the Trump propaganda machine. And what the Trump propaganda machine wants to do right now is, is move on. And they. They want to keep the base in a place where they. They just look past the casualties of Trump's war against the American people. And it is a war against the American people. It is a war against. Against our rights and our freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. Alex Preddy was exercising his constitutional rights to protest, and by the way, he was also exercising his constitutional right to carry a firearm, to legally carry a firearm that is protected under the Second Amendment. And that is something that Donald Trump used to care about, ladies and gentlemen. That is something Donald Trump used to care about until now. And there he is with Kyle Rittenhouse, for Christ's sake. But what. What I worry about, and I worry about it a great deal, when Donald Trump comes out and says, well, you can't have guns at a protest, and he had guns with him and so on, you can't have guns, is that we can't. The Second Amendment is, Is not a situation where it's a Second Amendment for me and not for thee. And that's what MAGA wants. I think that's what I'm afraid of, that that's what MAGA wants in this country, a Second Amendment for me, but not for thee, that they're the ones who are allowed to have the guns in this country. They're the ones who are allowed to amass arsenals of high powered firearms in their basements and so on. But when an intensive care unit nurse carries a firearm to a protest, somehow he, he doesn't have those rights anymore. And on top of that, Megyn Kelly says she doesn't give a damn that he was killed in cold blood. And that is disgraceful. And that is why I say, Megyn Kelly, you are a monster. The rest of us, thank goodness, still have our heads screwed on straight. The rest of us still have a soul. The rest of us still have a heart. The rest of us still have empathy. And that is, that, to me, is the bottom line, ladies and gentlemen. It's not about who's in retreat, who's up and who's down in the polls. How this is, I saw there's a Washington reporter, I'm not going to mention her name, who talked about this being a PR problem for Donald Trump and he's trying to overcome a PR problem over at the White House. This is not a PR problem, folks. This is a fascism problem. Donald Trump has a fascism problem. The United States government has a fascism problem because they have a secret police force out right now violating the civil rights of anybody that they come across pretty much all the time. And it has to stop. And it has to stop. But the one thing that they should not be able to take away from us, the one thing that they should not be able to change is our ability to have empathy. I've said it on this show many times, and I'll say it again. Donald Trump wants his cruelty to become your cruelty. He wants his nastiness to become your nastiness. And Megyn Kelly worships at the altar of Donald Trump. She, she cashed in her chips. She, she sold that soul if she ever had one, years ago. But that doesn't have to be us. That doesn't have to be you and me. We can still have empathy. We can still feel loss. We, we can still feel immense sadness for Alex Preddy. But, but make no mistake, and this is my view, and I'm not saying this in response to anybody else. I'm not trashing anybody else or anything like that. I will just tell you, I do not believe Donald Trump is in retreat. I think he's called a timeout, but he's not in retreat. And ladies and gentlemen, we are nowhere near the end of this. We're at the beginning. And it is going to take sustained determination on the part of the American people to overcome this moment right now. And yes, Greg Bevino may be chased out of Minnesota, but Donald Trump has an army of thugs and an administration full of thugs who will take his place. It is next man up. It is next thug up for Donald Trump. Tom Homan, it's your turn. And please understand, if Stephen Miller is not in trouble, then we ain't out of the woods. Ladies and gentlemen, when Stephen Miller can go on social media and call Alex Peretti an assassin and not suffer any consequences in any other Democratic or Republican administration in Washington, D.C. that guy would have been thrown out of his job. His ass would have been handed his boxes and told, get the hell out of here. But not Stephen Miller and. And apparently not Kristi Noem either. And as long as these are still on the case, ladies and gentlemen, as long as these monsters are still on the case, we are not out of the woods, ladies and gentlemen. This is not a retreat. This is a reprieve. It is a brief reprieve. And there are still many more hours and days and weeks and months of this to come. It's important that we steel ourselves for what lies ahead. My thanks to Maxwell Frost. My thanks to Josh Turek. My thanks to Andrea Campbell. My thanks to all of you for watching it. I was doing this again last week. I'm going to do it again today. It does matter when you subscribe. It does matter when you support. It does matter when you like and share independent media. It helps guys like me. It helps the cause for independent journalism in this country. Is your social media flooded with all of these stories about the ridiculous soap opera over at cbs? Mine sure as hell is, and I'm tired of hearing about it. I don't need to hear about it. I don't want to. I don't want to know about the drama over at CBS or. Or at any place in corporate media. We here in independent media work for you. We're covering the drama that is unfolding in this country right now. That's what we should be focused on, and that is what we will be focusing on. And one final thing, one final thing in case you. In case there are some folks out there who were aware of the calendar, tomorrow will be one year since I took the plunge into independent media. Since I left my old place, as I like to call it.
- [58:51]
A
One.
- [58:51]
B
One year. That's right. You can see it at the bottom of the screen. One year, folks. One year of independence. And damn, don't it feel good. It feels real good. Independence feels really nice. Look at me wearing this flannel thing that's keeping me warm in. In the bitter D.C. winter that we're in the midst of right now. My God, the snow got frozen over with ice. It's piled up as high as you can possibly imagine. It's hell getting around D.C. right now, but we'll get through this just like we're getting through everything else. And so tomorrow on the show, on Wednesday on this show, we're going to be celebrating one year of the Jim Acosta Show. I don't use myself in the third person very often, but I will say the title of the show every so often. And we'll be celebrating one year of the program on Wednesday, tomorrow with all of you. So please stay tuned for that as well. There's some applause. The canned applause is that is the only time you'll ever hear applause on this program. I guess we do a town hall or something like that. You might hear it as well. So stay tuned for that as well. We'll have some friends dropping by and who knows what. Duke is on the little sofa that I have here in my studio office, and he has now learned to behave himself and not knock over the podcasting stand when I'm talking into the laptop. When Daddy's talking into the laptop, he knows to be quiet and behave. He's such a good little boy. But tomorrow I am going to try to coax him on camera, which will probably take more than treats, but I'll do the best that I can. But in the meantime, thanks to all of you. I appreciate all of your support. Whatever you can do to support us is greatly appreciated. And so tune in. We'll be back with you tomorrow. Still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you next time.