CNN’s Jim Acosta laid into Republican lawmakers Saturday, mocking the name of former President Donald Trump’s new social media platform — TRUTH — and ridiculing his supporters in Congress.
Acosta, who hits Trump and the Republican Party pretty hard every weekend, brought attention to campaigns that frequently use the cliché of “blowing stuff up to shock us into voting for them.” And he’s right. Everything from beer bottles to cars have been blown up in campaign ads as a message of supposed strength and determination because they don’t like vaccine mandates or critical race theory or whatnot.
“Of course, politicians have the right to run all the crazy ads that they want, but this violent political messaging doesn’t have a place in American society. It just doesn’t, not after Jan. 6,” Acosta said. “Not after supporters of the former president resorted to violence to try to overturn the results of a free and fair election and not after Trump is still lying about what happened that day. He released a statement this week repeating the big lie, saying the insurrection took place on Nov. 3, Election Day…and that Jan.6 was to protest that, [which] is delusional, of course.”
And earlier this week, Trump spread another lie while also criticizing a much-respected man, four-star General Colin Powell, who died of complications from COVID-19. Trump gave no kind words or offered no sympathy to Powell’s family upon his death. Instead, Acosta pointed out, Trump trashed him in a statement, inaccurately calling him a RINO (Republican in name only).
“For years, Powell tried to warn Republicans about the direction of the Republican Party,” Acosta said. “Way back in 2008, Powell called out Republicans who were falsely claiming that then-candidate Barack Obama was a Muslim, as if that was a bad thing. Taking your party on and telling some tough truth, that is true leadership.”
Colin Powell also tried sounding the alarm about Donald Trump. Just after Jan. 6, Powell said the insurrection at the Capitol was part of what he had been warning about.
Since Twitter and Facebook both booted off Trump, making reaching his supporters more difficult than before and during his time in office, he announced the launching of a “new platform to amplify these lies,” as Acosta put it.
“He’s going to call it TRUTH Social,” Acosta said. “Now, there are rules on TRUTH. For example, apparently, you can’t say anything bad about Trump. And when Trump and other users post their messages, they’re going to be called ‘truths.’ A hundred bucks says Trump’s first ‘truth’ on TRUTH will be a lie. Because he’s a liar.”
Resurfacing his “blowing things up” analogy from the beginning of his segment, Acosta said, “If Republican politicians want to blow things up, if they want to shock us, then do this before it’s too late, before there is more political violence in this country — tell the truth. He lost.” Acosta repeated softly, “He lost. You can practice this at home in front of a mirror. Just say the words — he lost.”
He went on. “You know ignoring him will not make it go away. Kissing the ring will not make it go away. Impersonating him certainly will not make it go away. He will find new ways to disgust you and betray you because there is no bottom. There hasn’t ever been a bottom and there never will be a bottom.
“His soul is a black hole swallowing up the nearest, weakest objects around him. Blowing up a Prius in a TV ad doesn’t make you look tough. It makes you look ridiculous. If you want to look tough, blow us away by telling the truth.”
Watch the video above.