Even by his own standards, former CNN anchor turned Substack podcaster Jim Acosta displayed a stunning amount of hypocrisy on Tuesday when it comes to conspiracy theories about the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. On 2020, Acosta let former CNN colleague Michael Fanone go on a profanity-laden rant against Speaker Mike Johnson and fellow Republicans while he labeled actress Rosie O’Donnell an “international treasure” immediately after she spread conspiracy theories about 2024.
Acosta, recording the show from the Lincoln Theater in Washington, put the ball on the tee for Fanone, “There is a plaque honoring January 6 police officers that’s still in a frigging broom closet in the basement of the Capitol. It’s insane. And you thought about this the other, I don’t know, for folks who missed this.”
Fanone replied that, “I’ve never really been one for awards or accolades, and I’ll tell you why, and it’s because the entire time I was a D.C. police officer, I don’t think I was ever presented with an award from any person who I felt that was worthy of presenting me with that award. And I think if there’s a lot of, like, working police officers out there, they probably know what I’m talking about, and so, like, my thoughts on the plaque was, like, listen, if Mike Johnson wants to be a petty bitch and he wants to withhold presenting me with a plaque, then, you know, Mike Johnson could take that plaque and shove it up his [sound drops] ass.”
He continued, “And I think that the vast majority of police officers that I talked to, the vast majority of officers that were there on January 6 that fought to preserve democracy, that fought to protect the Capitol, that fought to protect [sound drops]holes like Mike Johnson and his Republican [sound drops] colleagues.”
At that point, former aide to Vice President Mike Pence-turned Never Trumper, Olivia Troye, quipped, “Can I get a cocktail?”
Fanone then kept rolling, “They will tell you the exact same thing. They don’t want the plaque, they don’t care about the claque, they know what they did and they would do it again, but they don’t need to be honored or recognized by some piece of shit like Mike Johnson.”
While Fanone portrays his anger as January 6-related, he has also claimed that history will “take a big shit on" Troye’s former boss’s head. Additionally, he has compared Trump’s January 6 indictment to the death of Osama bin Laden.
Later in the show, O’Donnell called in from Dublin, Ireland, and Acosta again opened the floor, “There’s a reason why this independent media thing is taking off. There’s a reason why things like Substack, YouTube are taking off and why you were taking off, Rosie.”
O’Donnell then put on her tinfoil hat, “Yes. Well, you know, all people want now after all the lies we’ve been told from Trump four years ago, and we were just getting out of the depression of that, and then he comes back, I believe unfairly. I believe Elon Musk did something. I believe no one has ever won every swing state. I believe the down ballot proof. I believe that he did not win this election because I was looking at how many people Kamala Harris had, and I just don’t believe it, and my friends say you have to believe it, but I don’t.”
The man who claims to care so much about facts and truth replied, “Well, something tells me if we were to have that election today, we would have a different result. There’s no question about it. Rosie O’Donnell, you are the best. You’re not a national treasure, you’re an international treasure, so thank you very much.”
The truth is neither the 2020 nor the 2024 election was stolen. If the media covered 2020 fairly, maybe the voters would have acted differently, but there was nothing fishy about the actual vote counts in either case, just as there was nothing suspect about 2000 or 2004. For Acosta, however, a journalistic commitment to the truth only goes one way.
June 3 was a bad day for podcasts. It was on that day that PBS’s Christiane Amanpour compare the U.S. to North Korea and when former ESPN and MSNBC host Keith Olbermann blamed Donald Trump for the anti-Semite who shouted “Free Palestine” while firebombing a group calling for the release of Israeli hostages.
Here is a transcript for the June 3 show:
The Jim Acosta Show
6/3/2025
7 Minutes, 47 Seconds
JIM ACOSTA: There is a plaque honoring January 6 police officers that’s still in a frigging broom closet in the basement of the Capitol. It’s insane.
MICHAEL FANONE: Yeah no—
ACOSTA: And you thought about this the other, I don’t know, for folks who missed this.
OLIVIA TROYE: He had some strong words, actually.
FANONE: Listen, like, I’ve always felt that—I’ve never really been one for awards or accolades, and I’ll tell you why, and it’s because the entire time I was a D.C. police officer, I don’t think I was ever presented with an award from any person who I felt that was worthy of presenting me with that award. And I think if there’s a lot of, like, working police officers out there, they probably know what I’m talking about, and so, like, my thoughts on the plaque was, like, listen, if Mike Johnson wants to be a petty bitch and he wants to withhold presenting me with a plaque then, you know, Mike Johnson could take that plaque and shove it up his [sound drops] ass.
ACOSTA: There you go. Okay.
FANONE: And I think that the vast majority of police officers that I talked to, the vast majority of officers that were there on January 6 that fought to preserve democracy, that fought to protect The Capitol, that fought to protect [sound drops]holes like Mike Johnson and his Republican [sound drops] colleagues.
TROYE: Can I get a cocktail?
FANONE: They will tell you the exact same thing. They don’t want the plaque, they don’t care about the claque, they know what they did and they would do it again, but they don’t need to be honored or recognized by some piece of shit like Mike Johnson.
…
19 Minutes, 3 Seconds
ACOSTA: There’s a reason why this independent media thing is taking off. There’s a reason why things like Substack, YouTube are taking off and why you were taking off, Rosie.
ROSIE O’DONNELL: Yes. Well, you know, all people want now after all the lies we’ve been told from Trump four years ago, and we were just getting out of the depression of that, and then he comes back, I believe unfairly.
ACOSTA: Yeah.
O’DONNELL: I believe Elon Musk did something. I believe no one has ever won every swing state. I believe the down ballot proof. I believe that he did not win this election because I was looking at how many people Kamala Harris had, and I just don’t believe it, and my friends say you have to believe it, but I don’t.
ACOSTA: Well, something tells me if we were to have that election today, we would have a different result. There’s no question about it.
O’DONNELL: Yes.
ACOSTA: Rosie O’Donnell, you are the best. You’re not a national treasure, you’re an international treasure, so thank you very much.