'End days of Saddam Hussein': Ex-CNN host delivers brutal review of Trump 250

06 July

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a Rose Garden Club Lunch at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 6, 2026.

According to former CNN host Jim Acosta, President Donald Trump’s preparations for and celebration of the country’s 250th birthday were like something straight out of the "end days of Saddam Hussein.” As Fox News reports, he made the comparison while on the podcast of Jack Cocchiarella, where he suggested that Trump’s vanity project spree reflected the whims of a flailing dictator on the verge of collapse.

Acosta raised the specter of the Iraqi strongman when he was asked what should be done with Trump’s "monuments and vanity projects" left behind once his reign is over, saying, “That’s what concerns me greatly, and this is like end days of Saddam Hussein that we’re seeing right now with the way he’s trying to build things and take over projects down in Washington D.C.”

As Fox explains, “The interview came after Trump’s America 250 celebration on the National Mall, which the White House described as marking ‘250 years of American Independence.’ The former CNN White House correspondent argued Trump's building projects showed a desire to shape how he will be remembered. ‘He’s doing these things because he knows deep down in his bones that he is going to be ranked probably the lowest among all presidents in American history,’ Acosta said.”

In Acosta’s estimation, “Everything should be restored to the way things were before he started doing these things.”

The host also raised the issue of what’s "going on with the man's health," saying the president’s "strength" seems to have diminished. "I think that he’s obviously not the same person that I covered during the first term," Acosta replied. "I don’t remember him falling asleep in the Cabinet meetings and in the Oval Office as people are standing over his shoulder talking. I mean, that’s totally nuts."

White House spokesman Davis Ingle delivered a response to Fox, claiming that “President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible president in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises.”

According to Fox, Acosta mentioned a number of concerns regarding Trump’s health, saying, "I think, you know, the bruises, the cankles, I mean, there’s lots of physical signs. I think that the incoherence, though to me, is the overriding theme here."

Acosta also took issue with the media’s failure to cover the president’s health, saying, "The fact that it’s not really talked about in the mainstream press all that much is an embarrassment. I think that my friends in corporate media, they need to get a little bit more courage. We can report on the things that are apparent to our own eyes. That’s OK to do."

"I have more pause about his mental health than his physical health," Acosta noted.

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