Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta took fresh aim at Middle America and Donald Trump during a recent appearance at a left-wing policy forum, reaffirming his disdain for the voters and regions that carried Trump to a 2024 victory.
Acosta’s comments, made Tuesday at an event hosted by the Center for American Progress, drew immediate backlash for their elitist tone and sweeping condemnation of rural voters.
In what critics called a textbook example of coastal condescension, Acosta accused conservatives of infiltrating the heartland and misleading voters. “They’ve basically pulled mom and pop from the farm to their point of view,” he said, implying that rural Americans are incapable of independent thought. He continued, “A lot of those folks vote in these elections… and they’ve been completely led astray.”
🚨NEW — Jim Acosta says that small town farmers are now "far right" and have been "led astray."
He's upset because "a lot of these folks vote in these elections."
Maybe they don't vote for Democrats because people like Jim Acosta talk down to them exactly like this. pic.twitter.com/MS28l4k5ku
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 17, 2025
Acosta's remarks appear to reflect a long-standing disdain for Trump’s base, particularly working-class and rural voters, whom he repeatedly painted as gullible and misinformed. His tone suggests he still sees Trump’s support not as a legitimate democratic outcome, but as a symptom of a broken media ecosystem.
The response to Acosta’s speech was swift. Conservative commentator Dana Loesch called him “one of the most clueless people in broadcasting.” Townhall Media criticized his remarks as evidence of why Democrats continue to struggle with voters outside major urban centers: “Maybe they don't vote for Democrats because people like Jim Acosta talk down to them exactly like this.”
#BREAKING: Jim Acosta makes it official, rage-quitting CNN after 18 years at the network, telling viewers to not "give into the lies" and "it is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant"....
“And I just wanted to end today's show by thanking all of the wonderful people who work… pic.twitter.com/7Zlwrrbwwl
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 28, 2025
Acosta also renewed his long-standing attacks on President Donald Trump. Referring to him as “a danger to this country,” he claimed even Republicans were embarrassed to associate with him, citing low turnout at what he mockingly dubbed the “Kim Jong Un birthday parade” — Trump’s recent celebration event, which featured tanks and sparse crowds.
Acosta’s scorn wasn’t just aimed at Trump’s policies, but at his supporters as well. He painted a picture of a country misled and endangered by Trump and mocked the event’s imagery, suggesting it evoked authoritarianism and isolation.