Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta compared President Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C., projects to the "end days of Saddam Hussein" on Sunday while questioning Trump’s mental and physical fitness during an appearance after the president’s Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall.
Acosta made the remark on left-wing host Jack Cocchiarella’s podcast after Cocchiarella asked what he would do with Trump's "monuments and vanity projects" after Trump leaves office.
"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.," Acosta said.
Acosta also shared that he was more concerned about Trump’s mental state than his physical condition.
"I have more pause about his mental health than his physical health," Acosta said.
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.
Acosta said Trump's projects should be undone after his presidency.
"Everything should be restored to the way things were before he started doing these things," Acosta said.
Cocchiarella also asked Acosta what he believed was "going on with the man's health," saying Trump's "strength" appeared diluted.
"I think that he’s obviously not the same person that I covered during the first term," Acosta said.
"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 pushed back on Acosta’s comments in a statement to Fox News Digital, accusing Democrats and the media of covering up former President Joe Biden’s decline, while praising Trump’s stamina and accessibility.
"President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration when Democrats and the legacy media intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people," Ingle said. "President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible president in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises."
Acosta criticized mainstream outlets for not covering Trump's health more aggressively.
"The fact that it’s not really talked about in the mainstream press all that much is an embarrassment," Acosta said.
"I think that my friends in corporate media, they need to get a little bit more courage," Acosta said. "We can report on the things that are apparent to our own eyes. Like that’s OK to do."
He pointed to both Trump's appearance and his public remarks as reasons for concern.
"I think, you know, the bruises, the cankles, I mean, there’s lots of physical signs," Acosta said. "I think that the incoherence, though to me, is the overriding theme here."
Acosta compared Trump’s public comments to the scrutiny Biden faced before dropping his 2024 re-election bid.
"Joe Biden’s entire political career ended off of one of those comments," Acosta said. "And Donald Trump does it. It’s like a regular occurrence over at the White House.
"I would like to know who it is that’s in the room with him on a regular basis when he’s making a lot of these decisions, in particular national security decisions," he added.