Welcome to the Jim Acosta Morning Memo on a Thursday morning in an America that still has a Donald Trump, but is now minus another legendary entertainer. Grab your coffee and don’t dream it, be it!
Going Home: A day after we lost Dolly Parton, we learned that the iconic Tim Curry passed away on Wednesday. It’s probably fair to say there’s a significant overlap in their respective fandoms.
Tim Curry brought a special kind of magic to his performances that made every fan feel like they had personally discovered him — but there were millions of us, across generations.
Here’s Tim speaking about his then-upcoming role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, unaware of the starship he’d be launching with his gigawatt performance as Frank N. Furter — or the throngs he would inspire with his scene-stealing career.
On A Roll: MAGA is melting down over a joke Jellyroll told as he began a week of filling in on Jimmy Kimmel Live, with one MAGA congressman banning him from his Florida district.
The joke, from Monday’s monologue, was part of a bit on Trump making fun of overweight people.
Mr. President, from one fat pig to another, take it from me, that physical fitness is very important. And trust me, you’ll be happy to see your penis again.
El-Sayed Double-Triggers Trump: Abdul El-Sayed hit Trump with a two-fer, mocking him with a hilarious impression and name-checking his Human Binky, Bunny-Boiler Natalie Harp.
Donald Trump cannot seem to keep my name out of his mouth. Habibi, if you can’t say the name, don’t say the name. “Abdul. Abull”.
Do not say it like that. It is creepy. Holds onto the "L" a little too long.
Natalie is going to show him this clip and he’s going to be so mad.
There Is No Bottom Part One Billion: In a stunning exclusive, MS NOW’s Priya Sridhar and Lindsey Pipia report that Trump’s military is trying to punish a sailor who jumped off of the USS Abraham Lincoln amid a long deployment in deplorable conditions.
“I think they’re insane for doing this to people who need mental help,” the wife told MS NOW. “Instead of giving them help, this is just another huge stressor.”
The couple, who are both 19, share a 3½-year-old son and welcomed a daughter in February, while the sailor was deployed. His wife said he has repeatedly requested paternity leave and been denied each time.
Mess-tosterone: Pete Hegseth’s weird crusade to remake the US military in the image of a 90s Jack Nicholson villain has had consequences. The NY Times has a can’t-miss deep-dive on the Pete Problem.
“Every shortcut in training and lapse in discipline will be paid for in blood,” he warned.
A series of firings and feuds initiated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has left the Army essentially rudderless as it struggles to deal with the threat posed by cheap, deadly drones and missiles that have pounded U.S. bases in the Middle East.
Bless His Heart: Our deluded Orange Julius Caesar told Glenn Beck that Dolly Parton “really liked me.”
He also surmised that 80 percent of her fandom was MAGA.
Trust us, Don, she was being polite. She always was.
Many A Truth: Sometimes, Trump accidentally gets something right, like when he reposted a message that read "I don't think the GOP fully grasp how badly they are fucking up right now."
Who Wants To Tell Him? Part One: Trump managed to one-up a historically deadly gaffe even as he tried to mock it with a “Mission Accomplished” meme about the Iran Fail-mate.
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Who Wants To Tell Him? Part Two:
