Jim Acosta has exited CNN.
The CNN chief domestic correspondent announced on air Tuesday he was leaving the network, telling viewers that “after giving all of this some careful consideration and weighing an alternative time slot CNN offered me, I have decided to move on.”
Acosta, 53, had been with the network since 2007. A fervent critic of President Donald Trump, Acosta noted that his coverage of the newly re-elected president’s first term has not been the “highlight” of his career, instead considering his coverage of former President Barack Obama‘s trip to Cuba in 2016 a defining moment.
“(I) had the chance to question the dictator there, Raul Castro, about the island’s political prisoners,” Acosta said on air. “As the son of a Cuban refugee, I took home the lesson … it is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant. I have always believed it’s the job of the press to hold power to account.”
After the ex-CNN chief domestic correspondent announced his exit on air Tuesday, President DonaldTrump responded on conservative social media platform Truth Social slamming his frequent critic.
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“Wow, really good news! Jim Acosta, one of the worst and most dishonest reporters in journalistic history, a major sleazebag, has been relegated by CNN Fake News to the Midnight hour, ‘Death Valley,’ because of extraordinarily LOW RATINGS (and no talent!),” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump continued: “Word is that he wants to QUIT, and that would be even better. Jim is a major loser who will fail no matter where he ends up. Good luck Jim!”
Acosta responded on X by quipping that Trump has “ADS.”
“Looks like somebody has ADS: Acosta Derangement Syndrome,” the former anchor wrote, in reference to the president’s own coined term “Trump derangement syndrome” which he assigns to political foes.
Jim Acosta, Trump sparafter longtime anchor leaves CNN: ‘Jim is a major loser’
The move comes after the anchor’s show was moved from its usual time slot, with media reports saying Acosta was offered a midnight time slot in a jarring shift just as Trump began his second term. In a statement on Friday, a CNN spokesperson said the network was in “active discussions with Jim about a new time slot and will have more information to share soon.”
The network confirmed his exit Tuesday to USA TODAY.
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“Jim has had a long, distinguished nearly 20-year career at CNN, with a track record of standing up to authority, for the First Amendment and for our journalistic freedoms,” the network said in a statement. “We want to thank him for the dedication and commitment he’s brought to his reporting and wish him the very best in the future.”
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CNN has shifted much of its programming lineup, bumping hosts such as Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer to different timeslots as the company cuts about 200 TV positions, or 6% of its workforce, according to the network’s own reporting.
At least a half dozen marquee hosts at U.S. news organizations — from Fox News to CNN — have left their powerful perches at the anchor desk.
Contributing: Jay Stahl
This story has been updated to fix a typo.