CNN anchor and reporter Jim Acosta is leaving the network, a significant departure by a media figure who was a top journalist at the cable channel during President Trump’s first term in office.
Acosta announced his decision to leave at the end of his morning newscast on Tuesday, thanking the people who work “behind the scenes” at CNN and teasing he will have “more to say on his plans” in the coming days.
His departure comes just days after he was reportedly offered a new time slot by CNN management amid a major shakeup of its programming and personnel announced last week.
Acosta’s newscast is set to be replaced by a program anchored by longtime network hosts Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown.
“After careful consideration and another time slot CNN offered me, I’ve decided to move on,” Acosta confirmed on Tuesday.
A veteran of the WarnerBros. Discovery-owned outlet for nearly 20 years, the veteran journalist made a name for himself as CNN’s top White House correspondent during Trump’s first stint in the White House.
He often sparred with the president and his aides during press conferences and gaggles, including one incident that resulted in the temporary revoking of his press pass.
“People often ask me if the highlight of my time here at CNN was at the White House covering Donald Trump,” he said Tuesday. “Actually, that moment came when I covered former president Barack Obama’s trip to Cuba in 2016 and had the chance to question the dictator there about the island’s political prisoners.”
Acosta’s departure also comes amid a time of noticeable changes to the tone of coverage of Trump and his supporters at CNN, and across the mainstream media more generally.
The outgoing anchor did not reference any recent changes in CNN’s editorial direction on Tuesday but offered a parting message to his audience.
“Don’t give into the lies, don’t give in to the fear hold on to the truth and to hope,” he said.
In a statement to The Hill, CNN said “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.”
“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,” they added.
The news also comes after the cable giant unveiled plans to lay off dozens of employees and undergo major restructuring.
