Jim Acosta, CNN's heckler-in-chief during Trump's first term, is out at the network according to multiple reports, including from his former CNN colleague, Oliver Darcy.
On Monday night, Darrcy said Acosta plans to leave the network after CEO Mark Thompson removed him from his 10 a.m. slot, which came after Thompson reportedly asked Acosta to anchor a graveyard shift show from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m.
According to Darcy at Status News;
Jim Acosta is expected to exit CNN.
The anchor, I’m told, signaled to associates in private conversations over the weekend that he intends to depart the network after its chief executive, Mark Thompson, booted him from the morning programming lineup — a move that conspicuously coincided with Donald Trump’s return to power.
CNN brass, as we first reported earlier this month, decided to strip Acosta of his 10am show, which he has anchored to great ratings success over the last 11 months, at times even seeing higher viewership than programs in the channel’s prime time bloc. Acosta was instead offered the less-than-desirable option of anchoring a show from midnight until 2am ET. CNN pitched the gig to Acosta as anchoring during prime time on the West Coast and said he could move to Los Angeles to host the program. But the reality is the program would have aired at a time in which cable news viewership is at its lowest levels.
As Fox News reported several days ago, the 10 AM slot previously occupied by Acosta’s show is now being replaced with “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown," while the move to midnight was viewed as a 'sacrifice of sorts' to Acosta's longtime nemesis, President Donald Trump. While CNN has changed its scheduling several times in the last few years, this marks the first time that Acosta’s name has not been included.
"They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump," a source told Darcy. "Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network."
Acosta gained notoriety as CNN’s White House Correspondent during the first Trump Administration. He repeatedly asked loaded, combative questions of President Trump, with tensions peaking during a briefing where Acosta got into a brief physical confrontation with a female White House intern. Acosta’s White House press credentials were briefly revoked following the incident.
Remember when Acosta pulled this dick move?