Jim Acosta issued a bitter final diatribe as he confirmed that he is quitting CNN after being booted out of his prime slot.
Concluding his CNN Newsroom show just before 11am ET Tuesday, Costa, 53, looked directly into the camera and said: ‘One final message – don’t give in to the lies.
‘Don’t give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope,’ he continued, eventually calling Donald Trump ‘a tyrant’.
‘Even if you have to get out your phone,’ he went on. ‘Record that message. I will not give in to the lies. I will not give in to the fear posted on your social media, so people can hear from you too.’
Acosta went on to state how he’d share news of his planned career moves in the coming days, following weeks of speculative headlines.
The veteran newsman – who spent 18 years at CNN – was humiliated earlier this month when reports emerged indicating he was going to be axed from his 10am timeslot.
A new Situation Room series headed by Wolf Blitzer will take over the slot instead, CNN CEO Mark Thompson confirmed last week, while unleashing some 200 firings.
Acosta, who lives in Washington DC, was offered a graveyard midnight to 2am slot by him instead – an offer he flatly rejected.
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Jim Acosta confirmed he is leaving CNN Tuesday – with an on-air speech where he told viewers ‘not to give into the lies’
It was sold to him as a move to West Coast primetime that included a move to LA, insiders told Status news – leaving Acosta to address the subsequent speculation.
‘I just wanted to end today’s show by thanking all of the wonderful people who work behind the scenes at this network,’ he told viewers, following an hour that saw him slam Trump’s recent deportations as ‘a dog and pony show.’
‘You may have seen some reports about me and the show,’ he continued, referring to accounts initially obtained by Status founder – and former CNN staffer – Oliver Darcy.
‘And after giving all of this some careful consideration and weighing an alternative time slot, CNN offered me, I’ve decided to move on.
‘I just wanted to end today’s show by thanking all of the wonderful people who work behind the scenes at this network,’ he continued, adding how he came to the decision after ‘some careful consideration and weighing an alternative time slot CNN offered.’
But, Acosta concluded, ‘I’ve decided to move on.’
The speech went on from there, with Acosta eventually honing in on his old nemesis, the commander-in-chief.
‘People often ask me if the highlight of my career at CNN was at the White House covering Donald Trump,’ he said, reminding onlookers of their repeated clashed during the president’s first term, one of which saw his press credentials pulled.
Acosta, seen here in the foreground, often found himself at odds with Donald Trump during the latter’s first term
Aside from a digital-first model, Thompson is demanding stars like Acosta tone-down their Trump reporting for his second term – something the latter on Tuesday ignored
‘Actually, no,’ he sniped, saying instead his crowning achievement came during coverage of then-president Barack Obama’s trip to Cuba in 2016, since he himself is the son of a Cuban refugee.
‘[I] had the chance to question the dictator there, Raul Castro, about the island’s political prisoners,’ he recalled of the trip, before using it as political ammunition. ‘I took home this lesson,’ he claimed.
‘It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant. I’ve always believed it’s the job of the press to hold power to account.
‘I’ve always tried to do that here at CNN, and I plan on going doing all of that in the future,’ he concluded.
