CNN reporter Jim Acosta may soon find himself relocated to a less favorable time slot on television in a move by the network to improve its relationship with the incoming President, Donald Trump.
Acosta, a 53-year-old CNN veteran, has been engaged in a long-running feud with Trump. The President has criticized Acosta as being disrespectful and unprofessional, going as far as accusing him of spreading misinformation while Acosta served as a White House correspondent during the previous administration.
According to reports from the Status newsletter, CNN chief Mark Thompson is considering the possibility of shifting Acosta’s successful and highly-rated 10 am show to the less desirable midnight time slot.
‘They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump,’ an insider told the publication.
‘Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network.’
This move would ‘effectively exile Acosta to the Siberia of television news,’ the report stated.
Thompson allegedly hopes to slot Acosta into programming from midnight to 2am ET, with assurances that the show would in turn be airing during prime time on the West Coast and be streamed internationally.
Acosta’s ratings in his current 10am slot are some of the network’s best.
The relationship between the two men was so sour during Trump’s last presidency that the White House revoked Acosta’s press pass in 2018 after a heated clash. Acosta’s back-and-forth with Trump went viral, and resulted in Trump telling him to ‘sit down’, while aides wrestled the mic from his hands
The CNN veteran, 53, has been locked in a longstanding feud with Trump, who has described him as a ‘rude, terrible person’ and accused him of reporting ‘fake news’ during his time as a White House correspondent in the first administration
The timing of the call – just days before Trump is due to take office again – has raised suspicions CNN is trying to build a better relationship with the incoming President
Trump said: ‘CNN should be ashamed of itself having you work for them. You are a rude terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN’
The timing of the call – just days before Trump is due to take office again – has raised suspicions CNN is trying to build a better relationship with the incoming President.
Acosta’s relationship with Trump was so sour during the first term that the White House revoked his press pass in 2018 after a heated clash.
That decision was later challenged when Acosta and CNN presented it in front of a federal judge.
Acosta’s back-and-forth with Trump went viral, and resulted in Trump telling him to ‘sit down’, while aides wrestled the mic from his hands.
Trump said: ‘CNN should be ashamed of itself having you work for them. You are a rude terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN.’
Then, during a separate press conference in 2020, Acosta said: ‘Mr. President, I think our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours sometimes.’
‘Let me tell you about your record, your record is so bad you ought to be ashamed of yourself,’ Trump shot back. ‘You have the worst record in the history of broadcasting.’
On another occasion, Acosta asked Trump: ‘What do you say to critics who say that you are creating a national emergency? That you’re concocting a national emergency here to get your wall.’
Now, CNN chief Mark Thompson has reportedly floated moving Acosta’s successful, high-rating 10am show to a new timeslot of midnight
The 53-year-old, who rose to national prominence for frequently clashing with President-elect Donald Trump, waved the placard live on air on Thursday
Acosta has been attacked over the clip that he shared on Thursday, with those on both sides of the political spectrum having a go at him
A White House intern reaches for and tries to take away the microphone held by CNN correspondent Jim Acosta
Trump snapped back: ‘Your question is a very political question because you have an agenda. You’re CNN. You’re fake news.’
Acosta’s reported move is the latest in a series of shake ups the network is reportedly considering, and would pave the way for longtime anchor Wolf Blitzer, 76, to slide into a new morning timeslot to replace him.
He currently enjoys a plum spot on the cusp of primetime manning The Situation Room weekdays from 6pm to 7pm ET. He has done so for the past two decades, and the new shuffle could see him gain an extra hour of exposure.
However, some suggested the move could be a way ‘something of an off-ramp’ for the broadcaster, as he enters his golden years.
The revelation comes hours after Acosta was mocked for holding a placard hailing his own achievements live on air.
He held up a bright pink sign that reads: ‘I march for Jim Acosta and a free press.’
Acosta added: ‘A woman sent me a sign eight years ago, she carried here at a march in Washington.
‘She wrote on the back of the sign to me and the press here in DC, “You have our support.” To Nora, wherever you are, right back at ya.’
The duo also clashed at a press conference in India in 2020
February 2019: Possibly the lengthiest argument was on the White House lawn at an immigration event which saw Trump shout ‘fake news’ at Acosta
Journalist Glenn Greenwald shared the clip and added: ‘This nakedly partisan b**** really does think he’s the Conscience of America.
‘Never seen a more self-important, sanctimonious blow hard in my entire life. And no, I’ll never get over the fact that he wrote a book bought by dumb liberals where he depicted himself as endangered.’
Earlier in the segment, Acosta referenced Biden’s farewell address which took place on Wednesday night, in which he openly lamented a supposed rising oligarchy in the United States.
‘[President Biden] warned the free press is crumbling in this country, I would add that’s only if we the people let that happen.
‘Journalists exist to seek the truth, to tell people stories, to lift up voices that may not be heard otherwise.
‘To shine a light on injustice and hold the powerful accountable, we are not the enemy of the people we are the defender of the people.’
