President Donald Trump took to social media to celebrate the departure of journalist and longtime personal foe Jim Acosta from CNN, posting a scathing message directed towards the veteran journalist on his social media app, Truth Social.
“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 BAD RATINGS (and no talent!),” wrote the President on Tuesday morning.
“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!” Trump continued.
Trump has demonstrated an overt dislike for Acosta for years, ever since his first presidential term. At a press event in 2018, an exchange between the two regarding Trump’s policies on immigration ended with Trump calling Acosta “a rude, terrible person.”
Acosta, who has worked at CNN for nearly two decades, announced that he would be leaving the network on Tuesday during CNN Newsroom With Jim Acosta, admitting that the network initially offered him a different time slot which he chose not to accept.
“I just wanted to end today’s show by thanking all of the wonderful people who work behind the scenes at this network,” Acosta said, announcing his departure.
“You may have seen some reports about me and the show, and after giving all of this some careful consideration and weighing in alternative timeslots CNN offered me, I’ve decided to move on. I am grateful to CNN for the nearly 18 years I’ve spent here doing the news,” he continued.
Acosta himself began to speak about President Trump and his experience covering him as a political figure, denying that it has been the highlight of his career.
“People often ask me if the highlight of my career at CNN was at the White House covering Donald Trump. Actually, no. That moment came here when I covered former President Barack Obama’s trip to Cuba in 2016 and had the chance to question the dictator there, Raul Castro, about the island’s political prisoners,” he stated.
“As the son of a Cuban refugee, I took home this lesson: It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant,” Acosta continued.
CNN thanked Acosta for the years he spent working for the network in a statement released by a spokesperson.
“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,” the network stated.
