Anti-Trump host Jim Acosta was left out of CNN’s new weekday lineup when it was announced Thursday.
Acosta’s 10 a.m. ET program has been replaced by “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown,” in the network’s latest realignment. CNN has changed its anchors and anchors several times over the past few years, but the latest upheaval seems to have left Acosta in limbo.
“We are actively talking with Jim about a new appointment and will have more information soon,” a CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Other shifts include Jake Tapper moving to a two-hour slot from 5-7pm ET, while CNN’s anchor Anderson Cooper, Kaitlan Collins and Abby Phillip are unchanged from 8-11pm ET.
CNN’S JIM ACOSTA SAYS ‘WE ARE NOT ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’ IN SHOT AT TRUMP AS HE BACK IN OFFICE
CNN anchor Jim Acosta reminded his viewers just days before Trump’s inauguration that the media “is not the enemy of the people.” (Screenshot/CNN)
It was first reported in the Status newsletter last week that CNN CEO Mark Thompson suggested Acosta be moved from his one-hour slot at 10 a.m. ET to a two-hour slot starting at midnight, a far less prestigious spot on the lineup. .
Acosta became better known as CNN’s chief White House correspondent because of his hostile relationship with President Donald Trump and his spokesmen during Trump’s first term. After the 2020 election, Acosta’s status at CNN shifted to chief domestic correspondent, anchoring the weekend show, but eventually moving to weekday programming.
While past CNN leadership enjoyed Acosta’s constant sparring with the first Trump administration, the network’s current leadership appears to be trying to appear more neutral for the second flop.
CNN’s Jim Acosta was known to be hostile to President Donald Trump’s first administration, and the feeling was mutual. ((REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) )
One employee believes Acosta is “getting high” through the network.
“Acosta is a talented broadcaster who could handle any space on the network,” the CNN staffer said Fox News Digital. “The midnight thing is shocking [but] it is what it is.”
The lineup changes were announced the same day CNN announced that roughly 6% of the network’s workforce would be laid off.
The The Los Angeles Times reported that if Acosta refuses to take the midnight shift, “he could go off the grid,” according to figures familiar with his thinking.
The Times also reported that taking the midnight shift could move Acosta from CNN’s D.C. headquarters to the network’s Los Angeles bureau, though that move would not be a requirement because his family has roots in Washington.
CNN LAYING OFF 6% OF WORKFORCE AS LAYOUTS HIT NETWORK IN BREAKTHROUGH
Jim Acosta was left out of CNN’s new weekday lineup when it was announced Thursday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Acosta first joined CNN in 2007, where he covered the political campaigns and eventually the Obama and Trump White Houses. He quickly became notorious for shouting questions at Trump’s White House press secretaries and frequently clashing with the president himself, developing reputation for reputation and receiving a profile boost from Trump after being called “fake news.”
Acosta famously refused to hand over the microphone at a 2018 press conference as he engaged in a spat with Trump. The white house tried to take away Acosta’s press pass after a dust-up, but his credentials were reinstated when CNN claimed he violated Acosta’s and the network’s First and Fifth Amendment rights.
Acosta’s adversarial relationship with the first Trump administration appears to have been lucrative as he landed a book deal and became a frequent guest on liberal late-night talk shows, further fueling the star power that earned him the top chair during the Biden presidency. He recently told viewers that the media is “not the enemy of the people” in attacking Trump.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
