One of the legacy media’s #Resistance breakout stars from President Donald Trump‘s first term in office may be disappearing in the dead of night as his second term is now officially underway.
Jim Acosta became a household name as CNN’s chief White House correspondent for his antagonistic relationship with Trump and his press secretaries. After the 2020 election, Acosta’s status at CNN was elevated to anchor, first on the weekends but eventually moving his way to weekday programming.
While CNN’s past leadership reveled in Acosta’s constant sparring matches with the first Trump administration, the network’s current leadership appears to be trying to tone down the dramatics.
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It was first reported in the Status newsletter last week that Acosta was pitched by CNN CEO Mark Thompson to move him from his one-hour slot at 10 a.m. ET to a two-hour slot beginning at midnight, a move that would “effectively exile Acosta to the Siberia of television news,” as it was characterized.
The report quickly sparked outrage among CNN’s liberal fans, many saying such a move means the network is bending the knee to Trump.
Sources tell Fox News Digital that the chatter is legit, with one insisting Acosta is “getting hosed” as a result.
“Acosta is a talented broadcaster who could handle any slot on the network,” a CNN staffer told Fox News Digital. “The midnight thing is shocking [but] it is what it is.”
While the chatter has been described as “gossip” in CNN’s hallways, the staffer is “confident” that the prospects of moving Acosta to the midnight timeslot is real and suggested it is Acosta’s only path forward at the network.
“He could have a real slot, but the choice is to not give him one,” the staffer added.
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The Los Angeles Times similarly reported that If Acosta refuses to accept the midnight shift, “he may exit the network, according to people familiar with his thinking.”
The Times also reported that taking the midnight shift could move Acosta out of CNN’s D.C. headquarters and into the network’s LA bureau, though the move would not be a requirement as his family is rooted in Washington. The 12-2 a.m. ET time slot would overlap with primetime programming in the West Coast, airing from 9-11 p.m. PT.
Another CNN insider told Fox News Digital that executives were “beyond apoplectic” that news of Acosta’s one-on-one conversation with Thompson was leaked, leaving the network flat-footed by the outrage generated online.
A spokesperson for CNN declined to comment.
Acosta first joined CNN in 2007, but his rise to stardom didn’t occur until ten years later when he was assigned by his then-boss Jeff Zucker to be the network’s resident reporter in the White House briefing room. He quickly became notorious for shouting questions at Trump’s White House press secretaries and frequently going toe-to-toe with the president himself, developing a reputation for grandstanding and receiving a profile boost by Trump after being called “fake news.”
He famously refused to give up the microphone in a 2018 press conference as he engaged in a contentious back-and-forth with Trump. The White House attempted to revoke Acosta’s press pass following the dust-up, but his credentials were restored when CNN argued that it violated the First and Fifth Amendment rights of Acosta and the network.
Acosta’s adversarial relationship with the first Trump administration appeared to be lucrative as he landed himself a book deal and became a frequent guest on liberal late night shows, further fueling his star power that landed him an anchor chair during the Biden presidency.
But with a different boss at the helm, it remains to be seen whether Acosta’s stature as CNN’s #Resistance figure will carry on in the second Trump administration or if he will have to go elsewhere in order to resume his war of words with the president.
