Anchor Jim Acosta leaves CNN as he warns ‘It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant’

CNN anchor Jim Acosta said he has decided to leave the news network after being offered a show at 9 p.m. PT, midnight ET. 

Tuesday was his last show, where he talked about covering Obama’s visit to Cuba. He was referring to Raul Castro when he said “it is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant,” not to Trump. But Acosta was the chief White House correspondent covering Trump in his first term and he is leaving CNN right as Trump’s second term starts. 

Trump’s White House suspended his press pass in 2018 for a short period after Trump objected to his questions, leaving speculation that CNN pushed Acosta to a late-night spot to appease the president.

In 2018, CNN filed a lawsuit against U.S. President Donald Trump and top aides alleging that the network and Acosta's constitutional rights were violated when his White House press credential was revoked.

Acosta said as the son of a Cuban refugee, “I have always believed it’s the job of the press to hold power to account. I’ve always tried to do that at CNN and plan to go on doing it in the future.”

His final message was “Don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to fear. Hold on to the truth and the hope.” 

“The Trump administration and its MAGA allies made it their mission in life to run me out of town on a rail,” Acosta wrote in his first substack after leaving CNN. 

He said “The Jim Acosta Show” is coming soon.