Jim Acosta announces surprise departure from CNN with passionate final message

Jim Acosta’s final message to CNN viewersSource CNN

Transcript

00:00You may have seen some reports about me and the show, and after giving all of this some

00:04careful consideration and weighing an alternative time slot CNN offered me, I've decided to move on.

00:10I am grateful to CNN for the nearly 18 years I've spent here doing the news. People often ask me if

00:17the highlight of my career at CNN was at the White House covering Donald Trump. Actually, no. That

00:22moment came here, when I covered former President Barack Obama's trip to Cuba in 2016 and had the

00:29chance to question the dictator there, Raul Castro, about the island's political prisoners.

00:35As the son of a Cuban refugee, I took home this lesson. It is never a good time to bow down to a

00:42tyrant. I've always believed it's the job of the press to hold power to account. I've always tried

00:47to do that here at CNN, and I plan on going doing all of that in the future. One final message.

00:54Don't give in to the lies. Don't give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope.

01:02Even if you have to get out your phone, record that message. I will not give in to the lies.

01:07I will not give in to the fear. Post it on your social media so people can hear from you too.

01:14I'll have more to say about my plans in the coming days, but until then I want to thank

01:18all of you for tuning in. It has been an honor to be welcomed into your home for all these years.

01:22That's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta.