Jim Acosta and Frank Zappa are perhaps as different as Donald Trump and Joe Biden. But both the longtime CNN journalist and the iconoclastic late musician’s words are being shared widely on the internet as the world grapples with unpredictability about Trump’s actions.
Acosta’s departure from CNN was never going to be quiet. The longtime anchor and former White House correspondent signed off for the last time on Tuesday, but not before taking one final shot at Donald Trump.
Acosta served as CNN's chief White House correspondent during the Obama and previous Trump administrations.
His closing remarks on CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta were clear.
“Don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope”
Reflecting on his career, Acosta pointed not to his infamous clashes with Trump but to a moment in 2016 when, as the son of a Cuban refugee, he questioned Raúl Castro, the Cuban dictator, about the island’s political prisoners.
Acosta covered then-President Barack Obama’s historic trip to Cuba in 2016.
“It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant,” Acosta said in his farewell address. It was impossible to miss the subtext: he may have left CNN, but he would not leave the fight.
Acosta’s exit follows CNN’s ongoing transformation under CEO Mark Thompson, which some believe signals a softening stance toward Trump.
Reports suggest Acosta was offered a late-night slot, the ‘graveyard slot’ in Los Angeles, which is far from the prime-time platform he once commanded.
For years, Acosta was a thorn in Trump’s side, pressing him on issues from the Covid-19 to immigrant issues.
Their confrontations often turned personal. In 2018, during a heated press briefing, Acosta refused to surrender his microphone to a White House intern.
During a press briefing, Acosta challenged Trump on his rhetoric about immigrants, accusing him of using the term “invasion” to create political fear.
Trump shot back: “Honestly, I think you should let me run the country, and you run CNN. If you did it well, your ratings would be much better.”
When Acosta refused to back down, a White House intern attempted to grab the microphone from him, resulting in a struggle.
Trump reacted saying, “You are a rude, terrible person.”
That moment became one of the defining images of Trump’s war with the press.
Later, Trump escalated the fight by revoking Acosta’s White House press pass. He justified the decision by accusing him of inappropriately making physical contact with a female.
Trump has got his revenge now.
The President of the United States wrote on social media.. “Wow, really good news! Jim Acosta has been relegated by CNN Fake News to the midnight hour. Word is that he wants to quit and that would be even better.”
He followed up with another jab: “Jim is a major loser who will fail no matter where he ends up… Good luck, Jim!”
But, Acosta hasn’t quit journalism yet. He stays, vowing to “hold power to account”...a mantra he repeated in his final broadcast.
When the Covid-19 pandemic began, Acosta confronted Trump during a briefing: “What do you say to Americans who are upset with you over the way you downplayed this crisis?”
Trump brushed him off as usual.
Then he said: “The crisis will go away… We will have a victory. It’s people like you and CNN that say things like that. I don’t want people to listen to CNN anymore.”
It was a familiar pattern. Trump dismissed legitimate questions, while Acosta kept pressing.
A source close to Acosta told Mediaite that he had undergone some “soul searching” before making his decision, ultimately deciding he “did not want to be part of anything that kowtows to Trump.”
Though Acosta did not explicitly name CNN’s leadership in his farewell remarks, the subtext was clear…his departure was about more than career moves.
Acosta did not announce his next move but made one thing clear: his fight isn’t over.
“I’ve always believed it’s the job of the press to hold power to account. I’ve always tried to do that here at CNN, and I plan on doing all of that in the future.”, he assured his viewers.
CNN thanked Acosta in a statement from a spokesperson, “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.”
For now, one of Trump’s most vocal critics has left CNN—on his own terms.
Frank Zappa’s prophetic words
In another clip that is being shared widely amid Trump’s shenanigans, the late musician Frank Zappa is seen discussing the Ronald Reagan administration with a few men in suits.
The clip, titled ‘Frank Zappa’s 1986 prediction comes true’, shows the eccentric and eclectic musician saying: “Could I make a statement about national defence? The biggest threat to America today is not communism, it’s moving America towards a fascist theocracy. And everything that has happened during the Reagan administration is steering us right down that pipe.”
One of the men in suits interjects: “Mr Zappa, you’re not really serious if you’re saying we’re going towards a fascist theocracy.”
Zappa shoots back “That’s right. When you have a government that prefers a certain moral code derived from a certain religion and that moral code turns into legislation to suit one certain religious point of view, and if that code happens to be very, very Right-wing, almost towards the till of the hun…”
Another man in a suit interrupts: “Then you are an anarchist. Every form of civil government is based on some kind of morality, Frank!”
Zappa, whose music was characterised by surprise, says: “Morality in terms of behaviour, not in terms of theology.”