Jim Acosta

Abilio James Acosta (born April 17, 1971) is an American broadcast journalist, anchor and the chief domestic correspondent for CNN.

Previously, Acosta served as the network's chief White House correspondent during the Trump administration, in which he gained national attention for President Donald Trump's clashes with him at press briefings.

Acosta also covered the Obama administration as CNN's senior White House correspondent.

As Trump was about to leave office, it was announced on January 11, 2021 that Acosta had been appointed Anchor and Chief Domestic Correspondent for CNN.

Acosta's father arrived in the U.S. at age 11 as a refugee from Santa María del Rosario, Cuba, three weeks before the Cuban Missile Crisis and was raised in Virginia.

His mother is of Irish and Czech ancestry, and his father's ancestors had originally come to Cuba from the Canary Islands.

Acosta, also raised in Northern Virginia, graduated from Annandale High School in 1989.

In 1993, he earned a bachelor's degree in mass communication, with a minor in political science, from James Madison University.

While in school, Acosta volunteered for WXJM, the student-run radio station.

He also worked as a reporter at WSVA, a local radio station, which is owned and operated by Saga Communications.

Acosta began his professional career in radio, and his first job was with WMAL in Washington, D.C. In 1994, Acosta left WMAL and entered television, working for Fox affiliate WTTG-TV as a desk assistant.

In 1995, Acosta moved in front of the camera, becoming a reporter and substitute anchor at NBC affiliate WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee, and remained in that job until 1998.

From 1998 until 2000, Acosta worked as a reporter for CBS affiliate KTVT-TV in Dallas.

From 2000 until 2001, Acosta was a reporter for WBBM-TV in Chicago.

From 2001 until 2003, Acosta worked as a correspondent for CBS News' Newspath service, based both in Dallas and Chicago.

From February 2003 until March 2007, Acosta was a correspondent for CBS News and was based first in New York and then in Atlanta.

At CBS News, Acosta covered the 2004 campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, the Iraq War from Baghdad, and Hurricane Katrina.

In April 2007, Acosta joined CNN.

During the following year, Acosta covered the 2008 presidential campaigns of Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, frequently appearing as an anchor of CNN's weekend political program, Ballot Bowl.

Acosta later joined CNN's American Morning program as a correspondent and contributed to the network's coverage of the 2010 midterm elections.

In February 2012, CNN promoted Acosta to the position of national political correspondent.

In his role as national political correspondent, Acosta was the network's lead correspondent in covering the 2012 presidential campaign of Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

He was then the senior White House correspondent for CNN.

At a nationally televised news conference in November 2015, Acosta challenged President Obama on his administration's strategy for destroying the terrorist organization known as ISIS.

"Why can't we take out these bastards," Acosta asked.

Acosta traveled to Cuba in March 2016 to cover President Obama's historic trip to the island.

At a rare news conference in Havana featuring both Obama and Cuban president Raúl Castro, Acosta pressed the Cuban leader on his country's human rights record.

At a nationally televised news conference in May 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called Acosta "a real beauty" for his reporting.

Interrupting Acosta, who asked Trump about his ability to deal with scrutiny, Trump said: "Excuse me, excuse me, I've watched you on TV. You're a real beauty."

During President-elect Trump's first press conference on January 11, 2017, Acosta attempted to ask a question to the President-elect regarding Russia.

Trump, however, instead called on other reporters, denouncing Acosta and CNN as "fake news".

Acosta got into a heated debate at a White House press conference on August 2, 2017, arguing with White House senior policy advisor Stephen Miller over the Trump administration's support for the RAISE Act.

Politico said this interchange "cemented Acosta's undisputed role as the chief antagonist" for CNN against the Trump administration.

Acosta was promoted to chief White House correspondent on January 9, 2018.

In January 2021, CNN announced that Acosta would move to chief domestic correspondent and weekend anchor.

The moves aligned with the incoming Biden administration.

On August 2, 2018, shortly after Kaitlan Collins was banned from the official press conference by the White House and a statement of President Trump that "FAKE NEWS media... is the enemy of the American People", Acosta asked the press secretary of the White House Sarah Huckabee Sanders if she distances herself from that statement.

She did not decline nor support that statement and argued over her own treatment by the media.

Acosta was praised by many liberals and panned by many conservatives.

This came in a wider context of critics by multiple entities (critic came by the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, IACHR) for attacks by President Trump on the free press.