CNN White House correspondent John Harwood announced Friday that he is departing the network, marking the latest change in staffing as the network attempts to erase partisan voices.
Harwood is the latest reporter to leave the network since CNN President Chris Licht announced efforts to make coverage more non-partisan. He did not appear to have any definite future plans.
“Today is my last day at CNN,” he tweeted. “Proud of my work. Thanks to my colleagues. I’ve been lucky to serve the best in American media—St. Petersburg Times, WSJ, NYT, the NBC family, CNN. Look forward to figuring out what’s next.”
personal news:
today’s my last day at CNN
proud of the work
thanks to my colleagues
i’ve been lucky to serve the best in American media – St. Petersburg Times, WSJ, NYT, the NBC family, CNN
look forward to figuring out what’s next
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 2, 2022
His departure appeared sudden and came recently after former CNN anchor Brian Stelter exited the network over the cancelation of his program, “Reliable Sources.” Licht, who joined the network in April, has deliberated the future of the liberal staff at the network, including Stelter and anchor Jim Acosta, due to concerns that partisan voices will harm the network.
Liberty Media chairman John Malone, the largest shareholder of CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, initially suggested that the network revert to non-partisan coverage.
A CNN spokesperson did not have any background information on the reporter’s sudden departure, but expressed the network’s appreciation for Harwood’s coverage of the White House.
“We appreciate John’s work covering the White House, and we wish him all the best,” the spokesperson told the Daily Caller.
Harwood joined the network in January 2020 after serving as a reporter and editor-at-large at CNBC. He has a long history of openly bashing former President Donald Trump and Republicans. A leaked Wikileaks email from 2015 showed that Harwood asked Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta about what questions to ask in an upcoming interview with former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush. (RELATED: John Harwood Frets About Trump’s ‘State Of Mind’)
When he first joined CNN, Brian Fallon, the national press secretary for former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, said Harwood “brings humility and honesty” to his coverage.
The journalist also defended MS-13 members after Trump referred to them as “animals” in May 2018, calling them “human beings.”
however repugnant their actions, MS-13 gang members are human beings IMHO
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) May 17, 2018
He came under fire for previously claiming that journalists have a difficult time in their coverage because the Republican Party “is fundamentally broken,” Fox News reported. The anchor came under fire in March for telling CNN’s “New Day” there is “no evidence” that President Joe Biden had any connection to his son, Hunter’s, business dealings.
On his final day on the job, he praised Biden’s speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where he labeled Trump and “MAGA Republicans” as extremists posing a threat to democracy, Fox News reported. The now-former White House correspondent affirmed the president’s remarks as “true.”