In the morning hours following President Joe Biden’s prime-time address to the nation Thursday, CNN’s White House correspondent abruptly announced that he is leaving the cable network.
John Harwood, who has been described by multiple outlets as having a significant pro-left bias, announced via Twitter that he was leaving CNN. Harwood has been with the network since 2020, when he moved over from CNBC.
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
The move came hours after Harwood tweeted in apparent agreement with Biden’s aggressive rhetoric during his speech Thursday night.
During his remarks, Biden repeatedly made highly aggressive statements about “MAGA Republicans,” which, according to favorability polls and endorsement performance among GOP voters, would suggest he refers to the majority of the approximately 74 million Americans who voted for Trump in 2020. This is in spite of Biden’s obtuse claim that, “Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans.”
Biden continued, “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
He added, “MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people,” and referred to Trump supporters as, “MAGA forces” and suggested they “are determined to take this country backwards.”
Shortly thereafter, Harwood tweeted: “Biden’s assertion that Trump and extremist Republicans pose a threat to American democracy is, undeniably, true”
Biden’s assertion that Trump and extremist Republicans pose a threat to American democracy is, undeniably, true
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 2, 2022
Within hours, Harwood announced his departure.
According to Fox News, a CNN spokesman said, “We appreciate John’s work covering the White House, and we wish him all the best.” The outlet also reported that, according to Puck’s Dylan Byers, there were still two years left on Harwood’s contract.
The curious exit of Harwood, following the sudden cancelation of Brian Stelter’s “Reliable Sources” since Chris Licht took over as CNN’s CEO, seems to be in line with Licht’s alleged plan to take the network in a more politically neutral direction. Like Harwood, Stelter was still under contract, having only just renewed his.
This has led many to speculate online that Harwood’s departure may not have been purely voluntary.
This tweet got you fired, didn’t it?https://t.co/aDUv8bWuHk
— JD Sharp (@imjdsharp) September 2, 2022
CNN gonna fire Harwood for not hopping on the be nice to MAGA bandwagon 🙃 https://t.co/IU3Le46Wqv
— Chuck Todd’s shamble bangs (@Drea_got_rage) September 2, 2022
Fox News pointed out that Harwood spent his last moments as a CNN employee attempting to justify his biased journalism.
“The core point [Biden] made in that political speech about a threat to democracy is true,” Harwood argued, according to the Fox report.
“That’s something that’s not easy for us, as journalists, to say. We’re brought up to believe there’s two different political parties with different points of view, and we don’t take sides in honest disagreements between them. But that’s not what we’re talking about. These are not honest disagreements. The Republican Party right now is led by a dishonest demagogue.”
Harwood now joins Brian Stelter, Jeffrey Toobin and Chris Cuomo on the list of recent CNN departures, leaving many to wonder about the future of what was the nation’s first 24-hour news network.
