John Harwood announced his departure from CNN on his Twitter account Friday, a day after he spoke favorably of a nationally televised speech by Joe Biden in which the president said Republican forces loyal to his predecessor in the Oval Office Office, Trump, was endangering American democracy. “The main point [Biden] made in this political speech about a threat to democracy is true,” Harwood told CNN after the speech, which aired in primetime. “Now that’s something that’s not easy for us as journalists to say.” “We have been brought up to believe that there are two different political parties with different views and we do not take sides in honest disagreements between them. But that’s not what we’re talking about. These are honest disagreements. The Republican party is currently run by a dishonest demagogue.” By noon Friday, Harwood, 65, tweeted that he was out at CNN. personal news: Today is my last day at CNN proud of the work I thank my colleagues I have been fortunate to serve the best in American media – St. Petersburg Times, WSJ, NYT, the NBC family, CNN I can’t wait to find out what’s next — John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 2, 2022 “Personal news: Today is my last day at CNN,” said Harwood, who added that he was “fortunate” to serve at other prominent US media outlets such as the St Petersburg Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and NBC. “Proud of work. I thank my colleagues. “I can’t wait to find out what’s next.” CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Harwood’s departure was prompted by his comments supporting Biden’s speech and criticizing Trump. Network officials instead issued a statement saying, “We appreciate John’s work covering the White House and wish him the best.” Harwood had two years left on his CNN contract when he announced his departure, veteran reporter Dylan Byers said later Friday. According to the Hollywood Reporter, which cited an unnamed source with knowledge of the situation, Harwood learned “last month” that he was out at the channel. New leadership took over CNN in April, having been appointed by its owners, Warner Brothers Discovery. CNN chief Chris Licht — who inherited his position after Jeff Zucker’s departure in February — has been open about wanting to tone down the views of his shows and return to an old-school, more straight-talking approach. less overtly liberal style of reporting. Harwood’s departure follows the Aug. 21 departure of Brian Stelter, host of the CNN media show Reliable Sources, which was canceled after 30 years on the air. Stelter was heavily criticized by conservative viewers for his coverage of the Trump administration, which — among many other things — sought to cast doubt on the validity of the results in the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden. Stelter, on his last show, also invoked the word “demagogue” as he verbally berated CNN’s new bras. “It’s not partisan to stand up to demagogues,” said Stelter, who reportedly had several years left on his CNN contract at the time of his departure. “It’s required – it’s patriotic.” Harwood joined CNN in January 2020, about a year before Trump supporters staged a deadly attack on the US Capitol in a desperate bid to prevent congressional certification of the former president’s election loss to Biden. Before that, he was the chief Washington DC correspondent for CNBC, where in 2019 he drew attention for another remark that was critical of Trump and his Republican supporters. Harwood said at the time that Trump and the Republicans who led him to the Oval Office in 2016 were “fundamentally broken,” making it especially difficult for them to cover bona fide reporters.
