Jim Acosta, Guest –That Said with Michael Zeldin

 Join Michael Zeldin as he speaks with CNN Anchor and Chief Domestic Correspondent Jim Acosta, to hear details of history’s most unconventional presidency and its unprecedented relationship with the DC press corps. Acosta, considered one of the nation’s foremost political correspondents, will reveal the backstories the public has yet to hear about the Trump White House and its contentious dealings with reporters.  Acosta will share highlights from his best-selling book, “The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America”.Acosta will describe what it was like to hear former President Trump call him out at a press conference as a “rude and terrible person” who “CNN should be ashamed to have working for them”. He’ll also describe the incidents that led  the Trump White House to dub him “public enemy number one” and have the press office revoke his press credentials. Acosta will offer insights about what journalists can expect from former President Trump and the Biden administration.

Guest

Jim Acosta

CNN Anchor and Chief Domestic Correspondent

Jim Acosta is a CNN anchor for weekend programming and the network's chief domestic correspondent, based in Washington, D.C. Previously, Acosta served as CNN's chief White House correspondent, where he covered the Trump administration and the Obama administration from the White House and around the world. He regularly covers presidential press conferences, visits by heads of states, and issues impacting the Executive Branch of the federal government. Acosta also reported from the 2016 campaign trail following Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Prior to joining the White House beat, Acosta was national political correspondent throughout CNN's 'America's Choice 2012' election coverage, embedded with the Romney presidential campaign as the lead correspondent. He traveled with the GOP presidential candidate to key battleground states and to the U.K., Israel, and Poland, covering the latest campaign developments. Acosta sat down with Mitt Romney for two one-on-one interviews, breaking several political stories and presidential debate coverage. In addition, he covered both of President Barack Obama's inaugurations and contributed to the network's mid-term election coverage.

Acosta has received several awards including The National Association of Hispanic Journalists 2017 Presidential Award, the SJSU Journalism School 2018 William Randolph Hearst Foundation Award, and was a part of the CNN team that won an Emmy for their 2012 presidential campaign coverage. In 2019, he was honored with the annual "Truth to Power" award from the New York Press Club, which is given to individuals "whose body of work challenges the power establishment and/or defends journalists." In addition to his reporting, Acosta's debut book, "The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America," which focuses on his experience covering President Trump during his first two years in office, was released in June 2019 and became a New York Times bestseller.

In 2009, when the Obama administration lifted some restrictions on American travel to Cuba, Acosta reported from Havana, Cuba, on the effects of the policy change and on the post-Cold War relationship of the United States and Cuba. During the 2008 presidential election, Acosta covered the campaigns of then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John McCain and then-Sen. Barack Obama, frequently contributing as co-anchor on CNN's weekend political program, Ballot Bowl. During his time with CNN, Acosta has covered several breaking news stories, including the tragedy at Virginia Tech and the Gulf Coast during the oil spill crisis.

Before joining CNN in March 2007, Acosta was a CBS News correspondent since February 2003. Originally based in New York, he later relocated to the CBS bureau in Atlanta. He contributed primarily to the CBS Evening News and has covered stories including the Iraq war from Baghdad, the 2004 presidential campaign of then-Sen. John Kerry, Hurricane Katrina, and the blackout of 2003 that impacted major cities in the Northeast U.S.

Previously, he was a correspondent for CBS Newspath, the network's 24-hour news service, from 2001-2003 and was based in Dallas and Chicago during that time. Acosta covered the Pennsylvania miner rescue, the Washington, D.C.-area sniper story and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, among other stories.

Prior to CBS Newspath, he was a reporter and substitute anchor for WBBM-TV, the CBS-owned station in Chicago from 2000 to 2001; a reporter for KTVT-TV, the CBS-owned station in Dallas, from 1998 to 2000 and a reporter and substitute anchor for WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tenn., from 1995 to 1998. He began his journalism career with WMAL-AM radio in Washington, before making the transition to television.

Acosta graduated cum laude from James Madison University with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and a minor in political science.

Follow Jim on Twitter: @Acosta

Host

Michael Zeldin

Michael Zeldin is a well-known and highly-regarded TV and radio analyst/commentator. He has covered many high-profile matters, including the Clinton impeachment proceedings, the Gore v. Bush court challenges, Special Counsel Robert Muller’s investigation of interference in the 2016 presidential election, and the Trump impeachment proceedings. In 2019, Michael was a Resident Fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School, where he taught a study group on Independent Investigations of Presidents.Previously, Michael was a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. He also served as Deputy Independent/ Independent Counsel, investigating allegations of tampering with presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s passport files, and as Deputy Chief Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, Foreign Affairs Committee, October Surprise Task Force, investigating the handling of the American hostage situation in Iran.Michael is a prolific writer and has published Op-ed pieces for CNN.com, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Hill, The Washington Times, and The Washington Post.Follow Michael on Twitter: @MichaelZeldin