CNN shake-up: From MSNBC hosts to White House, liberals furious over John Harwood's exit

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CNN's John Harwood: 'Zero evidence' implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing involving son Hunter

CNN White House correspondent John Harwood defends President Biden in an appearance on 'New Day,' noting Hunter Biden's had a 'difficult life.'

Liberal viewers are peeved that CNN White House correspondent John Harwood is leaving the network, openly mourning the outspokenly left-leaning journalist. 

Harwood’s departure comes as CNN’s new management continues to shake things up in an attempt to "tamp down spectacle" and make the network less polarizing. Last month, CNN dropped left-wing media host Brian Stelter, who regularly insisted he was a non-partisan journalist despite a long history of bashing conservatives and pushing liberal talking points. 

When some liberals grumbled about Stelter’s exit and praised him as a truth-teller standing up to so-called bothsidesism, others felt the response proved he simply provided "anti-conservative porn for the left." Harwood’s exit is conjuring up a similar response, as he often took on the role of a liberal pundit despite his correspondent title, blasting former President Donald Trump and Republicans.

CNN White House correspondent John Harwood is leaving the network, he announced Friday. (FOX)

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New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen believes Harwood is the "second public sacrifice" from CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. 

"Pending any other explanation, this looks to be a second public sacrifice and warning to the CNN staff, after Stelter's," Rosen wrote. 

"Left Anchor" podcast host Ryan Cooper asked, "So John got sacked for forthrightly stating what the Trump movement is, do I have that right?"

MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan wasn't thrilled Harwood won't be around to bash "GOP extremism and threats to democracy" any longer. 

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain retweeted a message in support of John Harwood. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

"This is not good," Hasan wrote. "John was one of the best political reporters at CNN and, I should note, regularly called out GOP extremism and threats to democracy, including last night and today."

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White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain retweeted a message in support of Harwood, a sign the Biden administration isn’t pleased with his exit. 

"This is very sad. @JohnJHarwood represents the best of journalism, besides being a terrific person," left-leaning scholar Norman Ornstein wrote in the message shared by Klain. 

Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent called it a "huge loss" for CNN and wrote that Harwood "was an unflinching critic of Trump and the GOP, especially their slide into authoritarianism, a rarity in the MM [mainstream media]."

Attorney Marc Elias, who once served as Hillary Clinton's general counsel, is also a fan of the now-former CNN reporter.

"If this is a sign of the new CNN, it is in real trouble. John was one of the most incisive voices on the network. I look forward to seeing where he lands next," Elias wrote. 

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MSNBC’s David Corn praised Harwood for his constant Trump bashing. 

CNN CEO Chris Licht has put his stamp on the network in his first year. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)

"Tremendous loss for CNN—and the nation. He had told the truth about Trump’s war on democracy," Corn wrote. "And CNN didn’t want that?"

HuffPost reporter Jonathan Cohn added, "I read @JohnJHarwood religiously and plan to continue doing so at whatever outlet is smart enough to grab him."

Tim Fullerton, a former digital staffer for Barack Obama, called Harwood "one of the best."

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"He's one of the reporters who truly gets the moment we are in. Excited to see where he goes next. I'll be following," Fullerton wrote. 

Controversial 1619 Project creator Nikole Hannah-Jones asked "what is CNN doing" in response to the news.

Harwood’s last appearance on CNN came Friday morning when he blasted Trump as a "dishonest demagogue" while praising President Biden's Thursday speech on Republican threats to democracy.

"We’re brought up to believe there’s two different political parties with different points of views, and we don’t take sides in honest disagreements between them," he said of journalists. "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."

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Fox News’ David Rutz contributed to this report.