Jim Acosta during fiery exchange with Trump
Jim Acosta during fiery exchange with TrumpReuters

CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta has been a frequent focal point of anti-press rhetoric from the Trump administration: President Trump has called Acosta a "rude, terrible person" and "fake news."

Acosta is the first to admit that “there have been times where, yes, the president and I have tangled with one another.”

But he says that in those head-to-head instances, his primary goals have always been to report the news and “stand up for the truth.”

News watchers know Acosta as determined and, some argue, over-the-top when it comes to trying to get the president to answer questions. At some points in his career, he's become part of the story — earning both praise and criticism for his brash style.

However, his newly released book, “The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America,” isn’t just focused on his personal run-ins with Trump. It’s about protecting freedom of the press and showing what happens to a democracy when the media is under attack, he says.

Acosta says threats of violence against him and his colleagues have escalated and made them feel “endangered” on the job.

“We have to speak truth to power,” he says. “That's why we're here.”