CNN's Jim Acosta says 'we are not the enemy of the people' in shot at Trump as he returns to office

CNN anchor Jim Acosta heralded the incoming Trump administration with an on-air message that the news media is "not the enemy of the people."

"We are not the enemy of the people. We are the defenders of the people. Walter Cronkite once said, 'freedom of the press is not just important to democracy. It is democracy,'" Acosta declared in a clip first shared to X by NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck.

"He warned the free press is crumbling in this country. I would add, that's only if we, the people, let that happen," Acosta said.

The anchor continued, stressing the importance of journalists in protecting the truth. 

"Journalists exist to seek the truth, to tell people's stories, to lift up voices that may not be heard otherwise, to shine a light on injustice and to hold the powerful accountable," he said.

He concluded the bit by pulling out a pink sign that he alleged was given to him by an anti-Trump protester during Trump's first term. 

"I want to take a moment to show you something. A woman sent me this sign eight years ago. She carried it here at a march in Washington. She wrote on the back of the sign to me and the press here in D.C., 'you have our support.'"

It appeared he was referring to the far-left Women's March on Washington and across the country that first greeted Trump when he took office in 2017. 

The text on the sign read, "I March for Jim Acosta and FREE PRESS."

"To Nora, wherever you are, right back at you. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta," he said.

During one contentious moment at a White House press conference in 2018, Acosta refused to stop asking questions, forcing Trump to tell him "That's enough!"

When asked about Acosta's sign and apparent message to Trump on Thursday, a CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Jim was speaking about the importance of a free press, something that all journalists and citizens should agree on."