The White House has responded to an incident in which the US President said to a female reporter: “Quiet! Quiet, piggy!” after she questioned him aboard Air Force One.
On November 14, Bloomberg’s White House correspondent Catherine Lucey asked President Donald Trump about the unfolding Jeffrey Epstein scandal and whether the House might vote to release all files related to his case, which it did earlier this week.
When Lucey started asking why Trump was behaving the way he was ‘if there’s nothing incriminating in the files,’ Trump pointed at her and said: “Quiet! Quiet, piggy!”
The remark drew criticism from members of the press. While Trump regularly clashes with reporters, the insult caused particularly strong reactions.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper wrote on X Twitter that the comment was ‘disgusting and completely unacceptable,’ while former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson called the remark ‘disgusting and degrading.’
In a statement, a Bloomberg News spokesperson told: “Our White House journalists perform a vital public service, asking questions without fear or favor.
“We remain focused on reporting issues of public interest fairly and accurately.”
The Daily Beast shared that Trump has repeatedly used pig-related insults toward women.
In 2017, New York Times columnist Gail Collins said Trump told her she had ‘the face of a pig.’
In 2016, former Miss Universe Alicia Machado shared that Trump called her ‘Miss Piggy’ when he owned the pageant.
He has also called Rosie O’Donnell a ‘pig.’
On November 18, a White House official defended the President’s remark, saying in a statement: “This reporter behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way toward her colleagues on the plane.
“If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take.”
2 days later, Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, was asked about the situation and said it reflected Trump’s straightforward approach.
She said: “Look, the president is very frank and honest with everyone in this room.
“You’ve all seen it yourselves. You’ve all experienced it yourselves.
“And I think it’s one of the many reasons the American people reelected this president, because of his frankness.”
Leavitt added: “He calls out fake news when he sees it. He gets frustrated with reporters when you lie about him, when you spread fake news about him and his administration.
“But he also is the most transparent president in history, and he gives all of you in this room, as you all know, unprecedented access.
“You are in the Oval Office almost every day, asking the president questions.”
She continued: “And so I think the president being frank and open and honest to your faces, rather than hiding behind your backs, is frankly a lot more respectful than what you saw in the last administration, where you had a president who would lie to your face and then didn’t speak to you for weeks.
“I think everyone in this room should appreciate the frankness and the openness that you get from President Trump on a near-daily basis.”
Days after the ‘piggy’ clip circulated online, Trump had another heated moment with a female reporter, this time in the Oval Office during a joint press conference with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He criticized members of the media for ’embarrassing our guest’ as they asked about murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Mary Bruce, ABC reporter, then questioned him about Epstein, triggering an emotional response.
Trump said: “People are wise to your hoax.
“ABC, your company, your crappy company is one of the perpetrators.
“And I’ll tell you something, I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and is so wrong.
“And we have a great commissioner, a chairman, who should look at that.”
He also claimed that ABC was not ‘credible’ because he won the election after they covered him ‘97% negative,’ adding: “You’re not after the radical left because you’re a radical left network.
“But I think the way you ask a question with the anger and the meanness is terrible.
“You ought to go back and learn how to be a reporter. No more questions from you.”
