White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday defended President Donald Trump’s now-viral “Quiet, piggy” comment toward a female reporter.
The exchange occurred on November 14 aboard Air Force One during a gaggle with reporters.
Bloomberg News correspondent Catherine Lucey attempted to ask Trump a follow-up question about the Epstein files after the president said he had a “bad relationship” with Jeffrey Epstein.
Highlights
- Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s “Quiet, piggy” comment as a sign of his frank and honest style with reporters.
- Leavitt claimed Trump’s openness is more respectful than previous administrations, emphasizing his transparency.
- The incident sparked criticism, with journalists calling Trump’s remark disgusting and degrading toward female reporters.
- Trump’s confrontations with media reflect his ongoing war on the press, including lawsuits and executive actions.
Donald Trump snapped at a journalist last week, telling her, ‘Quiet, piggy’
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“Sir, if there's nothing incriminating in the files…” Lucey began to ask, as Trump pointed at her and cut her off, snapping, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.” He then moved on to another question.
During Thursday’s White House briefing, Leavitt said the moment showed Trump’s candid style.
“Look, the president is very frank and honest with everyone in this room,” she told reporters.
“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 re-elected this president, because of his frankness.”
“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,” Leavitt continued.
“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.”
“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,” she added.
“I think everyone in this room should appreciate the frankness and the openness that you get from President Trump on a near-daily basis.”
She ended her comment in the typical fashion of the Trump administration, comparing Trump to the Democrats.
“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,” Leavitt said.
“I think everyone in this room should appreciate the frankness and the openness that you get from President Trump on a near-daily basis.”
Her comments followed a statement from the White House on Wednesday.
An unnamed official defended Trump’s outburst by criticizing Lucey, saying the 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 [it].”
The incident drew swift criticism from journalists.
CNN’s Jake Tapper called the remark “disgusting and completely unacceptable.” Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson criticized Trump, calling his behavior “despicable towards female reporters.”
Leavitt attributed Trump's comment to him being 'frank and honest'
Image credits: Win McNamee/Getty Images
A Bloomberg News spokesperson told The Guardian on Tuesday, “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 “piggy” remark was not the only tense exchange between Trump and female reporters this week.
On Tuesday, during a joint appearance with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce asked Trump about the Epstein files and confronted MBS about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump snapped at her, as he said, “It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter.”
He then went on to criticize ABC News, which he has since called “Fake ABC News” on Truth Social.
“People are wise to your hoax,” he said, calling ABC News a “crappy company” before calling for its broadcast license to be revoked.
“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 then said ABC News is not “credible” since they covered him as “97% negative” and he still won the election. “You’re not after the radical left because you're a radical left network,” Trump said.
“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.”
These are not one-off interactions for Trump, who has called journalism an “enemy of the people.” Since January this year, he has escalated his war on the media, slapping media organizations with lawsuits, funding cuts, and executive orders.