Trump is defended by the White House after referring to a female reporter as “Piggy” during an exchange on Epstein questions
Trump referred to a female reporter as “piggy” during a heated discussion about questions about Epstein, and the White House has supported him.
The White House defended President Donald Trump on Thursday after he caused a stir by referring to a female reporter as “piggy” during a heated discussion about the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The president’s statement, which was made on Air Force One last week and has since gone viral online, has sparked condemnation from press freedom advocates who claim that it is part of a disturbing trend of belittling women in the media.
When the reporter probed Trump about a recently published Epstein email in which the New York financier said Trump “knew about the girls,” Trump leaned toward her, pointed his finger, and shouted, “Quiet, piggy.” The exchange on Air Force One last week has since gone viral.
In response to inquiries over the event, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that reporters should respect the president’s openness to interact with the media and that Trump’s followers admire his candor.
Leavitt stated, “He calls out fake news when he sees it and gets frustrated with reporters who spread false information,” without citing any instances in which the reporter’s line of inquiry had errors. Trump provides “unprecedented access,” she continued, and responds to inquiries “almost daily.”
The argument comes after Trump has been under fire for yet another heated exchange earlier this week. He referred to another female journalist in the Oval Office on Tuesday as “a terrible person” when she questioned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death and asked Trump why his government had not made Epstein-related papers public.
The president overcame previous opposition to making the papers public on Wednesday by signing legislation ordering the Justice Department to release documents from its protracted Epstein probe.
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has denounced Trump’s latest remarks and cautioned that insults on women are a threat to press freedom. According to SPJ Executive Director Caroline Hendrie, “no one expects presidents to be reporters’ biggest fans.” “However, it should not be accepted to use degrading insults to female reporters.”
Despite the continued criticism from journalists and advocacy groups who claim the president’s tone sets a dangerous precedent for how the press is treated, the White House declined to comment further beyond Leavitt’s earlier defense.
